The Annenberg Institute for School Reform (AISR) at Brown University recently released College Readiness: A Guide to the Field.  This guide aims to help districts, schools, and other interested stakeholders identify opportunities both inside and outside of school to prepare their students for college success.  In many community schools, especially community high schools, community-based partners play a critical role in supporting what this report identifies as the three "dimensions" of college readiness work: academic preparedness, academic tenacity, and college knowledge.  The guide identifies strategies for effectively addressing each of these dimensions, provides descriptions of initiatives from across the country that have used these strategies to increase college readiness and completion rates, and provides implications and recommendations for policymakers and practitioners.  Individuals working in and with community schools, especially at the middle and high school levels, are encouraged to read this report and consider the ways in which their work aligns with national best practices around college readiness. 

In a recent edition of "America the Fixable," an online collaboration between The Atlantic and Common Good, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, authored the essay, Picking up the Pieces of No Child Left Behind, in which she explains how America should move towards addressing the shortcomings of No Child Left Behind (NCLB).  While she is clear that the solutions are not easy, she cites examples of promising strategies that emphasize "teaching and learning as opposed to testing and blaming."   All of the examples she references, from Singapore to New Haven and Los Angeles to Cincinnati, emphasize deep learning and engagement for students, strong professional development for teachers, and wraparound services for families to help mitigate barriers to success.  Furthermore, as she puts it, the schools and districts that are getting it right "embrace shared responsibility and collaboration among teachers, administrators, parents, and the community."