School choice and dropout prevention are a couple of the topics recently explored during REL Northwest’s Bridge Events. This series of forums—primarily sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES)—is designed to bridge research, policy, and practice. To date, 15 Bridge Events on a range of topics have been held across the Northwest, giving regional educators and policymakers the opportunity to connect with noted national researchers. After each event, resources and video are posted on the REL Northwest events page.

At a June 15 Bridge Event in Boise, Idaho, participants delved into the effects of charter schools. There are currently 36 charter schools in Idaho, educating nearly 11,000 students. Although charter schools have been a part of the educational landscape in the U.S. for 20 years, high-quality research in the field has only emerged in the last five years. The forum provided an overview of this research, and was led by one of the nation’s foremost researchers on school choice, Dr. Mark Berends of University of Notre Dame.

Berends, who heads the Center for Research on Educational Opportunity and the National Center on School Choice, credited the No Child Left Behind Act with producing longitudinal data that allow for more reliable studies of charter school effects. However, the research to date has been “mixed” with some studies showing positive outcomes and others documenting negative or neutral results. He explained that it’s important to note the type of methodology when judging study findings: Randomized control trials that compare students who win charter school lotteries with those who don’t are the gold standard of research. Berends provided resources for a number of important studies in his presentation, which can be found in the archive of the event. 

The following week, a Bridge Event held in Helena attracted 90 Montana educators to learn strategies for strengthening dropout prevention efforts. Dr. Russell Rumberger, co-author of the IES Dropout Prevention practice guide, gave the keynote for the event. He described the guide’s six evidence-based recommendations for ameliorating this national epidemic. Dr. Mindee O’Cummings of the National High School Center presented the Early Warning System Tool—a system for calculating students’ risk of dropping out.

A panel of educators shared successes and challenges they have experienced in providing rigorous and relevant instruction to engage students. High school leaders gathered in teams to discuss their current dropout prevention efforts in relation to the recommended research-based practices, identify gaps, and formulate next steps. Rumberger ended the day by encouraging the audience to take a comprehensive approach to this critical issue, but stressing that the best way to keep kids in school is to ensure that every child is connected to an adult that is trained to help in students’ greatest areas of need. Speaker presentations, resources, and references from this forum (as well as dropout prevention forums in Oregon and Washington state) are available on our Bridge Events page.