Brooklyn's Prospect Heights offers a model for teaching immigrants

Oregon schools are leveraging the power of relationships to improve attendance and graduation rates for Pacific Islander and Black students. Community resource specialists step in to get students to school, doctor's appointments, family funerals, and more: “I’m honestly not doing anything special. I hate to say that, there’s no science around what I’m doing. It’s just trust and building a relationship and giving them the time."

In Oregon's Multnomah County, high schools provide school-based mental health care centers, which include access to an overall health assessment, a mental health counselor, and a behavioral health specialist at no out-of-pocket cost. One benefit of this program is that students who are visiting the center for a physical reason – such as headaches – have the opportunity to have potential underlying conditions that are related to mental health recognized.

When students return to school after receiving treatment for drug or alcohol addictions, they often face new pressures and are convinced to again use substances. At Heartland High in Columbus, Ohio, a small class size, peer support, and access to a recovery coach help students stay sober.

In the last decade, collaborations between non-profit student-support organizations and public schools have fostered a model called "Last-Chance Schools" with remarkable success. The program targets root causes for dropping out, including economic disadvantages, mental health challenges, violence, and unstable home lives. As several Boston charter schools demonstrate, use of social-emotional learning, conflict mediation instead of zero-tolerance discipline, and flexible curricula has helped boost graduation and college acceptance rates while lowering suspensions.

A program in Baltimore bring youths together with volunteer second “families” to help guide them through turbulent times.

The ecosystem of D.C. charter schools that has evolved over the last two decades represents a cornucopia of creative and nontraditional approaches to education, in addition to fairly traditional college-prep schools, and is now producing some of the highest graduation rates, college acceptance rates, and average test scores in public schools in the nation.

In response to growing political polarization and controversial policies on local NYC school councils, grassroots community groups such as "the Aunties" have mobilized parent engagement through organized protests, canvassing and digital activism. Their efforts have notably raised community awareness, significantly increased parent participation at public council meetings, and compelled influential groups to reconsider key candidate endorsements.

In Washington, North Thurston Public Schools increased the graduation rate of students experiencing homelessness from 65% to 84% by hiring student navigators. These staff members consistently support students experiencing homelessness and attend to needs like finding housing, applying for college, or anything else that might arise.

Oglethorpe County High School in Georgia increased their graduation rate to almost 95% by connecting students regularly with counselors starting freshman year to help them meet their goals.

A public high school in Brooklyn, New York, hosts an annual camping trip for students to come out of their shells and get to know their peers and teachers over the course of several days of outdoor activities.