Student dropout report

Some students -- almost 7% -- who leave school for four weeks or more return to school, according to data. This trend means schools have new opportunities to re-engage at-risk students. The federal study found that students in the poorest 20 percent of families nationwide were generally more likely than those from other income groups to both stop out or drop out. The researchers found that the later students “stopped out” of school, the less likely they were to graduate and the more likely they were to become dropouts.
Dalton, B., Ingels, S., & Fritch, L. (2016). High School Longitudinal Study. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2015/2015037rev.pdf

Literacies instruction trends

There is no consensus on exactly how digital skills should be incorporated into literacy instruction. Practitioners have few guidelines, and many are simply adapting their lessons as they see fit. But many literacy experts do agree on at least one thing: that all students should be learning with a mix of print and digital texts—even the very youngest. Data show that schools vary in their approach to reading and literacy because of a lack of consistent standards.
Hawley, K. (2016). The changing face of literacy.  Bethesda, MD: Education Week.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/collections/changing-literacy/index.html

School readiness report

Based on a comprehensive review of cognitive and developmental psychology studies, this paper finds that school readiness is multifaceted and not limited to early reading and mathematics skills, but rather includes a wide range of components including executive function skills, curiosity, language, socio-emotional well-being, motor skills, and health.  This position paper aims to highlight these skills and the conditions that best support children’s future success in school and life, and to guide educators and others (including families) in designing learning experiences and  environments to support this development.
Center for Childhood Creativity. (2016). Reimagining school readiness: A position paper with key findings.  San Francisco, CA: Center for Childhood Creativity.
 http://centerforchildhoodcreativity.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/03/SchoolReadinessPositionPaper_Issuu.pdf 

Connected learning white paper

This white paper synthesizes currently dispersed research, worked examples, and best practices associated with promoting connected learning and 21^st century skills in libraries. The white paper provides examples of connected learning in libraries, discusses opportunities and challenges associated with introducing connected learning in diverse library settings, and reviews existing resources for public librarians who wish to implement connected learning principles in their youth programming. The white paper also describes how the ConnectedLib Project is addressing gaps in the existing connected learning research and resources for libraries.
Hoffman, K. et al. (2016). Connected libraries: Surveying the current landscape and charting a path to the future. Seattle, WA: ConnectedLib Project.
http://connectedlib.ischool.uw.edu/connected-learning-in-libraries 

BYOD Policies Report

A new study examined seven benefits and three categories of constraints (technical, personal and social) of instituting bring your own device (BYOD) policies in schools.
Song, Y., & Kong, S. (2016). Affordances and constraints of BYOD for learning and teaching in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 32(Jan.), 39-46.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1096751616300549

Equity priority

A new research project finds that the overwhelming majority of educators agree that equity in education for all children should be a national priority. Teachers and principals also agree (87%) that “many of their students face barriers to learning that come from outside the school environment.” While a greater percentage of educators in high-poverty schools (98%) report having students with barriers, two-thirds say the same in low-poverty schools.
Scholastic. (2016).  Equity in education. New York: Scholastic.
http://www.scholastic.com/teacherprincipalreport/

ELL language learning and achievement

The earlier that English-language-learner students are reclassified as English-proficient, the more likely they are to graduate high school. The researchers found that the graduation rate gap between students who were reclassified as English-proficient in elementary school and students who are still ELLs in high school was striking, the latter less likely to graduate.
Huang, M. et al. (2016). English learner students' readiness for academic success. San Francisco, CA: WestEd.
https://www.wested.org/resources/english-learner-students-readiness-for-academic-success/