School districts around the country are increasingly looking to community schools as models to both respond to ongoing youth and family needs made more poignant by the COVID-19 pandemic and as a platform for providing opportunities for positive youth development that accelerate equitable student outcomes in education, health, and employment. ...
The expanded learning field continues to bring multiple stakeholders together to advance program quality and research. This article from the Journal of Expanded Learning Opportunities features a dialogue on the topic of program quality in expanded learning programs between Michael Funk, afterschool division director for the California Department of Education, ...
Incorporating work-based learning into the curriculum as part of a career and technical education program may improve students’ readiness for college and careers. This study will provide the first causal evidence on the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of Virtual Enterprises, a year-long course in which students run a virtual firm. ...
AIR is partnering with the Urban Institute on this U.S. Department of Labor-funded initiative to build a “gold standard” infrastructure of national occupational frameworks and establish a new online collection of standards freely available for public use.
Living with a serious medical condition can be frightening and isolating for children. SeriousFun Children’s Network offers camps that “create opportunities for children and their families to reach beyond serious illness and discover joy, confidence, and a new world of possibilities, always free of charge.” In this Q&A, AIR's Allison ...
Researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and funders are increasingly aware of the powerful potential for summertime experiences and the need to design, implement, and continuously improve summertime experiences for all.
At this stage in the quality standards development process, you have brought together a collaborative group of stakeholders to research and design a set of afterschool quality standards, and you have successfully navigated the approval process in your state. You are now ready to share the standards with the field ...
Lacy Wood is a principal TA consultant for AIR. Wood has over 20 years of experience with information and support systems for school improvement and over 19 years of experience in family and community engagement. In her current role, Wood is the associate project director supporting technical assistance for the ...
Youth engagement is a “win-win proposition”—it benefits young people, adults, and organizations. AIR interviewed six youth development organizations in Chicago to learn about their youth engagement strategies. This brief highlights five youth engagement strategies.
Evidence-based health care information helps both the public and organizations make sound decisions. In this video, Erica Shelton shares how her experience as an emergency medicine physician plays a role in providing technical assistance at AIR, where she is a principal health clinician researcher.