A selection of resources that engage in research or advocacy regarding dropouts
California Dropout Research Project
Project sponsoring and publishing original research studies and statistical briefs on dropout crisis in California.
California Mayors' Education Roundtable
The California Mayors' Education Roundtable, a WestEd initiative, brings together mayors and their key staff members to discuss education and youth issues and develop common ground to work collectively on statewide education and related issues. Convened by WestEd and funded by The James Irvine Foundation, Roundtable members exchange education ideas, practices, policies, programs and strategies.
ConnectEd
The James Irvine Foundation founded ConnectEd: The California Center for College and Career as a hub for innovative practice, policy and research to expand the number of education pathways that prepare students for college and career.
See also: ConnectEd's Coalition for Multiple Pathways Statewide alliance of education, industry, and community organizations dedicated to improving California's high schools and preparing students for postsecondary education and career, both options and not just one or the other. More than sixty organizations have joined to date.
Achieve
Created by the nation's governors and business leaders in 1996, Achieve helps states raise academic standards and achievement so that all students graduate ready for college, work and citizenship.
Alliance for Excellent Education
Policy center whose mission is to promote high school transformation to make it possible for every child to graduate prepared for postsecondary education and success in life.
America's Promise Alliance
Building on the legacy of founder General Colin Powell, the alliance is committed to seeing that children experience the fundamental resources they need to succeed - the Five Promises (caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, an effective education and opportunities to help others) - at home, in school and out in the community.
American Youth Policy Forum
Nonprofit, nonpartisan professional development organization based in Washington, DC, provides learning opportunities for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers working on youth and education issues at the national, state, and local levels.
Annenberg Institute for School Reform
Develops, shares, and acts on knowledge that improves the conditions and outcomes of schooling in America, especially in urban communities and in schools serving disadvantaged children. Current focus is on developing and promoting the concept of "smart education systems"; that is, systems that coordinate educational supports and services wherever they occur - at school, at home, and in the community - in order to provide all children with equitable opportunities and high-quality learning experiences.
BetterHighSchools.org (National High School Center)
A central source of information and expertise on high school improvement issues.
Campaign for High School Equity
Coalition of national organizations representing communities of color working in partnership to host joint events, copublish relevant research and policy analysis, and take collective action on issues vital to ensuring high school success.
Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education (CBCSE) (at Teachers College, Columbia University)
Conducts economic research on the benefits and costs of alternative educational policies and interventions.
Center for the Social Organization of Schools
An educational research and development center at Johns Hopkins University
Civic Enterprises, LLC
A public policy firm that helps corporations, nonprofits, foundations, universities and governments develop and spearhead innovative public policies to strengthen our communities and country
The Civil Rights Project / Proyecto Derechos Civiles
Research and advocacy center devoted to renewing the civil rights movement by bridging the worlds of ideas and action, and by becoming a preeminent source of intellectual capital and a forum for building consensus within that movement
EdNews
Online education news and information source.
Education Commission of the States (ECS)
Nonprofit, nonpartisan, interstate compact organization created in 1965 to improve public education by facilitating the exchange of information, ideas and experiences among state policymakers and education leaders.
ECS High School Policy Center (HSPC) includes answers to requests for information on high school issues, an extensive 50-state high school policy database, searchable database of high school research, highlights of local initiatives, and more.
The Everyone Graduates Center
The Everyone Graduate Center seeks to identify the barriers that stand in the way of all students graduating from high school prepared for adult success, to develop strategic solutions to overcome the barriers, and to build local capacity to implement and sustain them.
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids
Mission is to take a hard-nosed look at the research to find what really works to keep kids from becoming criminals and then share information about proven crime-prevention strategies with policymakers, the media and the public.
Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA) Independent, private non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening public schools to work for all children.
Also, see IDRA's Graduation for All e-letter.
Manhattan Institute for Policy Research Policy center with a mission to shape American political culture
National Dropout Prevention Center/Network (NDPC/N)
Research center and resource network to reshape school and community environments to meet needs of youth in at-risk situations
National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD)
Research center that synthesizes research provides technical assistance to develop and enhance dropout prevention programs for students with disabilities
National Education Association (NEA)
Nation's largest professional employee organization with 3.2 million members that addresses the dropout issue in the following publications and multimedia
The Silent Epidemic
Civic Enterprises, MTV, Time magazine, and the National Governor's Association were sponsors of the "National Summit on America's Silent Epidemic". This related web site contains information for parents, educators, policymakers and students. Find your school district's true, on-time graduation rate, statistics and facts about high school dropout rates, why students drop out and more.
State Education Reforms (SER)
NCES website, which draws primarily on data collected by organizations other than NCES, compiles and disseminates data on state-level education reform efforts in four areas: (1) standards, assessment, and accountability, (2) school finance reforms, (3) resources for learning, and (4) state support for school choice options.
United Way: Goals for the Common Good
See also: United Way's Education Page
Goal: to cut high school dropout rate in half over the next 10 years
What Works Clearinghouse (WWC)
Agency administered by he U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences that collects, screens, and identifies studies of effectiveness of educational interventions (programs, products, practices, and policies)