Youth Development

Today, there is a stronger general understanding of how the foods we put in our bodies impact our physical health. We know healthy eating is a key contributor to energy…

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled on one of the most controversial issues in the last 50 years. It overturned Roe v. Wade, the…

The recently released 2022 Census statistics reveal two converging facts about the U.S. population: It is aging, and, simultaneously, becoming increasing racially and ethnically diverse. Indeed, according to a Census news…

In our classrooms at Woodland Pond School, we use the KWL discussion framework to introduce new ideas. It stands for Know Wonder Learn and allows students to explore concepts from a place…

Young Americans are most concerned about stopping school shootings (82 percent), reducing gun violence and mass shootings (72 percent), and protecting access to clean water and fresh air (72 percent),…

In our recent analysis of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a representative health survey of high school-age Americans at the school district, state and national levels, we found that about…

As schools and communities scramble to find more ways to support the well-being of youth amid a pandemic-fueled mental health crisis, some think part of the answer lies with students…

After two years of pandemic chaos, classroom disruptions, and trauma, this spring has seen school communities across the country rally their way back to something approximating normal. At the center…

There is widespread evidence that students in higher education have difficulty meeting their basic needs for food, housing, childcare, health care (including mental health care), transportation, and technology. Having inadequate access to these…

School buses are critical, though underappreciated, components of our school infrastructure. Nationally, over half of the nation’s 49.5 million K-12 students use the school bus to get to school each day,…

Inside a gym on Chicago’s West Side, young people are learning the discipline of boxing from proven trainers. But the benefits go beyond the sport – these same youth are…

After working in education for several years, Jerelyn Rodriguez grew incredibly frustrated with the single-minded focus many stakeholders had on college education as a tool for economic mobility. In response,…