July 2009

In This Issue

The National High School Center summarizes the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) as it relates to high schools, shares our latest Ask the Expert column that offers best practices and strategies for English Language Learners (ELLs), releases a new fact sheet on mental health, and announces updates to our Web site.

ARRA Resources Now Available on Our Web site

The National High School Center is pleased to announce a new set of resources that provide guidance on ARRA for high schools. Education funds provided through ARRA offer a unique opportunity to accelerate high school improvement.

The following resources provide an overview of the major provisions of ARRA that may be used for funding high school improvement initiatives:

• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Opportunities for High School Improvement Summary Table
  This summary table highlights suggestions made by the U.S. Department of Education on ways in which the funds appropriated under ARRA may be spent. Additionally, it provides best practices and resources related to those suggestions that will be helpful to stakeholders at the state, district, and school levels who are undertaking high school improvement initiatives.
• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Opportunities for High School Improvement
  This document provides more detailed information about ARRA such as deadlines and descriptions related to the new funding opportunities.

Additional resources on ARRA are available on our Web site that cover the four core reforms that will help the nation meet the goals of ARRA: (1) adopting rigorous college- and career- ready standards and high-quality assessments; (2) establishing data systems and using data for improvement; (3) increasing teacher effectiveness and equitable distribution of effective teachers; and (4) turning around the lowest-performing schools.

Effectively Educating English Language Learners at the High School Level: Ask the High School Expert Now!

Join the National High School Center featured experts Ana Diaz-Booz, Principal, School of International Business (San Diego, CA) and a 2009 California Distinguished High School, and Libia Gil, Senior Advisor, National High School Center and SeniorFellow, American Institutes for Research, as they discuss best practices to serve the needs of English Language Learners. Please submit your questions via email. Our experts will be available until August 29th to answer your questions.

National High School Center Presents New Homepage

The National High School Center has recently revised its homepage (www.betterhighschools.org) to reflect additions to our growing site. Our new two column format provides viewers with more information about high school-related resources, activities, and initiatives in an easily accessible space.

The new format offers direct access to our "hot" high school improvement topics (such as dropout prevention, early warning systems, and high school literacy), an interactive map detailing high school initiatives across all 50 states, and new high school-related resources currently available.

Please check back often as our content is always being updated to reflect the latest high school research and resources.

New! Fact Sheet on Mental Health during the High School Years Released

This fact sheet on mental health, substance abuse, and dropout prevention provides a snapshot of the current issues surrounding dropout factors among students who are identified with emotional disturbances, and offers mental health resources that may assist this population with remaining in high school.

Upcoming Conferences

The National High School Center wants to keep you informed of upcoming conferences and events pertinent to your work. The High School Events Calendar on our Web site lists national conferences, workshops, and dialogues sponsored by organizations around the country focused on high school improvement. If you are sponsoring a high school-related event, we encourage you to submit the event for posting on the Calendar through the online form on our Web site.

About Us

The National High School Center at the American Institutes for Research (AIR), in collaboration with its partners, strives to provide the most up-to-date, accessible information on breakthroughs in high school improvement, vetted best practices, hands on technical assistance to the Regional Comprehensive Centers, and an easy-to-use navigation of the latest research on creating and maintaining excellent high schools. The National High School Center does not endorse any interventions nor does it conduct field studies. The National High School Center Web site is available at www.betterhighschools.org.

The National High School Center at the American Institutes for Research in collaboration with
Learning Point Associates, MDRC, the National Center for Educational Achievement and WestEd.
1000 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW | Washington, DC, 20007 | Phone: 1-800-634-0503 | Fax: 202-403-5875
TTY: 1-800-634-0752
Email:helpfor@betterhighschools.org | www.betterhighschools.org