High-quality afterschool and summer learning programs are effective ways to support children and teens and accelerate their academic growth. In fact, the American Rescue Plan prioritized a significant amount of funding for out-of-school time programs because of the evidence of their effectiveness. Over the past few years, state educational…

This chapter surfaces examples of the ways educators, programs, and families are making connections to and from out-of-school time (OST) experiences and into other contexts in learners' lives, including additional programs, homes, communities, and schools. Through a review, the authors test, refine, and expand a design framework for connections…

Jennifer Peck and the Partnership for Children & Youth (PCY), the organization Peck co-founded 25 years ago, have played a critical behind-the-scenes role in creating the conditions that led to California's massive funding commitment to expanded learning, the umbrella term for programs that take place before school, after school, between…

This data brief, featuring infographics, provides a statistical overview of students attending public schools in non-rural areas, such as cities, suburbs, and towns. It delivers essential information for school leaders, parents, educators, and other stakeholders and is updated annually.

Uganda hosts the largest number of refugees of any country in Africa. To protect the rights of refugees in the country, Uganda has designed policies regarding the right to quality education participation and freedom of expression. The authors' non-profit organization, Africa Education & Leadership Initiative (Africa ELI), works with refugee…

Purpose: Countries with unique developmental paths and cultural lineages display significant variations in their out-of-school education systems. In this landscape, Belarus, a vestige of the disbanded Soviet Union, illustrates a distinct out-of-school education system, profoundly shaped by both Soviet and European Union countries' influences. A…

Prepandemic, the Denver-based African Leadership Group (ALG) helped immigrant families navigate public schooling, finding that districts generally did not respond adequately to immigrant students' and families' needs. Knowing that children from African immigrant families were among those most at risk of falling behind when COVID forced school…

Intentionally designed afterschool and summer programs can benefit students' social-emotional skills, accelerate their learning, and even increase their school attendance during the school year. This infographic touches on the value of these programs, possible barriers that might limit access to students, and states with innovative models.

Open badges are portable, digital credentials that offer the opportunity to reward learning in both formal and informal settings, providing an inventory of competencies and interests. Previously, a comprehensive framework of open badges in the 'Working Scientifically' strand of the National Curriculum in England (ages 5-16), extending into post-16…

Tutoring has always been a salient part of education and schooling. When attending elementary school, 1934-1942, selected pupils were tutored after school, free, with no extra salary for teachers. It was then considered customary, evidently, for teachers to tutor those needing extra assistance.

The Twilight School at Danbury High School in Connecticut helps students who are in danger of failing their freshman year to get back on track. In its first year, the program offered special credit-bearing after-school courses in biology and English to students who failed those classes in their first semester. The smaller class sizes and informal…

This article explores the triumphs and tensions inherent in coaching adolescent male singers, particularly when blending skill-building and performance preparation.

Algodoo (http://www.algodoo.com) is a digital sandbox for physics 2D simulations. It allows students and teachers to easily create simulated "scenes" and explore physics through a user-friendly and visually attractive interface. In this paper, we present different ways in which students and teachers can use Algodoo to visualize and solve…

Ensuring all children and youth thrive as they move through school and into their adult lives requires that they have the opportunity to develop the skills and competencies that will help them land their first job, navigate and overcome the challenges they will face, keep positive relationships, and make good decisions. While families are central…

Students learn or progress at their own paces. How can schools make sure that they get the help they need--and only the help they need? Many are turning to multi-tiered systems of support. This brief provides some practical considerations for schools contemplating tiered approaches.