Read results from our research and evaluation work.
Research
How can schools better support adolescent wellbeing? Perspectives from Richmond, VA
We wanted to know how schools can better support adolescents wellbeing from the perspective of teens living in our shared city. Our conversations suggest that investment in youth wellbeing does not necessarily require new curriculum, programs, or even staff. Learn about students' perspectives and the implications for youth-serving organizations.
Research
Whole-School Wellbeing: How Education Leaders Can Create a System Where Students and Teachers Thrive
We show how leaders at two schools created the conditions for students and teachers to thrive through creative staffing and budgeting, coherent structures, and a commitment to belonging and inclusion. However, these schools did not act alone. Learn how education and system leaders can create the conditions for teachers and students to thrive. and students to thrive.
Research
Learning to Get Along: VitalVoices Pilot Results
VitalVoices curriculum supports adolescent need for connection. Pilot results with two 5th grade classrooms suggest that students improved their ability to get along with one another, including those whom they perceive as different from themselves. These early results, based on a fraction of the total curriculum, are promising.
Research
Developing Homegrown Talent: Eight rural school districts are using career-connected learning to contribute to the local communities’ workforce
The Homegrown Talent Initiative is based on the bold premise that school districts can be engines of growth for rural communities and their economies.
Research
Putting Families at the Center: The Role of Parent Advocacy Groups during COVID-19
As school systems nationwide struggle to deliver learning in a pandemic, parent advocacy groups are stepping up to help Black and Hispanic families who have often been left out of previous education policymaking discussions.
Research
Case Studies: How 11 States Are Using Emergency Federal Funds to Make Improvements in College and Career Access That Will Endure Beyond the Pandemic
We identified 11 states that invested in initiatives that are designed to outlast the pandemic and have the potential to address long-standing gaps in college and career access.
Research
What Do We Actually Know About the Four-Day School Week?
What does the four-day school week means for students and communities: Is this a rural innovation born out of necessity—that with accountability and strategic use can result in improved student opportunities? Or is this fundamentally a negative trend?
Research
COVID–19 Showed Us How Important It Is to Focus on Adolescent Well-Being: Here Is What School Systems Should Do
States and districts should be using the pandemic as an opportunity to reassess how they support adolescents and their families. This doesn’t require radical redesign, fancy technology, or additional staff. Schools can make important changes with the resources they currently have.