Supporting Marginalized Youths’ Educational Success: A Mixed-Methods Natural Experiment

1/1/2024 – 12/31/2026

$368,032

This mixed-methods project evaluates how the redevelopment of a concentrated poverty public housing community into a mixed-income community with enhanced services affects marginalized youths’ educational opportunities and outcomes. Combining data from youth and parent surveys, direct assessments, qualitative interviews, and administrative school records, we will 1) assess whether improved housing quality, residential stability, and economic integration improve educational outcomes; 2) explore the social, environmental, cognitive, and physiological mechanisms underlying effects; and 3) examine differences across age, gender, and racial strata. The Principal Investigator is Dr. Rebekah Levine Coley, joined by co-PIs Drs. Samantha Teixeira and Lacee Satcher, all of Boston College, and Dr. Tara Mandalaywala, at the University of Massachusetts.