The GE Foundation's Foray into Urban School Improvement - Hear Robert Corcoran talk about the tremendous resources the GE Foundation has committed to education over the past several years. He was speaking at the 2011 ECS National Forum on Education Policy....

Characteristics of Public School Districts in the United States: Results From the 2011-12 and Staffing Survey, First Look - Among the 2011-12 findings about U.S. school districts in a recent release: Of some 16,990 school districts, 8,300 were in rural communities, 3,310 in suburban areas, 2,840 in towns, 2,540 in cities. Among the districts with salary schedules (89%), the average yearly base salary for a teacher with a bachelor’s degree but no teaching experience was $35,500 while teachers with 10 years experience earned $44,900. Half the districts had collective bargaining agreements with teachers’ associations or unions. The average number of tenured teachers non-renewed or dismissed for poor performance: 1.7 in districts over 10,000; under .2 in all other. (Lucinda Gray, Amy Bitterman and Rebecca Goldring, National Center for Education Statistics, July 2013)...

Using American Community Survey Data to Expand Access to the School Meals Program: Panel on Estimating Children Eligible for School Nutrition Programs Using the American Com - This is a brief summary of a larger report presenting a panel's analysis, findings and recommendations on how to determine, on an annual basis, the number of students eligible for free and reduced lunches and USDA reimbursements to districts. A panel of experts investigated the technical and operational feasibility of using data from the continuous American Community Survey (ACS) to estimate students eligible for free and reduced-price meals for schools and school districts. The panel presents a new ACS Eligibility Option (AEO) and recommendations for implementation of the AEO, as well as ways to improve the accuracy of ACS estimates of eligibility for the school meals programs. If implemented, the authors posit that the AEO would provide an opportunity to expand access to free meals for the nation's schoolchildren and reduce administrative burden on schools and families. (National Academies Press, May 2012)...

Numbers and Types of Public Elementary and Secondary Local Education Agencies From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2010-11- First Look - This First Look presents selected findings on the numbers and types of public elementary and secondary local education agencies (LEAs) in the United States and the territories in the 2010-11 school year, using data from the Local Education Agency Universe Survey of the Common Core of Data (CCD) survey system. (National Center for Education Statistics, April 2012)...

Statutory Options for School District Mergers: Report addressing House Resolution 30, 2011 - In reviewing Tennessee laws related to school district consolidations, two paths emerge: elimination of special school districts, with the resulting transfer of students to the local county district, and consolidation of all districts within a county into a unified county school district, using a planning commission. This report highlights the inconsistencies and conflicts resulting from these two separate paths for school district governance changes. The report also addresses potential issues raised by a new legislative provision allowing counties meeting certain criteria to establish new municipal or special districts. (Offices of Research and Education Accountability, Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, March 2012)...

Sustained Positive Effects on Graduation Rates Produced by New York City's Small Public High Schools of Choice - This policy brief is a follow-up to a study that evaluated the effects that small public high schools of choice had on improving academic progress and graduation rates for disadvantaged students in NYC. The original study followed one cohort of students through four years of high school. Results indicated that the small schools of choice increased student progress toward graduation during their first three years of high school and increased students' four-year graduation rates. This brief extends the analysis by one year and finds that the positive effects are sustainable behind the initial cohort. (MDRC, Jan 2012)...

Organizing Schools to Improve Student Achievement: Start Times, Grade Configurations and Teacher Assignments - Authors Brian Jacob of University of Michigan and Jonah Rockoff of Columbia Business School present the evidence on several organizational changes that could provide significant “bang for the buck” in student achievement. While simple, these changes have the potential to substantially improve K–12 student performance. Suggestions include: (1) changing the start time for school days for middle and high school students; (2) taking measures to address the difficult transition from elementary to middle school; and (3) assigning teachers to grades and subjects to increase the gains from specialization. (Hamilton Project, September 2011)...

Consolidation of Schools and Districts: What the Research Says and What It Means - This policy brief provides a review of the research that has been done on school and district consolidation and finds that consolidation will generally not save money nor will it improve education outcomes, particularly for minority and poor students. Policymakers are urged to make decisions about consolidation on a case-by-case basis with local input. Further, for very large school districts, deconsolidation may be a means of improving fiscal efficiency and learning outcomes. (National Education Policy Center, February 2011)...

Fifty Years of Supporting Children’s Learning: A History of Public School Libraries and Federal Legislation from 1953 to 2000 - This report contains a wealth of data on the history of public school libraries at the national, regional, school and state levels. All tables in the report comprise several variables, including the number of public schools, the number of pupils and use of library media centers, among others. Also available is a booklet – America's Public School Libraries: 1953-2000 – based on information in this report. (Joan S. Michie and Barbara A. Holton, National Center for Education Statistics, March 2005)...

Census 2000 School District Demographics - The School District Demographics System (SDDS) helps community leadership, educators, researchers and analysts, libraries and information providers, students, and the public to access and use demographic data to help them better understand current demographic characteristics, patterns and change taking place, as well as plan for improved educational programs and opportunities. ...