Publications

Research led by Thomas Dee shows that a new college-level AP Computer Science class — focused on concepts in computing — draws more female, Black, and Hispanic students without affecting participation in the original course and increases participation in other AP subjects.

Between 2020 and 2024, the Gardner Center supported six cohorts of youth researchers to engage in qualitative research studies of their peers. This brief summarizes common themes across these six studies, particularly as they pertain to the factors that supported or complicated student experiences on their journeys to and through college.

The Gardner Center documented the implementation and benefits of a mental health crisis response pilot program in San Mateo County, California.

This 36-page technical report describes the underlying research design used to study San Mateo County's Community Wellness and Crisis Response Team pilot program, as well as the quantitative findings of that study.

This implementation brief focuses on a defining feature of the CWCRT program that makes it unique from more traditional emergency response strategies: clinician follow-up focused on supporting continuity of care.

This report details the complementary roles of law enforcement and clinicians when co-responding to a mental health-related emergency.

This research brief tackles how the critical component of dispatch was implemented as part of San Mateo County's Community Wellness and Crisis Response Team Pilot Program. 

The Theory of Change for San Mateo County's CWCRT Pilot Program describes the problem, core program elements, outcomes, and program goals; it lays the foundation for the systematic study of the program's impact.

This study examines an innovative district-level reform to support ninth-grade students who are struggling with math, resulting in increased achievement and attendance.

Graduate student and former fellowship recipient Yesenia Aguilar reflects on how the YPAR model helps young people develop knowledge, habits, skills, and mindsets that are central to civic engagement.  

This study examines a controversial, equity-focused mathematics reform in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) that delayed Algebra I until ninth grade for all students. 

This brief highlights the efforts of high school networks, community colleges, and nonprofit partners to build stronger webs of support for dual enrollment students in the Los Angeles region.

This research brief highlights how Youth Participatory Action Research projects can help organizations do a better job of serving young people, as well as build understanding about youth priorities and perspectives. 

Student Action Research Fellows from 10,000 Degrees share their research findings about the college transfer experience and how the organization might be able to support students more effectively.

This case study is part of a series highlighting the challenges, creative policy responses, and exemplary practices in California's legislatively created public alternative high schools.

This data brief provides a picture of youth who exit alternative schools each year, whether they are completing the requirements for graduation, continuing on an education path, or are dropping or aging out altogether.  

This brief provides a state-level snapshot of the size and demography of student enrollment in schools on the state accountability dashboard for schools with alternative school status (DASS) during the 2021–22 school year.

This brief provides a state-level snapshot of the size and demography of student enrollment in schools on the state accountability dashboard for schools with alternative school status (DASS) during the 2018–19 school year.

A group of Student Action Research Fellows, who participated in dual enrollment programs as high school students, conducted research to understand how students in the Los Angeles area experience dual enrollment programs in their high schools and how they could be more effective.

In the fall of 2021, Redwood City School District (RCSD) placed a full-time mental health counselor in each of its 12 schools. The Gardner Center conducted implementation studies to document the evolution of the counseling program and its areas of impact.