Curriculum Quality and Access
To create true opportunities for all of our children, we must commit to high-quality curriculum for all students. Students of all backgrounds and every zip code need our support to be prepared for the opportunities of today and tomorrow.
The rigor of school curriculum is a key indicator for whether a student will graduate from high school and earn a college degree.
To educate our growing diverse student population, IDRA works with schools to foster learning environments that are inclusive of students from dramatically different backgrounds from themselves and fellow students.
College Access and Preparation
We need our children to be successful in school. We need them to graduate and have options to either attend college or join the workforce. Students should have access to high-level coursework and graduate from high school prepared for college and beyond. See IDRA’s research highlights. See IDRA’s dramatically-successful dropout prevention program, Valued Youth Partnership. IDRA’s ground-breaking report, College Bound and Determined, profiled what happens when a school district raises expectations for students instead of lowering them. IDRA’s Ready Texas studies examined the impact of Texas’ weakened graduation requirements passed in 2013 (House Bill 5).
Our nation needs many more students to attend college and graduate, but several things are getting in the way, particularly for marginalized students. Among those who do get in, many are unable to finish. We need our children to be successful in school. We need them to graduate and have options to either attend college or join the workforce. This IDRA College Preparation – Online Technical Assistance Toolkit provides a resource that outlines research on the connection between math course taking and college preparation, on-demand webinars, articles and podcast episodes as tools for college preparation structures in schools and districts.
STEM Access and Equity
Educators across the country know the urgency of increasing STEM participation and performance by race and gender. This need is reflected by a dismal STEM pipeline that traces back to states’ uneven investment in high-quality STEM programs that effectively prepare girls and students of color with high-quality math and science.
The Defense STEM Education Consortium recently named IDRA and the Alamo STEM Ecosystem as one of four STEM hubs in the country. As co-lead of the Alamo STEM Ecosystem, which brings together educators, industry and other partners, we are increasing opportunities for young students to work directly with technology to expand their problem-solving skills.
IDRA named eight teachers in San Antonio as STEM Equity Ambassadors for the 2023-24 school year. The Alamo STEM Ecosystem, co-led by IDRA, is partnering with the other three Defense STEM Education Consortium (DSEC) partners across the country to support over 30 STEM Equity Ambassadors using interactive and experiential teaching methods to support them as they develop a robust STEM action plan for their own school and school district.
In this IDRA STEM Equity – Online Technical Assistance Toolkit, we show how schools and communities can open pathways for girls and students of color in the curricular pipeline to prepare them for STEM careers.
IDRA Contract Services
IDRA provides on-site and virtual training and technical assistance to thousands of teachers and students across the country and to schools, school districts and other groups. Sample service package include:
- Schoolwide Project Based Learning
- Instructional Strategies for Building Inferencing Skills
- English Learner Literacy Coaching
- ESL and Bilingual Education
- Cultural and Ethnic Studies
- African American Studies
- Mexican American Studies
Cultural and Ethnic Studies
Ethnic studies courses benefit all students. Culturally-sustaining curriculum has a positive impact on students’ academic and community engagement. IDRA has a number of resources and provides training and customized technical assistance that supports educators in offering ethnic studies courses in public schools.
In ethnic studies courses and lessons, students study histories, experiences, cultures and issues of race, ethnicity and indigeneity with a focus on the experiences and perspectives of people of color in the United States. Ethnic studies gives students many benefits, from social-emotional learning to college, career and community readiness. This IDRA Ethnic Studies – Online Technical Assistance Toolkit is designed to provide educators tools and resources for implementing ethnic studies in K-12 schools. It includes a literature review, webinar sessions, articles, podcasts and other resources.
Serving Emergent Bilingual Students
Emergent bilingual students should have the same opportunities to succeed academically. Their English-speaking classmates. Bilingual education programs are designed to increase English proficiency in students while providing instruction in their native language recognizing that students’ academic skills and knowledge transfer between languages. This IDRA Serving Emergent Bilingual Students – Online Technical Assistance Toolkit guides educators with an introductory overview of emergent bilingual students and programs to serve them.
Early Childhood Education in Schools
Successful early childhood programs take what we know from brain research and what experts understand about young children and how they learn. See IDRA resources for schools, including our Semillitas de Aprendizaje™ early childhood bilingual supplemental curriculum. Learn more
