Recent Publications by Holly Plastaras Maluk
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Making A Difference: Year Two Report of the Pennsylvania High School Coaching Initiative – Executive Summary
The Executive Summary to the Making a Difference: Year Two Report of the Pennsylvania High School Coaching Initiative. This report examines the implementation of the second year of three for the Pennsylvania High School Coaching…
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Boosting Adolescent and Young Adult Literacy: An Examination of Literacy Teaching and Learning in Philadelphia’s Accelerated High Schools
In 2010-11, the School District of Philadelphia (the District) operated thirteen accelerated high schools that served approximately 2,000 under-credited, over-age students. Each of the accelerated schools was managed by one of seven external providers, each…
Publication
Making A Difference: Year Two Report of the Pennsylvania High School Coaching Initiative
This report examines the implementation of the second year of three for the Pennsylvania High School Coaching Initiative (PAHSCI). Funded by the Annenberg Foundation, this initiative focuses on literacy and math coaches providing support to…
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Teachers and Students Learning through Service: A Report on Need in Deed’s Developing Work with Teachers
Research for Action (RFA) conducted an evaluation of Need in Deed (NID)’s work with teachers during the 2006-07 school year. The mixed method evaluation aimed to learn more about the impact of the NID’s work…
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Informing High School Choices: The Progress & Challenges of Small High Schools in Philadelphia
In the School District of Philadelphia in 2007-08, almost one third of high school students attend one of the district’s 32 small high schools. Of these, 26 have been newly created or significantly changed since…
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Going Small: Progress and Challenges of Philadelphia’s Small High Schools
Between 2003 and 2007, and without significant outside funding, the School District of Philadelphia created 25 new small high schools. This study, begun by Research for Action in 2006, follows the start-up and early implementation…
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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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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…