UPCOMING AYPF EVENTS
Forum – Referrals to Mentoring for Youth Involved in the Juvenile Justice System, Friday, September 21, 2012, 10:00-11:30 a.m.
A new study that the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), U.S. Department of Justice, funded identifies promising practices and strategies to improve the point of referral for high-risk youth in juvenile justice settings. Researching the Referral Stage of Youth Mentoring in Six Juvenile Justice Settings: An Exploratory Analysis examines best practices for referring youth to mentoring when they are in juvenile detention, corrections, and probation; delinquency court; teen court/youth court (diversion programs); and dependency court. A delinquency prevention and intervention option that capitalizes on the resources of local communities and caring individuals, mentoring has emerged as a promising delinquency reduction strategy for high-risk youth. This quantitative and qualitative research study provides a deeper understanding of how youth are referred to mentoring services, challenges of the referral process, examples of effective strategies to face the challenges, and action steps. A team that included Global Youth Justice, National Partnership for Juvenile Services, and MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership conducted the research.
Presenters at the forum will include: Barbara Tatem Kelley, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, USDOJ; J. Mitchell Miller, Department of Criminal Justice, University of Texas at San Antonio; Pamela Clark, National Center for Youth in Custody; and Mary Midyette, Team Up Mentoring Program.
AYPF PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES
This briefing brought leaders in the online learning movement together to describe the online and blended learning landscape. Allison Powell, vice president of iNACOL, addressed the rapid growth of online learning, and Holly Sagues, Chief Policy Officer of Florida Virtual School, discussed how Florida has used online learning to expand access to public school courses. Included on this page are an Issue Brief, a Glossary of Terms, and a Resource List on online and blended learning.
Congressional Briefing 6 Video, Powerpoint and Resource List: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), with Linda Rosen, CEO, Change the Equation, Claus von Zastrow, Chief Operating Officer, Change the Equation, and Erik Robelen, Assistant Editor, Education Week
This briefing discussed the role of STEM in preparing America’s youth with the skills needed for jobs in today’s economy. It provided an overview of the critical nature of STEM education; highlighted the key issues involved in improving education in these subjects; reviewed the research about what practices are yielding results across the country; described the major federal policy initiatives related to STEM education; and examined the role of the federal government in driving STEM improvements. Included on this page are presenter Powerpoints, STEM Fast Facts, and a Resource List.
RECOMMENDED READING AND RESOURCES
Check these out – recommended reading from the AYPF staff
Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century The National Academies
Business and political leaders are increasingly asking schools to integrate development of skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, and collaboration into the teaching and learning of academic subjects. Collectively these skills are often referred to as “21st century skills” or “deeper learning.” This brief clarifies the meaning of “deeper learning” and “21st century skills;” examines links between 21st century competencies and adult outcomes; identifies instructional methods that can support students’ development of transferable knowledge and skills in a subject area; examines the Common Core State Standards in math and English language arts and NRC’s K-12 science education framework to assess how well they support deeper learning and 21st century competencies; and recommends that state and federal governments establish policies and programs to support students’ acquisition of transferable knowledge and skills.
Getting Ready for Success: Bridging the Gap between High School and College in Tacoma, Washington MDRC
It is now widely recognized that more young Americans than ever before will need postsecondary credentials in order to achieve economic self-sufficiency, which, in turn, is needed to maintain and strengthen our collective prosperity. This report describes the Getting Ready for Success Pilot Program of Tacoma, Washington, designed by the College Success Foundation, with support from MDRC. The report chronicles the success of the program, which works to strengthen students’ college readiness through both academic and social supports, and provides monetary incentives during the late high school and early college years to increase students’ motivation to succeed in college before, during, and after the transition from secondary to postsecondary school.
PolicyDirect.org: A New Resource for Postsecondary Research Institute for Higher Education Policy
The Institute for Higher Education Policy, with support from Lumina Foundation, has launched PolicyDirect, www.policydirect.org, a new Web site containing postsecondary education research for a policy-focused audience. The new site offers a broad collection of research summaries and synopses generated by a dynamic, evaluative process. Considering several criteria—including methodology, cost-effectiveness, and scalability—PolicyDirect experts each year evaluate research studies in 12 key topical areas. They then summarize the best research to provide easily digestible and bottom-line information that can be sorted by criteria and by topic.
2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book The Annie E. Casey Foundation
The report highlights major disparities among U.S. children along racial and ethnic lines. In its 23rd release of the Data Book, the Annie E. Casey Foundation broadened its index of 16 indicators of child well-being, organized into four categories: Economic Well-Being, Education, Health, and Family and Community.
Out-of-School Time Policy Commentary #17: The Common Core Standards: What do they Mean for Out-of-School Time? Forum for Youth Investment
The expansion of the Common Core State Standards in education opens new doors for out-of-school time (OST) providers to align their work with schools. The standards are front and center on the national stage as states, districts, schools and teachers prepare for their rollout over the next several years. Many OST programs are trying to figure out what exactly the standards cover, and how to support schools and districts in implementing them. This brief describes the Common Core, shares examples of OST programs and systems responding, and recommends how the OST field might think about alignment opportunities.
The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF), a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional development organization based in Washington, DC, provides learning opportunities for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers working on youth and education issues at the national, state, and local levels.
AYPF events and publications are made possible by a consortium of philanthropic foundations: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, William T. Grant Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York , State Farm Insurance, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and others.
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