Research informs our approach. Pilot results will determine what we expand.
If school doesn’t teach life, we’re leaving kids exposed.
Remodel Education modernizes K‑12 with survival skills, arts, and structured after‑school programs—targeting the same hours and behaviors that predict long‑term failure and community harm.
Summary
- K‑12 core skills are weak: Nationally, only ~3 in 10 students reach NAEP “Proficient” in reading; math is modestly better in grade 4 and worse in grade 8.
- California underperforms the U.S. average on NAEP in both reading and math (grades 4 and 8).
- Adult literacy/numeracy are also deteriorating: In 2023, 28% of U.S. adults scored at the lowest level in literacy and 34% in numeracy (both worse than 2017).
- Extracurricular demand is far above supply: 24.7M kids would enroll in afterschool if available; 7.8M kids are unsupervised after school.
- Arts access is incomplete/unequal: In California, only 11% of public schools offered sequential, standards-based coursework in all four arts disciplines (music, visual art, theatre, dance).
- Education and crime are statistically linked:
- County-level data show strong negative correlations between test scores/graduation and homicide rates, including in California. (Correlation ≠ causation, but direction is consistent.)
- Causal research finds more schooling reduces crime.
- After‑school time is a known risk window for youth violence.
- Adult skills (PIAAC 2023, ages 16–65) Lowest proficiency (Level 1 or below):
- Literacy: 28% (up from 19% in 2017)
- Numeracy: 34% (up from 29% in 2017)
- Adaptive problem solving: 32%
If you want measurable movement on public safety + workforce readiness, the data supports a strategy of:
1. Raise literacy and math, and
2. Increase engagement + protective factors through survival skills (personal finance/home economics), extracurriculars/after‑school, and arts—because disengagement tracks with crime risk, and multiple program evaluations show reductions in delinquency/discipline. Establish safety for women and children including self-defense education.
Why this matters for “survival skills + extracurriculars + arts”
Those program types are primarily engagement and attachment mechanisms. If you reduce “disconnected youth” and improve achievement/attendance, you’re pushing on variables that—at area level—track strongly with crime outcomes.
What the research shows (causal evidence, not just correlation)
- Education reduces crime (econometric causal work): Lochner & Moretti find that increases in schooling (including high school completion) are associated with reduced crime, and that the social savings from reduced crime are a meaningful share of the return to education.
- Dropout and arrest risk: A study of dropout prevention effects reports that high school dropouts are ~2–3x more likely to be arrested than high school graduates.
- Truancy as a pathway risk: DOJ/OJJDP frames truancy as an early step associated with later serious problems (including delinquency).
What program evaluations show (extracurricular/after‑school/arts)
After‑school risk window
- Juvenile violent crime peaks right after school (around 3–4 PM on school days).
This is the cleanest “mechanism” argument for expanded after ‑school programming.
Afterschool programs reducing delinquency
- A review/evaluation literature reports measurable reductions in police reports in areas with structured youth programming (example: Boys & Girls Clubs beat-level comparison showing fewer police reports).
Mentoring / structured extracurricular support
- Big Brothers Big Sisters evaluation: youth in the program were 46% less likely to start using drugs, 27% less likely to start using alcohol, and 54% less likely to be arrested during the follow-up window.
Arts programming and behavior
- Houston randomized/lottery study of arts exposure found a reduction in disciplinary infractions (a leading indicator for later delinquency), alongside improvements in some academic and socioemotional measures.
- After‑school arts programs have been associated with reductions in juvenile crime at the city level (reported average drop cited in arts-sector research).
Core+ Extended Learning | Mastery (Literacy + Math)
- Evidence-based instruction + targeted tutoring where needed
- Survival Skills (Home Economics for modern life)
- Personal finance, budgeting, consumer skills, nutrition/cooking, first aid, digital safety
- California has already recognized this need by adding a standalone personal finance course requirement for the graduating class of 2030–31—we help communities implement earlier and better.
- Belonging (Extracurriculars + Mentoring)
- Clubs, athletics, service, leadership; transcript recognition
- Mentoring programs have shown major reductions in arrests for participating youth.
- Creativity (Arts access + practice)
- Arts in-school + afterschool pathways
- Randomized arts access evidence shows reduced disciplinary infractions.
- Structure after school (Safety + opportunity)
- Afterschool coverage focused on the students and campuses with the highest need
- Targets the time window when juvenile violence peaks.
- Safety for women and children including self-defense education