Publications

This brief explores the importance of deeper learning to educational equity and the goal of college and career and civic readiness for all public school youth, as well as how district-led, continuous organizational learning and improvement can support that goal.

Study results indicate that dismissal threats increased the voluntary attrition of low-performing teachers and improved the performance of teachers who remained.

Self-directed, “self-affirmation” exercises led to statistically significant improvements in the performance of minority students in more supportive classroom environments but reduced the performance of female students.

The CRIS framework described in this report addresses the complexity of college readiness and outlines not just academic preparation but also the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors necessary to access college and overcome obstacles on the road to postsecondary success.  

This publication introduces a multipart series that offers guidance to schools and districts about how they can foster college readiness.

This menu consists of valid, reliable, and actionable indicators for the three key dimensions of college readiness — academic preparedness, academic tenacity, and college knowledge.

This resource is intended to guide district administrators as they consider what indicators to look at as they focus their efforts to improve students’ college readiness.

This technical guide is designed to help district leaders and data analysts select the college readiness indicators that will provide the most effective insights for their district.

The District Self-Assessment Tool provides school districts with an approach to assess its capacity to support a college readiness indicator system and track progress over time. 

This document describes the implementation of the CRIS system at four sites, featuring key success strategies and concrete examples of their use.

A key finding from a multi-year study of Redwood City community schools shows better attendance among students who accessed support services and whose families regularly took part in family engagement programs.

This multi-year study in Redwood City describes program participation across and within the six community schools in the three key strategy areas of family engagement, extended learning, and support — as well as how these affected student outcomes.

This book is a guide for educators, civic leaders, and researchers looking for ways to leverage data to identify the most effective policies, interventions, and use of resources for their communities.

This report, which focuses on the experience of the Redwood City School District, seeks to inform community school efforts in other parts of the country.

This report, which focuses on the experience of the Redwood City School District, seeks to inform community school efforts in other parts of the country.

The Gardner Center linked program participation records to RCSD data on school outcomes to understand how community schools are moving students toward improved results, finding connections to higher school attendance and improved academic achievement.

The Gardner Center linked program participation records to RCSD data on school outcomes to understand how community schools are moving students toward improved results, finding connections to higher school attendance and improved academic achievement.

This study of the Boys & Girls Club points to the importance of non-academic settings in helping students learn English.

This issue brief summarizes initial findings from a year-long descriptive study of California's continuation high schools, a cornerstone of the state’s drop-out prevention strategy.

This analysis of the YELL program breaks down the concept of youth leadership development into three core dimensions: (1) communication and interpersonal skills; (2) critical reflection; and (3) positive involvement in the community.