Recent Publications by Cecily A. Mitchell
Publication
Parent Leadership Academy: A Parent-Led, District-Hosted Partnership for Parent Engagement – Executive Summary
The Parent Leadership Academy was a pilot effort of the School District of Philadelphia and the William Penn Foundation to empower and promote the development of parents as leaders in their children’s education and schools.…
Publication
Making the Most of Interim Assessment Data: Lessons from Philadelphia – Executive Summary
This is the executive summary of RFA’s report, Making the Most of Interim Assessment Data: Lessons from Philadelphia. Under No Child Left Behind, urban school districts have increasingly turned to interim assessments, administered at regular…
Publication
Philadelphia Story: Building Civic Capacity for School Reform in a Privatizing System – Executive Summary
Following the 2001 state takeover of the School District of Philadelphia, a new governance structure was established and an ambitious set of reforms went into effect, generating renewed public confidence in the district. Despite this,…
Publication
Philadelphia Story: Building Civic Capacity for School Reform in a Privatizing System
Following the 2001 state takeover of the School District of Philadelphia, a new governance structure was established and an ambitious set of reforms went into effect, generating renewed public confidence in the district. Despite this,…
Publication
Parent Involvement in Public Education: A Literature Review
The involvement of parents and other caregivers in schools is increasingly viewed as not only a complement to the work of educators, but a as critical and essential support for the academic, psychological, and emotional…
Publication
Making the Most of Interim Assessment Data: Lessons from Philadelphia
Under No Child Left Behind, urban school districts have increasingly turned to interim assessments, administered at regular intervals, to help gauge student progress in advance of annual state exams. These assessments have spawned growing debate…
Publication
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…
Publication
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
Uneven Playing Field: Demographic Differences and High School ‘Choice’ in Philadelphia
Every fall, eighth graders participate in the School District of Philadelphia’s high school application and admissions process, vying for spots in a tiered system of public high schools across the city. This policy brief looks…