The Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program aims to reduce youth substance use by fostering multi-sector collaboration and implementing locally tailored strategies within the community. This study is among the first to evaluate the program's impact on youth development outcomes in the United States. Using the Callaway and Sant'Anna (2021)…

The vast majority of youth experiencing symptoms of a mental health (MH) disorder never access services. Barriers to access include unawareness of symptoms or where to get help, stigma, or lack of transportation or finances. Many school, family, and community collaboration models have begun to enhance access to MH supports. The present study…

This research brief explores how emotions and relationships drive learning and are a fundamental part of how our brains develop. The authors explain how emotionally safe and cognitively stimulating environments contribute to brain development; how brain development that supports learning depends on social experiences; and how sensitive periods in…

Programs increasingly use community-based girl groups (CBGGs) to address risks and empower adolescent girls, but evidence on their impact is not always accessible to decision makers. A closer look at 30 CBGG programs in low- and middle-income countries found that CBGGs had the greatest reported success in improving health and gender attitudes and…

The author has written this Guidebook to assist users interested in creating a campus that will be more global in its mission, programs, and people. His approach is to focus on the views and contributions of the people who are engaged in higher education. Thus it has a "person" emphasis rather than a structural or policy point of view. The author…

This phenomenological case study explored the perceptions and experiences of mentors who work for a community-based mentoring program that was created to provide at-risk minority students with male role models. Most studies from the past 20 years have assessed mainly the academic, social, and emotional outcomes of mentoring among at-risk minority…

This report profiles the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Escalera Program: Taking Steps to Success, a Latino-serving, community-based youth workforce development program, which was developed in 2001 in partnership with the PepsiCo Foundation and PepsiCo, Inc. and expanded in 2008 with the support of Shell Oil Company. The Escalera Program:…

Although policymakers generally appreciate the value of crafting policies that are responsive to teacher and principal voice, doing so in a systematic way is challenging. Educator voices in the room when policies are made are often those of teachers and principals closest to policymakers. In 2019, to broaden the range of educator voices available…

Each state education agency (SEA) must address all required elements of the consolidated State plan. Although the information an SEA provides for each requirement will reflect that particular requirement, an SEA is encouraged to consider whether particular descriptions or strategies meet multiple requirements or goals. In developing its…

Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on Student Leadership and Engagement and includes: (1) Project Based Learning for Student Success--Teaching Across Content Areas for…

Out-of-school time programs provide intervention and prevention services to young people who are deemed "at-risk" with the goal of improving their social, emotional, and academic development. However, research indicates that children and youth who are most "at-risk" are less likely to participate in out-of-school time programs, and do so less…

The purpose of this study was to identify instructional strategies and support services of five learning community programs that focus on the retention of African American students at California Community Colleges. Empirical research indicates that colleges and universities have historically structured their curricula, student services programs,…

The Commission on International Adult Education (CIAE) of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) provides a forum for the discussion of international issues related to adult education in general, as well as adult education in various countries around the globe. The following purposes summarize the work of the…

Teng's (2007) article entitled "Lessons Learned from Initiating a Community College Learning Community Program" provided a foundation for community college leaders who are interested in working with faculty in creating a learning community on campus. Teng (2007) listed the five lessons that may be useful guidelines to other colleges who…

Assesses the first four and one-half years of an effort by a foundation in Chicago to promote children's and adolescents' social and academic development as part of a comprehensive community initiative. Examines the potential and challenges associated with the foundation's strategy of developing social capital within a network of schools and…