Over the American dream? Watch this. - Harvard Gazette

"Recent research by Harvard economist Raj Chetty, director of Opportunity Insights, and others have shown that improving school quality alone isn't enough to boost the future economic trajectory of a child from a low-income family. To make a real difference, those efforts must also address the circumstances and conditions in students' lives outside of school that undermine their ability to succeed academically."

"Universities are in the business of generating knowledge, but where we often fall short is ensuring that knowledge gets to people who are in positions to do something with the good research and innovation that happens here or that we study from across the country and around the world,"

"To try to bridge the persistent information gap between scholars, practitioners, and the public, the Lab launched " Dream On," a new video series collaboration with independent journalists Joe Posner, a Vox Video co-founder, and James Watson, who's also an Ed Redesign Lab fellow."

"The series spotlights communities and organizations across the U.S. that are tackling the complex challenges of growing up in high-poverty neighborhoods. Those featured have found locally-driven solutions that are grounded in the research of scholars across Harvard and the country and can be duplicated in other places."

Education remains a key pathway for children to realize their full potential and to move out of poverty into the middle class. Research indicates that improving school quality alone does not significantly change the future economic outcomes for children from low-income families. Meaningful gains require efforts that also target circumstances outside school that weaken students’ ability to succeed academically. Promising solutions are emerging in communities across the country, focusing on improving educational achievement beyond the classroom. A research and training initiative aims to connect knowledge from universities with people who can apply it, using a video series to spotlight locally driven approaches grounded in scholarly research and designed to be replicable elsewhere.

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