What Does It Mean for Education to Be Trauma-Informed?
Trauma-informed education means teaching with an awareness that children go through serious, challenging events, and those experiences can affect learning. In this video, REL Mid-Atlantic shares tips on what it takes to create a trauma-informed classroom.

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Educational Laboratory provided support to the New Jersey Department of Education by identifying promising strategies for increasing student engagement during remote and hybrid (mixed remote and in-person) instruction.

Identifying Students At Risk Using Prior Performance Versus a Machine Learning Algorithm (1.1 MB)
The REL worked with the Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS), the Propel Schools charter school network, and the Allegheny Department of Human Services (DHS) to develop an approach for predicting which students are at risk for near- and long-term academic problems. This study compared the predictive model risk scores developed from the prior REL study, to an alternative, simpler approach to identifying students with prior academic problems. The study examined how the two approaches compare in results and accuracy and costs and efforts needed to implement a more complex statistical model to inform whether the new system should be adopted.

Infographic on Examining Student Health Conditions: Insights from DC Public Schools (900 KB)
Check out this infographic on the prevalence of health conditions amongst DCPS students and the relationship with education outcomes.

The REL partnered with DCPS to understand what it is doing well for students with health conditions and whether there are any inequities in the supports that are provided. This descriptive study provided information about the prevalence of health conditions in DCPS, the outcomes of students with health conditions, and the access these students have to supports designed to help them.

This study used historical data to examine the impact of attending a school mandating AP participation on students' high school and AP exam outcomes, and the impact of AP teacher preparation on AP exam outcomes of their students. In addition, the study examined these impacts for English learners and students with low academic achievement in middle school.

Infographic on Supporting Student Engagement in Remote and Hybrid Learning Environments (628 KB)
Check out this infographic with lessons learned and strategies from New Jersey on keeping students engaged during virtual learning.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education created a guidance document that outlines options for fall 2020 school openings while addressing COVID-19 infection risk, educational impact, and community concerns, with attention to equity throughout. The REL provided analytic support that includes the modeling of COVID-19 infection spread under different approaches to opening and operating schools; gathering perspectives of key community stakeholders; and incorporating available evidence on the likely educational impacts of different approaches.

Considerations for Reopening Pennsylvania Schools (1.58 MB)

The goal of the 5th annual SDP R2P conference was to convene experts in education research, practice, and policy to share information about their latest research activities, lessons learned, and challenges. Presentations focused on research being conducted within Philadelphia, in addition to other schools and districts focusing on similar priorities. Researchers shared their work around four themes:

• Preparing students to be college and career ready in grades 6-12
• Supporting high-quality instruction (focus on grades K-5)
• Contributing to Positive School Climate
• Connecting and using data to make decisions

The REL helped SDP design and plan a pilot of the empathic discipline intervention. After this workshop, participants understood important considerations when planning a pilot, how to plan and execute an evaluation, and how to use the Rapid Cycle Evaluation (RCE) Coach to support evaluation.

The goal of the annual Research, Policy, and Practice (R2P) conference was to bridge research to practice by enabling participants to share information about their ongoing projects, lessons learned, and challenges faced. The topics of the conference, aligned with priorities and goals in Philadelphia, sought to connect researchers with practitioners and to help participants return to their schools with evidence-based practices to share with colleagues and implement.

Data use has become prevalent in education, with policymakers and educators promoting it at every level of the education system. The goal of the data summit was to convene educators from across the state to hear from experts, learn about innovations in the field, present their own work on data use, collaborate on data-related practices, and learn from one another.