Resource Database

A brief from AIR's Center for College and Career Readiness outlines provisions under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that support college and career readiness for students with disabilities. The brief is also discussed in a webinar on supporting students through personalized learning that was hosted by the American Youth Policy Forum.

The U.S. Department of Education's Y4Y web portal is offering a family engagement virtual institute for 21st CCLC grantees. The virtual institute is divided into three 1-week segments that are available on demand. Each segment includes a webinar recording, presentation materials, links to resources, and handouts.

This research brief from ExpandED Schools reports on findings from the organization's STEM Educators Academy. Piloted in 2013-14, the initiative included joint professional development at premiere science institutions for school teachers and afterschool instructors. After returning to their schools, participants team-taught STEM activities that connected school day and afterschool learning. Recommendations in the brief include encouraging collaborative teaching, using data to drive professional development, and allowing time for teaching teams to plan.

The PBS Kids’ environmental science website Plum Landing offers activities and tools for students ages 6 to 9 to help build science skills. The site includes videos, activities, games, and standards-based tools for educators.

This webinar recording from Click2Science explores coaching as a professional development strategy. Although the website focuses on STEM, the coaching activities and resources can be applied to a range of afterschool programming activities.

Intentional activity design can mean the difference between an activity that simply fills time and one that helps students achieve meaningful goals. This blog post from the U.S. Department of Education's Y4Y web portal includes guiding questions for creating intentional activities with a clear purpose, an activity design diagram, and links to other resources.

A new meta-analysis from Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning examines the effects of school-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. The study found some SEL interventions can have long-term positive academic and behavioral benefits for students.

A new research story from the Harvard Graduate School of Education examines students' abilities to exercise self-control. The story cites studies that found that voluntary agreements to restrictions or penalties are not enough to help students improve behaviors, even when students are motivated to change. The story suggests that educators work with students to co-create environments where students can engage in positive behavior and also give students a sense of agency in selecting strategies that can help them improve behavior.

Published in Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, this article examines the role of sports participation in the lives of socially vulnerable youth. Based on interviews with 10 young adults, the article describes sports participation as providing a safe place, a venue for learning life skills, an instrument for reaching goals, and a sense of purpose for socially vulnerable youth.

The latest issue of Afterschool Matters, a peer-reviewed journal of the National Institute on Out-of-School Time, has a variety of articles to inform and educate your afterschool team. Topics include equity and inclusion, mentoring, motivating students with video games, and how afterschool can affect students' sense of autonomy.