Every child deserves a quality education. A diverse range of studies has shown:

  • Children who have been abused or neglected lag far behind other students in academic performance and educational achievement;
  • Students who do poorly in school are at greater risk of becoming involved in the juvenile and adult justice systems;
  • Youth involved in the juvenile justice system are less likely to graduate from high school, attend college, or obtain sustainable employment;
  • Incarcerated adults are less likely to have a high school diploma or post-secondary degree; and
  • Youth and adults of color who are detained or incarcerated are overrepresented in these populations and contribute to the educational achievement gap.

Evident Change’s work in education includes:

  • Research projects to answer questions related to the education of students in child welfare and/or justice systems;
  • Monitoring student progress in a school or educational program;
  • Site-specific implementation of best practices and measurable academic outcomes in non-traditional school settings (e.g., transition programming from juvenile justice facilities to community-based schools); and
  • Analysis of ways that race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression shape educational outcomes.

Evident Change promotes policies and practices to ensure:

  • All schools, whether in urban or rural communities or within juvenile or adult correctional institutions, are accountable for the academic progress of all students;
  • Child welfare and juvenile justice systems utilize valid, reliable educational and academic data to increase the likelihood that youth graduate from high school; and
  • Educational outcomes are improved for low-income populations and communities of color to decrease the likelihood of child welfare, juvenile justice, or adult justice system involvement.

Please visit Evident Change’s Resources page to read our latest reports on charter schools.