The National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences has called for targeted efforts to engage underserved youth in environmental education programs that support environmental literacy and contribute to the development of a diverse workforce pipeline for environmental science-related occupations. Evidence suggests that career knowledge among…

Youth preparedness is all about teaching and training children and youth those skills that help them to be actively engaged in school safety every day and to be ready to jump in during and after emergencies. This Ready.gov article highlights several instances of how teens involved in Youth Preparedness Councils across the country stepped up to…

The paper discusses the use of "Productive Disciplinary Engagement" (PDE) for a curricular project that features a technology-based alternate reality game (ARG) with the objective of teaching undergraduate students about the collaborative nature of STEM careers. Much of the PDE research uses PDE as either a design-principle or as an…

In order to continue providing educational programming during or after a large emergency event, which may require school dismissal or closure, schools and districts should identify essential functions of the school that must continue under any and all circumstances. These essential functions will likely involve teaching and learning, the physical…

The decision on how to protect the children and youth while at schools is a serious conversation with varying agreements on the best practices. Some feel that school personnel should not be trained nor expected to be able to react to an armed person while others believe that training of school personnel and allowing them to be armed will deter…

On September 6, 2017, Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm packing winds of 185 miles per hour skirted the northern coast of Puerto Rico, leaving 1 million residents without electrical power. Schools were closed for 5 days, but a major calamity was narrowly avoided. Overall, residents were grateful for their good fortune, but the same could not be…

The purpose of this guide is to provide timely and useful best practice information for collecting and managing data about students who have temporarily or permanently enrolled in another school or district because of a crisis. It includes lessons learned and provides recommendations for collecting and maintaining data about students who may move…

The COVID-19 pandemic found many K-12 school leaders unprepared to deal with the magnitude and duration of this emergency. Dealing with sustained crises is not sufficiently addressed in most K-12 leadership programs, nor in the National Educational Leadership Preparation (NELP) standards (NPBEA, 2018). What can be done to better prepare leaders…

The purpose of this document is to provide timely and useful best practice information to help education agencies proactively prepare for, appropriately mitigate, and responsibly recover from a cybersecurity incident. This resource reflects lessons learned by the education community and provides recommendations that will help agencies protect…

School preparedness is strengthened by prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery activities (also known as the five preparedness mission areas). This fact sheet describes what prevention is, how prevention is connected to the other preparedness missions, what prevention efforts planning teams may want to consider, and how…

This Semiannual Report presents the activities and accomplishments of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Inspector General (OIG) from April 1, 2022, through September 30, 2022. The report highlights the audits, investigations, and related work issued during this time frame. Sections include: (1) Pandemic Relief Oversight; (2) Disaster…

Federal funds are one resource that state leaders can use to establish and/or supplement programming designed to diversify the teacher workforce. Though several federal funding streams can be used for this purpose, state and district leaders have a great opportunity to leverage COVID-relief funds to expand their diversity efforts. The primary…

In 2014, a mudslide devastated a small community in rural northwestern Washington State, taking 43 lives. The disaster created ripple effects that affected families, economies, transportation, and employment in neighboring communities. This article provides details of the state land-grant university's efforts to help affected communities recover.…

The emergency action plan (EAP) at physical education and sport venues is a necessity, no matter the level. Although medical emergencies are rare, an EAP helps to ensure a smooth response, necessary for positive outcomes. Many entities should be involved developing the EAP. All personnel who act in an emergency must be trained in first aid and…

The onset of the COVID-19 virus has tested education, social, and economic structures as the pandemic has spread around the world. UNESCOs monitoring indicates that over 181 countries have implemented nationwide school closures, impacting more than 1.5 billion students. Though many universities have some experience in online learning, they are not…