megan jagolinzer

In 2019, Youth Policy Lab partnered with TRAILS (Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students) and the Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment. This initiative was designed to guide future activities and establish a baseline for evaluation by gathering data from 3,500 DPSCD staff, 11,000 students in grades 8-12, 800 family members, as well as DPSCD Police and community mental health agencies. The Youth Policy Lab launched a three-year evaluation during the 2022-23 school year in 84 DPSCD schools, focusing on the implem...

The Youth Policy Lab has partnered with Detroit Future City (DFC) to conduct a research study examining Detroit’s career-connected K-12 education landscape and its alignment with current and future workforce needs. YPL is helping to shape the overall approach and direction of the study and leading the quantitative data analysis. This includes assessing the alignment between Career and Technical Education (CTE) availability and enrollment in Detroit and the current and future labor market demands in Southeast Michigan. DFC is holding several focus groups with K-12 education, business, and nonpr...

Youth Policy Lab has partnered with colleagues at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention to examine the impact of school cellphone policies in Michigan. This study aims to identify variability in district cellphone policies; understand the barriers to and facilitators of implementation; and estimate their impact on indicators of community violence, including fights in school, school discipline, and police incidents; as well as a range of mental health, wellbeing, and academic outcomes. While school cellphone restrictions may improve y...

YPL is evaluating two interventions targeted at improving chronic absenteeism in National Heritage Academies charter schools. The first intervention involves sending text messages to parents, emphasizing the importance of attendance and providing parents with up-to-date information on their child's past attendance. There are 92 NHA schools participating in the messaging intervention nationwide. The second intervention involves school staff providing individualized case management support to a family to alleviate barriers that prevent children from attending school regularly. There are 11 NHA s...

Youth Policy Lab has been engaged by TRAILS (Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students), an evidence-based, school-delivered student health and wellness program, to explore and evaluate variation in implementation of its Tier 1 (Social and Emotional Learning Curriculum) and Tier 2 (Early Intervention) programming across participating schools in Michigan. Insights from this analysis will be used to inform and improve program delivery. YPL will utilize survey, administrative, and publicly available data to explore variation in implementation outcomes in Michigan schools,...

The Youth Policy Lab launched a three-year evaluation during the 2022-23 school year in a large urban school district, focusing on the implementation and effectiveness of the TRAILS Early Intervention program (TRAILS-EI). This Tier 2 school-based program is designed to enhance social and behavioral outcomes in students affected by mental health concerns by increasing the delivery of evidence-based practices, ultimately aiming to improve academic performance. TRAILS-EI seeks to raise awareness and understanding of mental health, improve the accurate and timely identification of students with me...