Evidence around adolescent learning and development is clear: School-family partnerships matter. However, traditional methods for engaging families that narrowly define who is involved and what constitutes involvement fall short of promoting optimal outcomes. Meaningful family engagement practices involve reciprocal, two-way interactions between…

The Annie E. Casey Foundation presents its vision for transforming juvenile probation into a focused intervention that promotes personal growth, positive behavior change and long-term success for youth who pose significant risks for serious offending. Nearly a half-million young people are given some form of probation annually and it serves as a…

In this executive summary, the Annie E. Casey Foundation presents its vision for transforming juvenile probation into a focused intervention that promotes personal growth, positive behavior change and long-term success for youth who pose significant risks for serious offending. Probation is the most common disposition in juvenile justice,…

The purpose of this article is to familiarize teachers with the concept of executive functioning and to provide them with a collection of strategies that they can use to help support middle and high school students with planning, organization, task-initiation, and impulse control.

This chapter focuses on vulnerable youth, the challenges they face during their transitions to adulthood, and the adverse effects of limited support systems on those transitions. The authors offer recommendations on how adult educators can help facilitate smooth transitions into adulthood for vulnerable youth.

This chapter considers how transitions to adulthood have been historically represented and presents alternative ways of thinking about transitions to adulthood through the context of adult basic education programs.

School start times for adolescents in the United States are typically too early to be healthy for this age group. There is significant evidence from the research literature that early starts have serious negative impacts on students. In particular, early education start times in adolescence cause chronic sleep deprivation, which damages both…

One of the central tenets of the neoliberal world view is that there is no alternative to market-based societies with their focus on competition, individualism, and the abandonment of social safety nets and environmental protections. This vision has become the new common sense. As neoliberal policies and practices have spread across the planet,…

To attain the most academic success among adolescent English Language Learners (ELL), the efforts of all the people associated with them must be combined along with multiple resources. Integration of curriculum content, instructional strategies, assessment, cultural responsiveness, and community resources are all critical components of success.…

The 4-H Program within Cooperative Extension is more than 100 years old. As we celebrate 100 years of Cooperative Extension, the foundation built by the 4-H Program serves as grounds to meet the needs of today's youth. The diversity of the youth who participate continues to grow, families continue to become less traditional, potential…

At a recent national forum at the Ford Foundation in New York, 140 education and youth development professionals discussed how to better support adolescent learning. Drawing on the discussion and the latest research in neuroscience, psychology and cognitive learning science, TASC presents an action agenda that can be tailored to circumstances in…

This article examines instructional strategies that middle school educators can use in inclusive settings in order to support the unique needs of culturally and linguistically diverse exceptional (CLDE) students. These nine strategies are appropriate for both typical and atypical learners in a whole group setting, but they are particularly useful…

The role of community in child and adolescent development is emerging as a significant area of theoretical inquiry, research, and application. This article describes the development and utilization of a comprehensive community change effort designed to increase the attention of all community members toward strengthening core developmental…

This issue of ETS Policy Notes (Vol. 21, No. 3) provides highlights from the symposium, "Black Male Teens: Moving to Success in the High School Years" held on June 24, 2013, in Washington, DC. The third in a series of four symposia cosponsored by ETS and the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), the seminar examined the education and status of…

Self-determination is essential to promoting successful transitions for students with and without disabilities. Numerous studies have found that positive relationships are central to the ability to be self-determined, thus making relationship building a key area to address to promote successful transitions. This article provides information on…