SparkUpdate: May 25, 2011

| Juvenile Justice Recovery - A Strategy for Success  

Some in the juvenile justice world are focusing on strengthening the connections and supports that are key to recovery.

As keynote speaker at the 2011 Reclaiming Futures conference, Karen Pittman spoke about the dramatic turnarounds for young people when they can engage in a quality program where they feel safe, valued and connected - the bedrock of a youth development approach. She suggested that the current focus on improving education provides a strategic opportunity to link juvenile justice recovery efforts to the readiness conversation which stresses the importance of social-emotional supports and competencies - preparing juvenile justice youth for career, college, or life skills for the 21st century.

The Vera Institute reports on setting an agenda for family-focused justice reform.

The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform's new report, Safety, Fairness, Stability: Repositioning Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare to Engage Families and Communities, looks at ways to preserve and strengthen the positive family and community connections that provide the sense of stability and permanency that youth will need as they transition into adulthood.

Ready by 21 Case Studies  

The Forum for Youth Investment has designed a database of Ready by 21 case studies, by location and by strategy/standard.

May 31 Webinar: Using Better Data 101   

This Forum for Youth Investment webinar explores ways to collect and use ongoing, cross-systems data to influence real-time decision-making.

June 8 Briefing: Coordinating Policies for Kids  

The Forum for Youth Investment will honor winners of the Ready by 21 Policy Leadership Award at a Congressional briefing, along with results from the Ready by 21 State Policy Survey, a first-ever survey of state coordinating bodies (Children's Cabinets, P-20 Councils, and Early Childhood Councils). To RSVP, email RSVP@forumfyi.org.  

|  Education Reform - What it Looks Like, What Works

Today, the Obama administration announced $500 million for Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge grants. Get the details and share your input here.

Education Reform Up Close and Personal

The global economy means global competition - those without good literacy skills will be consigned to the low-wage job market. That's the message of the Alliance for Excellent Education's new report "A Time for Deeper Learning."  The Boys' Initiatve summarizes the data - boys and young men are falling behind in getting the level of education this economy requires.  

"While America's students are stuck in a ditch, the rest of the world is moving ahead." For a top-down look at what's wrong with our school system, Joel Klein "tells all" and "tells-it-to-the-unions" in the Atlantic Monthly.  

For a look at what reform can look like at the ground-level, read Helen Zelon's report on a new principal and the closing of a beloved school in Bedford-Stuyvesant.  

So What Should We Do?

Taking the long view, the American Enterprise Institute hosted a day-long panel on what we've learned about the effectiveness of federal education initiatives over the last 50 years.  

Here's what others are saying, including some specific recommendations for ESEA reauthorization: 

Reducing class size is a popular, and effective, way to improve learning, but two Brookings analysts question whether it provides the most for the buck.  

Establishing common standards for what's to be learned is a first good step, but how we measure achievement will be key to improving student success, says this report from the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy and Policy Analysis for California Education.  

What does literacy mean for a toddler? Stories, verbal give-and-take, hearing and trying lots of new words. Zero to Three's new policy brief recommends ways ESEA reauthorization can help prevent an early vocabulary and language gap, engaging and educating parents and caregivers to provide a language-rich environment.

As for science and math, the Education Commission for the States identifies promising and research-based approaches for enhancing student interest and achievement in STEM disciplines--science, technology, engineering, and math--including approaches that come with a smaller state-budget price tag.  

May 26 Webinar: Engineering a Solution to the National Literacy Crisis 

A minority of eighth-grade and twelfth-grade read at a proficient level. The Alliance for Excellent Education offers this webinar on ways to engineer a solution to the national literacy crisis.  

Don't Gut Education Programs

If tax expenditures are off the table, what's on the table? Education Trust warns that Title I funding is at risk in ESEA negotiations on Capitol Hill.  

EdWeek says the House bill on ESEA reauthorization would eliminate 43 education programs.  

|  Washington, DC

Don't Break the Back of Medicaid 

The Congressional Budget Offices says 300,000 Americans would be uninsured under the changes to Medicaid proposed in the House (HR1683) that would allow governors to scale back their Medicaid roll by ending maintenance of effort requirements for Medicaid and CHIP.  

At a time of high unemployment, states are making harsh cuts in TANF for many of the nation's most vulnerable families with children. The House proposal to cut WIC funding would force many children to go hungry. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports.

Jonathan Bloom says we could reduce hunger in America by improving the food distribution system, including renewed USDA leadership in gleaning programs and tax deductions for food donations.     

Action Alert: Support Improvements to Educating Students without a Home 

Children without a home should not be denied an education as well. New legislation offers improvements to the McKinney-Vento law for educating homeless students.  

| College Grads: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Today's graduates are between a rock and a hard place, leaving college with record debts and trying to find a job in an historically weak job market. 

Future Majority summarizes the latest figures on unemployment and, equally distressing, the underemployment data for young people.  

Could reducing the income gap improve college completion rates? The Chronicle of Higher Education reviews the Obama Administration report on improving college completion that focuses on the gap between low-income and high-income students.  

As for easing the burden of student loan debt, despite a restructuring of the federal loan program, USA Today cites a troubling gap between Education Department policy and practice for student debtors who find themselves in difficult personal situations.