Rachel Comly
Former Staff
Recent Publications by Rachel Comly
Publication
Responses to Covid-19 School Closures
In March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic caused schools to close for the remainder of the school year, all Pennsylvania school districts and charter schools were required to “make good faith efforts to implement continuity of…
Publication
Boosting Children’s Language and Literacy Skills Through Blueprint: An Evaluation of Children’s Literacy Initiative’s Blueprint for Early Literacy 2017 – 2019
RFA’s three-year mixed methods evaluation of Children’s Literacy Initiative’s language and literacy supports found positive impacts despite higher-than-typical teacher turnover. In pre-K centers receiving CLI supports, teachers were more able to implement effective instructional practices…
Publication
Trauma-Informed Schools in Pennsylvania: Aligning Expansion with High-Quality Implementation
Recent momentum to develop a trauma-informed education system provides an important opportunity for Pennsylvania schools. About two out of every three school-age children are likely to experience at least one traumatic event, such as abuse, neglect,…
Publication
Supporting Early Readers in Philadelphia’s Independent Charter Schools: An Initial Inquiry into Cross-School Collaboratives
PERC research is produced through collaboration between researchers from Research for Action and the School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Research and Evaluation. For more information, please visit phledresearch.org. Charter schools enroll about one third…
Publication
Supporting Early Readers: A Scan of K-3 Literacy Practices in Philadelphia Charter Schools
PERC research is produced through collaboration between researchers from Research for Action and the School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Research and Evaluation. For more information, please visit phledresearch.org. In Philadelphia, civic and education leaders…
Publication
Supporting Literacy in Out-of-School Time: An Examination of OST Early Literacy Practices in Philadelphia
Philadelphia’s Out-of-School Time (OST) system has identified K-3rd grade literacy support as the focus of the first phase of its strategic plan, launched in 2017. Research shows that OST programs can have an impact on…
Publication
Adding Another Voice: Caretakers’ Experiences Utilizing Philadelphia’s Out-of-School Time Programs
Nationwide, there is a high demand for out-of-school time (OST) programs, and this demand has not been fully met—particularly in high-poverty areas. Information about caretakers’ and children’s OST needs can help citywide systems better target…
Publication
Supporting Literacy in Out-of-School Time: Summary of Evidence
The City of Philadelphia’s Citywide Out‐of‐School‐Time (OST) Initiative was launched in February 2017 to better coordinate and focus the capacities of OST programs on the needs of the city’s children. The first phase of this initiative…
Publication
Scanning the System: Support for Quality Programming in Philadelphia’s Out-of-School Time
Approximately a quarter of a million school-aged children and youth live in Philadelphia. No exact count exists of how many participate in Out-of-School Time (OST) programs. The City of Philadelphia estimates that 187,000 children and…