In the News
Stay in the Game! Member Districts Show Progress Keeping Students in School
Proving Ground's work with the Stay in the Game! Attendance network is making a difference in Ohio. COLUMBUS, Ohio (Oct. 31, 2024) – Ohio faces a chronic absenteeism crisis. While the latest data shows progress, school districts in the Stay in the Game...
Connecting with Families and Students in Continuous Improvement Efforts
Amber Humm Patnode, Acting Director of Proving Ground, shares progress in PG's Ohio districts in the tenth installment of Improving Improvement, NNERP's quarterly series focused on leveraging the power of research-practice partnerships (RPPs) to build...
Searching for Consistency in Attendance Data Recording, Reporting, and Utilization in the USA
Amber Humm Patnode, Acting Director of Proving Ground, has co-authored new work on attendance reporting in Orbis Scholae. Abstract: According to the United States Department of Education (USDOE), 16% or over eight million kindergarten through twelfth...
Elevating Student Voice in Improvement Work
Amber Humm Patnode, Acting Director of Proving Ground, shares how to strategically embed empathy-building activities and student voice in improvement work, in the ninth installment of Improving Improvement, NNERP's quarterly series focused on leveraging...
Post-Pandemic, 2 Out of 3 Students Attend Schools With High Chronic Absenteeism
Analysis of federal data reveals ‘a relaxed attitude’ toward daily attendance, experts said. It’s well established that chronic absenteeism has skyrocketed since the pandemic. But a new analysis of federal data shows the problem may be worse than...
A Pathway to Change: Building Student Success Systems to Support Students with Disabilities
Proving Ground Acting Director Amber Humm Patnode joins other experts in discussing how best to support students with disabilities. Read more at gradpartnership.org.
Proving Ground Partners with Rhode Island Department of Education for LEAP District Support Program
New Superintendent Institute and workshop series to support new LEAP District Support Program. Cambridge, MA — Proving Ground, an initiative of the Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR) at Harvard University, launched a new partnership today with...
Improving Improvement: Testing Theories of Institutional Capacity Building
This is the fifth installment of Improving Improvement, our quarterly series focused on leveraging the power of research-practice partnerships (RPPs) to build schools’, districts’ and states’ capacity to improve. In our first year or so of writing for...
Student Electronic Social & Emotional Learning Group Activity for Improving Attendance
Proving Ground Director, Dave Hersh, is a guest on the Education Data Chat podcast discussing Proving Ground's work and how it has adapted in relation to the COVID pandemic. Listen to the podcast here.
Districts Pivot Their Strategies to Reduce Chronic Absenteeism During Distance Learning
An EdSurge article features the work of both Proving Ground and NCRERN and how what we have learned can can help districts continue to reduce chronic absenteeism during distance learning. ... On the other side of the country, another effort, housed at...
Improving Improvement: Lessons Learned from Working with Partners During the Covid-19 Crisis
The second installment of the NNERPP Improving Improvement series featuring Proving Ground and the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks. This is the second installment of IMPROVING IMPROVEMENT, our quarterly series focused on leveraging...
Improving Improvement: Introduction
NNERPP featured Proving Ground and the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks in their newsletter. They will continue to cover different aspects of the project in a series. Improving Improvement is a new series in NNERPP Extra focused on...
With a chronic absentee rate of 10.8 percent, BKW is working to get more students to class
The National Center for Rural Education Research Network's work with Berne-Knox-Westerlo and other rural districts in New York is covered by The Altamont Enterprise. Chronic absenteeism, or missing 10-percent of total school days in a school year, is one...
Rural schools, researchers tackle nagging problems
The Harvard Gazette covers how Proving Ground's work was the basis for the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks. Harvard researchers were pleased when a pilot program, done in collaboration with school officials in Syracuse, reduced...
Heights, Southwest school leaders react to State Report Card grades
Newark Advocate highlights Proving Ground partnership with Licking Heights Local Schools’ district. On Sept. 12, the state department of education released its annual grade cards seeking to measure the performance of school districts across Ohio...
CMSD campaign inspires Browns statewide attendance push
Proving Ground's new partnership with the Brown's Foundation and the Ohio Department of Education is covered by Cleveland Metro School District. Public schools in Canton, Maple Heights, East Cleveland and nine rural districts will receive support and...
Cleveland Browns, Ohio Department of Education work together to help keep kids in school
News 5 Cleveland outlines the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks partnership with the Ohio Department of Education and the Cleveland Browns Foundation. CLEVELAND — During the 2017-2018 school year, more than 260,000 of Ohio’s K-12...
Cleveland Browns Foundation launches statewide initiative to improve school attendance
Cleveland.com highlights the partnership between the Cleveland Browns Foundation, the Ohio Department of Education and Proving Ground. ... To expand the “Get 2 School” program statewide, the Browns Foundation has partnered with the Ohio Department of...
Local news outlets highlight NCRERN district partnerships
Local news outlets highlight the announcement of the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks district partners in New York and Ohio. Links to these articles are included below: Lyndonville CSD to join Harvard center on rural education Black...
Harvard rural education center announces district partners in New York and Ohio
The National Center for Rural Education Research Networks will collaborate with 50 rural districts to address chronic absenteeism, college readiness, and more Cambridge, MA (July 22, 2019)—Today the Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR) at Harvard...
Harvard looking to help solve New York rural schools’ issues
The Olean Times Herald reports on how NCRERN provides rural school districts in New York with an oppurtunity to adress their most pressing challenges. Some New York rural schools are about to get an assist from Harvard University. Harvard’s new National...
Harvard Helps With Absentee Rates At Schools
Proving Ground Director, Bi Vuong, was interviewed on Sundial on WLRN about Proving Ground's work with Palm Beach County School District. Harvard University has been working with eight school districts across the country, one of them Palm Beach County...
Proving Ground is Hiring!
Interested in working for Proving Ground or the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks? We have 7 openings: Administrative Assistant, Proving Ground Director, National Center for Rural Education Research Network Research Analyst I, Proving...
With help from Harvard, Palm Beach County schools lower absentee rate
The South Florida Sun Sentinel highlights the School District of Palm Beach County’s work with Proving Ground to reduce chronic absenteeism with a multimodal messaging campaign. Palm Beach County schools have been emailing, snail-mailing and texting...
Harvard Receives $10 Million Grant for Rural Education Research
This Harvard Crimson article highlights the launch of the National Center on Rural Education Research Networks. The Harvard Graduate School of Education received a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to fund national research on rural...
New research centers to focus on rural schools, high school writing
Education Dive writes about the announcement of the National Center on Rural Education Research Networks. Many rural districts — and school leaders in rural areas — are finding that they can accomplish more by partnering with neighboring districts and...
Cornell partners in center to tackle rural schools’ challenges
The Cornell Chronicle highlights the National Center on Rural Education Research Networks which will utilize the Proving Ground approach in rural districts. Schools are often the civic heart of communities, particularly in rural areas, and can be a...
Ohio Partners With Harvard On Rural Schools Initiative
WKSU 89.7 featured the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks and the work it will do to improve student outcomes in 30 rural school districts in Ohio. Thirty rural Ohio school districts will partner with a Harvard research center to...
IES Funds Rural Education, Secondary Writing Research
The Journal discusses how the National Center on Rural Education Research Networks will work with 60 rural districts to help build capacity for rural districts to use their own data. Research in rural education and secondary writing is getting a grant...
Proving Ground to expand capacity to rural education
The Center for Education Policy Research (CEPR) at Harvard University has been awarded a $10 million grant from the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education to launch the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks...