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Elaine Simon

Recent Publications by Elaine Simon

Publication

Time to Engage? Civic Participation in Philadelphia’s School Reform

Philadelphia is at the forefront of a national trend towards privatization in education, making school reform in Philadelphia a topic of national and local consequence. The Philadelphia school district has created a new governance model,…

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An Evaluation of the Science Resource Leaders Program

An evaluation of the Science Resource Leaders Program, which was funded by the National Science Foundation and administered jointly by the School District of Philadelphia and PATHS/PRISM. SRL sought to train a two-person team of…

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Reframing Accountability for Urban Public Schools

Based on their research with community-organizing groups, Eva Gold and Elaine Simon from Research for Action and Chris Brown from the Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform describe four strategies for building public accountability…

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Bringing Community Organizing into the School Reform Picture

Community organizing is growing in importance as a means of achieving and sustaining urban school reform. The authors identify eight distinct areas in which community organizing groups are connecting community capacity to school improvement. Leadership…

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Bringing a Public Voice to the School Governance Debate: The Campaign for Better Schools and Mayoral Control in New York City (Executive Summary)

In this two-year study, Research for Action (RFA), working in collaboration with Jeffrey Henig of Teachers College, assessed the formation and development of a coalition of organizing and advocacy groups, funded by the Donors’ Education…

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Strong Neighborhoods, Strong Schools: Appendix: Case Studies

The appendix brings together the five case studies of community organizing groups carried out as part of the Indicators Project on Education Organizing. Each report describes the background and context of the organization’s work and…

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Challenges to Freshman Year Interventions in Philadelphia

Philadelphia made early investments in reforms designed to address the challenges of large neighborhood high schools, including supports for the critical ninth grade transition year. Well over a decade later, our research shows that freshman…

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Strong Neighborhoods, Strong Schools: Case Study: Austin Interfaith

Austin Interfaith, founded in 1985, is a multi-issue group made up of forty-five religious congregations, schools, and other institutions. Austin Interfaith is an affiliate of the Texas Industrial Areas Foundation Network, which developed the Alliance…

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Transition to High School: School ‘Choice’ and Freshman Year in Philadelphia

The School District of Philadelphia’s tiered system of selective, nonselective, and charter high schools, and the process for high school choice, has created real variation in the degree to which high schools can successfully meet…

Publication

Strong Neighborhoods, Strong Schools: Case Study: New York ACORN

ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is a nation-wide, multi-issue organization composed of neighborhood-based chapters that organize communities to advance the interests of low- and moderate-income families. Its areas of emphasis include…
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Key Projects by Elaine Simon

An Evaluation of the Science Resource Leaders Program: School District of Philadelphia and PATHS/PRISM

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A Study of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA): The Logan Square Neighborhood Association and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

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An Evaluation of Family Literacy Initiatives

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A Review of Seven Parent Engagement Initiatives: The Annie E. Casey Foundation

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A Study of Local Education Funds: Public Education Network (PEN)

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The Campaign for Better Schools: A Coalition to Influence New York City School Governance Supported by the Donor’s Education Collaborative in NYC

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