Initiatives for outdoor education have gained popularity because of their capacity to boost teacher well-being, foster better mental health in instructors, and enrich the learning environment for students. We demonstrate the influence that outside education programs have on the achievement of students and how they create a vivid tapestry of…

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in widespread school closures globally, including in Kenya. This educational disruption had potential adverse consequences for adolescent school learners including school dropout, learning loss, opportunity losses, loss of previously acquired skills, and loss of socio-emotional benefits of time spent with peers and…

This report is part of a series that aims to provide a definitive account of the best available evidence on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected America's students. The series is part of a broader effort, the Evidence Project, which brings together researchers and policymakers to advance solutions-oriented analysis of the K-12 response to the…

In the United States, student social-emotional well-being has become a priority because of concerning mental health and well-being outcomes for adolescent youth. High schools and school districts have responded by expanding mental health and social-emotional supports. However, there is little research to understand the ways in which educational…

Recent decades have seen a rise in mental health problems among children and adolescents. Despite a proliferation of studies describing effective school-based mental health programs, reviews of current research in this field suggest a strong lack of consensus concerning the definition of school mental health and its constructs. In the present…

A grassroots understanding of well-being can be an effective approach to meeting the needs of children in low-resource settings. Due to this, evidence on how to sustain such approaches is needed. "Successful Pathways for the Well-Being of Black Students" addresses a long-standing need for a book that focuses more on strength over…

Skateboarding, widely popular and often misunderstood, occupies a unique space in US society. Despite skateboarding's popularity little is known about the effects of skateboarding on youth and their educational and career trajectories. This report outlines the current landscape of skateboarding at this socio-historical moment in time--prior to…

The pandemic affected the lives and social-emotional experiences of every student to some extent. Along with the unprecedented closures of schools across the country in March 2020, virtually all social activities ceased. Students were cut off from their teachers, with uneven access to live instruction and hands-on, collaborative learning. There…

"The Role of Risk: Mentoring Experiences and Outcomes for Youth with Varying Risk Profiles" presents findings from the first large-scale study to examine how the levels and types of risk youth face may influence their relationships with program-assigned mentors and the benefits they derive from these relationships. The study looked…

"The Role of Risk: Mentoring Experiences and Outcomes for Youth with Varying Risk Profiles" presents findings from the first large-scale study to examine how the levels and types of risk youth face may influence their relationships with program-assigned mentors and the benefits they derive from these relationships. The study looked…

Young people who are leaving the foster care and juvenile justice systems often experience a difficult transition to adulthood that is characterized by a number of troubling outcomes, including poverty, low levels of education and employment, and housing instability. While some services are available for these populations, there is little evidence…

The Promising Practices Network (PPN) on Children, Families and Communities (www.promisingpractices.net) began as a partnership between four state-level organizations that help public and private organizations improve the well-being of children and families. The PPN website, archived in June 2014, featured summaries of programs and practices that…

In 2000, the California State Legislature passed the Schiff-Cardenas Crime Prevention Act, which authorized funding for county juvenile-justice programs and designated the Corrections Standards Authority (CSA) (formerly named the Board of Corrections) the administrator of funding. A 2001 California Senate bill extended the funding and changed the…

As states confront budget shortfalls, investment in mental health services faces the chopping block. Almost every state has instituted cost containment strategies in its Medicaid programs and state policymakers have begun to cut services for people with mental health treatment needs. The first part of this report presents research on state cuts to…

Child welfare directors in 19 states and juvenile justice officials in 30 counties estimated that in fiscal year 2001 parents placed over 12,700 children into the child welfare or juvenile justice systems so that these children could receive mental health services. Neither the child welfare nor the juvenile justice system was designed to serve…