This episode features a conversation with Jason Sacks, President of Positive Coaching Alliance. For more than 25 years, PCA has worked to instill research and best practice in positive youth development into youth sports. There are more than 30 million young people participating in youth sports in the United States, although there are significant differences in access across communities, which is why a big part of PCA’s work is to advocate for greater equity in youth sports. PCA also offers training and resources to coaches, officials, parents, and youth to overcome the significant gaps in knowledge and capacity around positive youth development in youth sports. In part one of their conversation, Jason and Jason talk about the origins of PCA and its founder, Jim Thompson, who began the program out of Stanford University more than 25 years ago, the state of youth sports today for more than 30 million young people, including issues of equitable access, the pressures of winning cultures on youth and adults alike, the gap in training for coaches and the evidence-based workshops and resources PCA has developed and delivers to build knowledge and capacity of coaches in positive youth development.In part two, they talk about the range of content PCA offers in its training and resources for a variety of audiences, including not just coaches but also officials, parents, and youth athletes themselves, the work PCA is doing to assess and provide solutions for local communities to provide greater access to positive youth sports experiences, articularly in under-resourced communities, the partnerships PCA engages in - from community organizations, to school districts, to large, national youth sports associations, the results PCA is seeing in changes in behavior among adults, the sense of confidence and self-worth among youth, and for communities, how many young people stick with positive youth sports programs over time. They also talk about connecting positive youth sports experiences to other important outcomes we care about for youth, such as engagement in school, attendance, and even academic performance. And they discuss PCA’s plan to scale to reach seven million coaches over the next five years through advocacy, technology, and more partnerships. Additional Readings and ResourcesPositive Coaching AllianceJim ThompsonTraining & WorkshopsPartnershipsResults & ImpactGood Morning America segment: “Parenting playbook on how to handle bullying”Northwestern University Masters of Sports Administration Program

This episode features a conversation with Susan Rivers, Executive Director and Chief Scientist at iThrive Games. Through programs and partnerships, iThrive uses gaming and game design to promote social and emotional learning and positive youth development. In part one of their conversation, Susan and Jason talk about the founding of iThrive games, the aspects of gaming and game design that directly impact the learning and development of young people, the importance and utility of play in adolescent development, and how schools, especially middle schools, don’t make enough time and space for it, and iThrive’s core co-design approach that undergirds all of its program offerings that enable adolescents to be full participants in the game design process. In part two, they talk about the large suite of game-based curriculum products that iThrive offers for free that weave together social and emotional learning and youth development and how these offerings can help teachers tap into the developmental needs of adolescents to engage them in learning core academic content. They talk about how iThrive connects the game development experience with social issues that young people care about, how iThrive works with a variety of partners to bring the co-design process into their own offerings for young people, and the impact that iThrive is seeing among youth. Susan also shares how iThrive deals with concerns and push back from educators, parents and others on the impact of technology and gaming on young people, and what iThrive is planning to work on in the future with new partners and in new communities.Additional Readings and ResourcesiThrive GamesCo-Design ApproachCurriculumGame Design Studio ToolkitDisaster MindYale Center for Emotional IntelligenceEmotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel GoldmanSocial PsychologyCadence FordHistory Co:Lab

This episode features a conversation with Jean Eddy, CEO and President of American Student Assistance®. ASA is a national nonprofit changing the way kids learn about careers and prepare for their futures through equitable access to career readiness information and experiences. ASA helps middle and high school students to know themselves—their strengths and their interests—and understand their education and career options so that they can make informed decisions. The organization fulfills its mission – in schools and beyond the classroom—by providing free digital experiences directly to millions of students, and through advocacy, impact investing, thought leadership, and philanthropic support for educators, intermediaries, and others. ASA fosters a generation of confident, crisis-proof young people who are ready for whatever path comes next after high school.Jean is also the author of the new book, Crisis-Proofing Today’s Learners: Reimagining Career Education to Prepare Kids for Tomorrow's World. It’s a post-pandemic take on teaching and learning, advocating for approaches that build adaptive skills from a broader array of educational choices. In part one, Jean and Jason talk about how the current world in which youth are living influenced her thinking and reasons for writing the book, the people and partners she relied upon to share knowledge on what’s effective in career education for adolescents, the importance of helping young people develop the skill of adaptability given the ever-changing world and marketplace of careers, examples from around the world where education is centered on self-discovery, and what employers, educators, parents can do to help young people develop their own pathways to career.In part two they talk about how to ensure the time young people are already dedicating to the digital space is maximized for their long-term benefit, the interest in skills-based hiring among employers, the interest among Gen Z youth in pathways to employment outside the typical higher education experience, and the challenges for both of them to make alternative pathways more mainstream. They look at where career education fits within the school day, what ASA is doing to directly help young people gain skills and experiences to identify and forge their pathways, and to influence systems across the country that can better institutionalize career education for all young people, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds and with special needs. Additional Readings and ResourcesCrisis-Proofing Today's Learners: Reimagining Career Education to Prepare Kids for Tomorrow's WorldAmerican Student AssistanceAMLE/ ASA Career Exploration Resource Center Exploration Lab at district in MassachusettsLaunch Pad, Cajon Valley Union School DistrictRethinking Middle Grades initiative in DelawareEnderEpisode 26: Lessons with Julie Lammers & Dr. Rahul Choudaha Nancy Deutsch, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs Linda K. Bunker Professor of Education Director, Youth-Nex, University of VirginiaLisette Nieves, Distinguished Clinical Professor, New York University

This episode features a conversation with Stephanie Malia Krauss, author of the youth development-focused books Making It and her most recent release Whole Child, Whole Life. Stephanie has broad experience as an educator, school leader, youth worker, researcher, writer, and advocate. Having had a challenging educational experience herself as a young person, including dropping out of school after the eighth grade, Stephanie works to help adults who educate, develop and care for adolescents to better understand the array of factors that drive their growth and behavior so that adults can best prepare and support them along their developmental journey.In part one of our conversation, Stephanie and Jason talk about her motivations for writing her book, her approach to capturing and translating the volumes of research on adolescent learning and development in an accessible way for all readers while keeping true to the rigor of the research, and how youth are nestled within demographic and determinant profiles that help define who they are and can help adults best understand and support them.In part two, they talk about the meat of the book, namely the ten practices that adults do for kids to help them thrive, importantly starting with mental health, and including such factors as embracing culture and identities, nurturing social health through relationships and nudging social wealth through community support. They also talk about the centrality of belonging and what thriving actually looks like when you see it. And we learn about what Stephanie is doing now to get this knowledge out to those who need it.Additional Readings and ResourcesStephanie Malia KraussWholechildwholelife.comWhole Child, Whole Life: 10 Ways to Help Kids Live, Learn, and ThriveMaking It: What Today's Kids Need for Tomorrow's WorldTeach for AmericaOpportunity YouthForum for Youth InvestmentJobs for the Future Social and emotional learningEpisode 1: Lessons with Dr. Joanna Lee WilliamsSearch Institute CERES Institute for Children and YouthProfessor Jonathan Zaff

The Season 4 opener features a conversation with Dr. Alaina Johnson, a clinical psychologist and a mother of three creatively-driven boys. Alaina is the author of the book Parenting Talent: The Grown-Up’s Guide to Understanding and Supporting Creatively-Driven Teens and Tweens and she is the head of a practice by the same name specializing in coaching others and speaking and advising on the topic. The combination of Alaina’s professional background in psychology and personal experience with her three, creatively-driven boys, has enabled her to connect the dots between the science of adolescent development and the experience of young adolescents with certain creative talents, which, importantly, are not just innate traits that, some kids have just been lucky to be born with. In part one of their conversation, Alaina and Jason talk about her inspirations for writing the book, which include her own creatively-driven boys as well as a noticeable gap in information for parents like her to know how to understand and support them, what talent really means and the level of effort it requires among youth to actualize it, how the developmental changes in early adolescence affect youth in the creative arts in specific ways, including the development of identity and dealing with the many emotions that stem from vulnerability, and the evolution of young people’s awareness of their own ability to affect the world and their place in it.In part two, they talk about how parents and families can engage with creative teens and tweens in the most supportive and effective ways, including when and how to communicate, keeping pace with their rapid development to be in sync with what they need at their age and stage of development, and some of the particular issues the current generation of youth are faced with. We also talk about Alaina’s next steps in helping others understand and support their own creative teens and tweens at home.Additional Readings and ResourcesParenting Talent: The Grown-Up’s Guide to Understanding and Supporting Creatively-Driven Teens and TweensParenting TalentHaimovitz, Kyla, and Carol S. Dweck. “What Predicts Children’s Fixed and Growth Intelligence Mind-Sets?Not Their Parents’ Views of Intelligence but Their Parents’ Views of Failure.” Psychological Science 27, no. 6 (2016): 859–869.Jensen, Frances E. The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults. New York: Harper Paperbacks, 2016.Center for Parent and Teen CommunicationEpisode 29: Lessons with Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg and Dr. Jillian Baker

This episode features a conversation with Barbara Sipe, Jeanine Turner, and Amir Elsayed from the Richmond, Virginia-based nonprofit NextUp RVA. Barbara is President & CEO of NextUp, an organization that partners with schools, the district, the city, and the community to connect middle schoolers with quality out-of-school-time opportunities across the city of Richmond, as well as provide capacity-building and support for providers of expanded learning programs. Jeanine is Vice President of Strategic Partnerships & Programs for NextUp, and Amir is Senior Manager of Program Services. The level of effort in infrastructure and relationship-building required to provide equitable access to quality out-of-school time programs at a large scale is complex and intensive, and also essential to drive learning and development outcomes for young adolescents.In Part two of their conversation, Barbara, Jeanine, Amir and Jason talk about how NextUp tracks data to ensure quality of programming at scale, the impact that the organization is seeing among the students it serves, including early cohorts that are now graduating from high school, how NextUp and its partners have worked to be responsive to student needs in this moment in time, and what the organization is planning next to expand its value to the young and families of the city of Richmond.Additional Readings and ResourcesNextUpRVANetwork of program providersProvider professional development offeringsRichmond middle school partnersYouth Program FinderProgram outcomesRichmond Public SchoolsWallace Foundation Afterschool resourcesCitySpanDavid P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality

This episode features a conversation with Barbara Sipe, Jeanine Turner, and Amir Elsayed from the Richmond, Virginia-based nonprofit NextUp RVA. Barbara is President & CEO of NextUp, an organization that partners with schools, the district, the city, and the community to connect middle schoolers with quality out-of-school-time opportunities across the city of Richmond, as well as provide capacity-building and support for providers of expanded learning programs. Jeanine is Vice President of Strategic Partnerships & Programs for NextUp and Amir is Senior Manager of Program Services. The level of effort in infrastructure and relationship-building required to provide equitable access to quality out-of-school time programs at a large scale is complex and intensive, and also essential to drive learning and development outcomes for young adolescents.In part one of their conversation, Barbara, Jeanine, Amir and Jason talk about the origins and evolution of NextUpRVA and why middle school has been their focus from the very start, the array of partners the organization organizes and coordinates to make out-of-school opportunities available to students, the mechanisms to help young people make good choices in engaging in programs that are a good fit for their interests and needs, and the support NextUp offers to program providers to boost their capacity to serve young people.Additional Readings and ResourcesNextUpRVANetwork of program providersProvider professional development offeringsRichmond middle school partnersYouth Program FinderProgram outcomesRichmond Public SchoolsWallace Foundation Afterschool resourcesCitySpanDavid P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality

This episode features a conversation with David Strahan and Madison Sides White, coauthors of the recently released book “Teaching Well with Adolescent Learners.” David is Distinguished Professor emeritus at Western Carolina University having spent 50 years in education, largely focused on the development and preparation of teachers entering middle grade classrooms. Madison is a secondary English teacher in North Carolina. With a heavy use of narrative examples, their book attempts to bring together the research base in adolescent development and effective teaching in the middle grades, a combination that highlights how essential it is that teachers and students continuously build relationships of trust to foster positive social and academic development.In Part two of their conversation, David, Madison, and Jason talk about strategies for better linking academic and social learning, the importance of self-worth and efficacy and how showcases of learning can bolster those assets, approaches to engage the current Generation Z adolescents, plus the need for teachers to be responsive in their teaching, the current socio-political challenges in doing that, and what we can learn from that to better the teaching and learning process going forward. Additional Readings and ResourcesTeaching Well with Adolescent Learners: Responding to Developmental Changes in Middle School and High SchoolAssociation for Middle Level EducationWestern Carolina UniversityRowan-Salisbury School District

This episode features a conversation with David Strahan and Madison Sides White, coauthors of the recently released book “Teaching Well with Adolescent Learners.” David is Distinguished Professor emeritus at Western Carolina University having spent 50 years in education, largely focused on the development and preparation of teachers entering middle grade classrooms. Madison is a secondary English teacher in North Carolina. With a heavy use of narrative examples, their book attempts to bring together the research base in adolescent development and effective teaching in the middle grades, a combination that highlights how essential it is that teachers and students continuously build relationships of trust to foster positive social and academic development.In part one of their conversation, David, Madison, and Jason talk about how their book came about and how the current fragmented state of teacher education and preparation was a prime motivator for writing it, the ways in which the book brings together the latest research on adolescent learning and development and narratives that showcase teacher practice in their own voice, and why and how building a foundation of trusting relationships becomes a thriving environment of teaching and learning.Additional Readings and ResourcesTeaching Well with Adolescent Learners: Responding to Developmental Changes in Middle School and High SchoolAssociation for Middle Level EducationWestern Carolina UniversityRowan-Salisbury School District

This episode features a conversation with three professionals from Education Opens Doors, a Dallas-based nonprofit that works with Middle Schools, providing curriculum, professional learning and resources to help young adolescents be more informed about opportunities and choices for their future in high school, in college, and in careers. Kristen Pereira is Senior Curriculum Specialist, Kelsey Martin is Manager of Creative Projects, and Nia Cottonham is Implementation Manager. Together, they share how early adolescence is an ideal time to help young people explore their interests and learn practical skills and approaches to decision-making for turning those interests into their future learning, livelihood and life.  In Part two of their conversation, Kristen, Kelsey, Nia, and Jason drill deeper into the aspects of the program and how it is implemented. They talk about the ways Education Opens Doors leverages technology to challenge students in fun and engaging ways, the ways the programming prepares students for their next steps in high school and their opportunities for exploration and building self awareness and social capital, the program’s impact, especially in student engagement in learning, the ways the organization provides professional development and support and resources for teachers to implement the program, and the resources and supports for parents and families. They also reflect on how Education Opens Doors works to meet the unique circumstances and demands of this moment in time and what the organization is planning for its future growth and impact.  Additional Readings and ResourcesEducation Opens DoorsProgram modelDallas Independent School District Customized Program Sample:PPT: Lesson 10 - Writing My High School PlanExperience: Lesson 10 - Writing My High School PlanEOD Foundations Edition Program Sample: PPT: Unit 4 Lesson 2 - Career Research & YouExperience: Unit 4 Lesson 2 - Career Research & YouNextGen MentorshipSample: Identifying My Character StrengthsPartnership - Video TestimonialParent programming samplesM1: Social & Emotional Well-Being of a StudentM2: Supporting Strong Study HabitsM3: Building a High School PlanM4: Exploring Post-Secondary EducationM5: Proactively Planning for the FutureProgram impactProfessional learningSpark Program

This episode features a conversation with three professionals from Education Opens Doors, a Dallas-based nonprofit that works with Middle Schools, providing curriculum, professional learning and resources to help young adolescents be more informed about opportunities and choices for their future in high school, in college, and in careers. Kristen Pereira is Senior Curriculum Specialist, Kelsey Martin is Manager of Creative Projects, and Nia Cottonham is Implementation Manager. Together, they share how early adolescence is an ideal time to help young people explore their interests and learn practical skills and approaches to decision-making for turning those interests into their future learning, livelihood and life.  In part one of their conversation, Kristen, Kelsey, Nia, and Jason talk about the origins of Education Opens Doors, the program model, focused on helping students develop practical, success skills as well as find and unlock their interests and motivations as they think about and map out their futures, how the curriculum fits this particular generation of young adolescents in this particular social context, and the types of social and community impact they are particularly drawn to.   Additional Readings and ResourcesEducation Opens DoorsProgram modelDallas Independent School District Customized 16-Week Program Sample:In-Class PPT: Lesson 10 - Writing My High School PlanRise Exploration Experience: Lesson 10 - Writing My High School PlanEOD Foundations 1 - 11th Edition Program Sample: In-Class PPT: Unit 4 Lesson 2 - Career Research & YouRise Exploration Experience: Unit 4 Lesson 2 - Career Research & YouNextGen MentorshipProgram Sample: Identifying My Character StrengthsProgram Partnership - Video TestimonialParent programming samplesModule 1: Social & Emotional Well-Being of a StudentModule 2: Supporting Strong Study HabitsModule 3: Building a High School PlanModule 4: Exploring Post-Secondary EducationModule 5: Proactively Planning for the FutureProgram impactProfessional learningTeach for AmericaSpark Program

This episode features a conversation with Rob Winstead and Maria Bninski from VMDO, a 45-year-old architectural firm headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. Rob is Principal and K12 Studio Leader for VMDO, and Maria an associate architect. VMDO has built a long track record of leading edge design in learning spaces - K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and community recreational buildings. The firm stands out in its use of research science to create learning spaces that are attuned to the learning and development of students. Physical space can be an especially powerful influencer of educational engagement and performance, as well as positive development for young adolescents in the middle grades.In Part 2 of their conversation, Rob, Maria and Jason talk about how VMDO works in partnership with educators, students and communities to design learning spaces, what financial resources are required for these projects and how to think about managing those costs over time, and,how VMDO engages in research collaborations to contribute to the overall knowledge base in this area overlapping architecture and education.Additional Readings and ResourcesVMDOHarvard University Graduate School of Design, Department of ArchitectureUniversity of Virginia School of ArchitectureCenter for the Built Environment University of Virginia School of Education and Human DevelopmentYouth-Nex Center for Effective Youth DevelopmentBuford Middle School“Public School Facilities And Teaching: Washington, DC and Chicago,” Mark Schneider, State University of NewYork at Stony Brook, 2002.Plaza Life Revisited, SWA

This episode features a conversation with Rob Winstead and Maria Bninski from VMDO, a 45-year-old architectural firm headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. Rob is Principal and K12 Studio Leader for VMDO, and Maria an associate architect. VMDO has built a long track record of leading edge design in learning spaces - K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and community recreational buildings. The firm stands out in its use of research science to create learning spaces that are attuned to the learning and development of students. Physical space can be an especially powerful influencer of educational engagement and performance, as well as positive development for young adolescents in the middle grades.In Part 1 of their conversation, Rob, Maria and Jason talk about the beginnings of VMDO, the firm’s approach to designing physical space to support the learning and development, as well as the health and wellness of youth, and young adolescents in particular, using developmental science and extensive stakeholder engagement as foundational guides.Additional Readings and ResourcesVMDOHarvard University Graduate School of Design, Department of ArchitectureUniversity of Virginia School of ArchitectureCenter for the Built Environment University of Virginia School of Education and Human DevelopmentYouth-Nex Center for Effective Youth DevelopmentBuford Middle School“Public School Facilities And Teaching: Washington, DC and Chicago,” Mark Schneider, State University of NewYork at Stony Brook, 2002.Plaza Life Revisited, SWA

This episode features a conversation with Colleen Cicchetti and Caryn Curry from the Center for Childhood Resilience at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. Colleen is the founder and long-time Executive Director of the nearly 20-year-old Center, focused on providing access to high0-quality mental health services for children and adolescents. Caryn is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Mental Health Consultant for CCR. A 30-year veteran in the field, Caryn provides training, consultation and expertise for schools and school systems as well as out-of-school community and youth-serving organizations to build the capacity of adult educators and care-givers around trauma-informed and healing centered systems and practices, a capacity that ultimately underpins effective teaching and learning and positive youth development. In Part 2 of their conversation, Colleen, Caryn and Jason talk about the work that CCR does in both the in-school and out-of-school spaces, including helping schools establish comprehensive Behavioral Health Teams; and we talk about the widespread and long lasting impacts of trauma and the work of CCR to build capacity to implement trauma-informed practices.Additional Readings and ResourcesCenter for Childhood ResilienceBehavioral Health Team ModelTrauma trainingTrauma-Responsive SchoolsResilience Education to Advance Community Healing (REACH) Statewide InitiativeLurie Children’s HospitalCollaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional LearningIllinois Social and Emotional Learning StandardsIllinois Children’s Mental Health PartnershipBoys and Girls Club of ChicagoDePaul Community Health CentersGirls Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana

This episode features a conversation with Colleen Cicchetti and Caryn Curry from the Center for Childhood Resilience at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. Colleen is the founder and long-time Executive Director of the nearly 20-year-old Center, focused on providing access to high0-quality mental health services for children and adolescents. Caryn is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Mental Health Consultant for CCR. A 30-year veteran in the field, Caryn provides training, consultation and expertise for schools and school systems as well as out-of-school community and youth-serving organizations to build the capacity of adult educators and care-givers around trauma-informed and healing centered systems and practices, a capacity that ultimately underpins effective teaching and learning and positive youth development. In Part 1 of their conversation, Colleen, Caryn and Jason talk about the state of mental health among young people today, including the many societal forces affecting it, the origins of the Center for Childhood Resilience and the reasons for taking on the role of adult capacity building rather than direct student mental health services, and some of the the aspects of mental health specific to young adolescents.Additional Readings and ResourcesCenter for Childhood ResilienceBehavioral Health Team ModelTrauma trainingTrauma-Responsive SchoolsResilience Education to Advance Community Healing (REACH) Statewide InitiativeLurie Children’s HospitalCollaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional LearningIllinois Social and Emotional Learning StandardsIllinois Children’s Mental Health PartnershipBoys and Girls Club of ChicagoDePaul Community Health CentersGirls Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana

This episode features a conversation with Ron Berger, long-time educator and program developer and now Senior Advisor, Teaching and Learning for EL Education. Beginning more than 30 years ago, EL Education was born out of the Outward Bound model of experiential learning that centers around young people, and adults, building strong bonds with each other and exploring and influencing the world together rather than alone, an approach to education that has particular resonance for young adolescents.  In Part 2 of their conversation, Ron and Jason talk about EL’s open-source and highly rated and regarded English Language Arts curriculum and how it anchors experiential learning with rigorous, and standards-aligned content; they talk about EL’s newer foray into social and emotional learning with its advisory program, Crew; and they address the state of education today, how to meet the moment for young people given the impacts of the pandemic on learning and for teachers amid the backlashes around addressing issues of equity. Additional Readings and ResourcesEL EducationK-8 ELA curriculumCrew: A Teamwork Approach to School Culture and BelongingKurt Hahn“To Improve Students’ Mental Health, Schools Take a Team Approach,” by Laura van Straaten, The New York Times, October 7, 2022.Harvard Graduate School of EducationOutward BoundOutward Bound Middle School ExpeditionsNew American Schools Development CorporationNew American Schools’ Concept of Break the Mold Designs: How Designs Evolved and Why, by Susan J. Bodilly, RAND Corporation, 2001.Facing the Challenges of Whole-School Reform: New American Schools After a Decade, by Mark Berends, Susan J. Bodilly, and Sheila Nataraj Kirby, RAND Corporation, 2002.A Nation At Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform, a report to the Nation and the Secretary of Education, United States Department of Education, January 1, 1983.

This episode features a conversation with Ron Berger, long-time educator and program developer and now Senior Advisor, Teaching and Learning for EL Education. Beginning more than 30 years ago, EL Education was born out of the Outward Bound model of experiential learning that centers around young people, and adults, building strong bonds with each other and exploring and influencing the world together rather than alone, an approach to education that has particular resonance for young adolescents. In Part 1 of their conversation, Ron and Jason talk about the genesis of EL Education, the core features of its educational programs that appeal to young adolescent learning and development, like hands-on, real-world group learning expeditions and student-led assessment, plus examples from its partner schools on how these concepts of learning come to life.Additional Readings and ResourcesEL EducationK-8 ELA curriculumCrew: A Teamwork Approach to School Culture and BelongingKurt Hahn“To Improve Students’ Mental Health, Schools Take a Team Approach,” by Laura van Straaten, The New York Times, October 7, 2022.Harvard Graduate School of EducationOutward BoundOutward Bound Middle School ExpeditionsNew American Schools Development CorporationNew American Schools’ Concept of Break the Mold Designs: How Designs Evolved and Why, by Susan J. Bodilly, RAND Corporation, 2001.Facing the Challenges of Whole-School Reform: New American Schools After a Decade, by Mark Berends, Susan J. Bodilly, and Sheila Nataraj Kirby, RAND Corporation, 2002.A Nation At Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform, a report to the Nation and the Secretary of Education, United States Department of Education, January 1, 1983.

This episode features a conversation with Alex Usher and Alex Seeskin from the University of Chicago. Alex Usher is Associate Director for Data Research at the University of Chicago’s To&Through Project and Senior Research Analyst for the UChicago Consortium on School Research. Alex Seeskin is Director of The To&Through Project, which is housed at the UChicago Urban Education Institute. UChicago’s Consortium on School Research and the To&Through Project have been at the forefront of research into data that can determine whether students in elementary, middle and high school are on-track for on-time graduation and successfully transitioning into postsecondary options.In Part 2 of the conversation, Alex Usher, Alex Seeskin and Jason talk about the power of on-track indicators to show real-time trajectories of students; the two most critical thresholds across student grades and attendance that drive those trajectories; how educators can use these data to influence big picture school wide educational issues as well as interventions for individual students or specific groups of students; how think about moving the needle on student trajectories; and, what are some new research interests for the middle grades on the horizon.Additional Readings and ResourcesUniversity of Chicago To&Through ProjectMilestones Data ToolMiddle Grades Network“Elementary On-Track: Elementary School Students’ Grades, Attendance, and Future Outcomes,” Alex Seeskin, Thomas Massion, and Alexandra Usher, University of Chicago Research Report, October 2022.Foundations for Young Adult Success: A Developmental Framework, Jenny Nagayoka, et al., University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research, June 2015.“The On-Track Indicator as a Predictor of High School Graduation,” Elaine Allensworth and John Q. Easton, University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research, 2005.Consortium on Chicago School ResearchNetwork for College SuccessChicago Public Schools

This episode features a conversation with Alex Usher and Alex Seeskin from the University of Chicago. Alex Usher is Associate Director for Data Research at the University of Chicago’s To&Through Project and Senior Research Analyst for the UChicago Consortium on School Research. Alex Seeskin is Director of The To&Through Project, which is housed at the UChicago Urban Education Institute. UChicago’s Consortium on School Research and the To&Through Project have been at the forefront of research into data that can determine whether students in elementary, middle and high school are on-track for on-time graduation and successfully transitioning into postsecondary options.In Part 1 of the conversation, Alex Usher, Alex Seeskin and Jason talk about the To&Through Project and its unique partnership with Chicago Public Schools to access and analyze student data to understand performance, achievement and the educational experience; the underlying research behind on-track and early warning indicators; and, a new report from the University of Chicago that offers a research-based tool for middle grades educators to group students according to key factors that influence their long-term educational trajectories.Additional Readings and ResourcesUniversity of Chicago To&Through ProjectMilestones Data ToolMiddle Grades Network“Elementary On-Track: Elementary School Students’ Grades, Attendance, and Future Outcomes,” Alex Seeskin, Thomas Massion, and Alexandra Usher, University of Chicago Research Report, October 2022.Foundations for Young Adult Success: A Developmental Framework, Jenny Nagayoka, et al., University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research, June 2015.“The On-Track Indicator as a Predictor of High School Graduation,” Elaine Allensworth and John Q. Easton, University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research, 2005.Consortium on Chicago School ResearchNetwork for College SuccessChicago Public Schools

This episode features a conversation with Dr. Johari Harris, Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology at Kennesaw State University. Johari is also the director of Educating for Democracy, an initiative housed at the University of Virginia designed to combine the science of adolescent learning and development with the teaching of critical histories and supporting justice-oriented civic engagement.In Part 2 of their conversation, Johari and Jason talk about the Educating for Democracy Project, the resources that teachers can use in their classrooms to expose students to the many narratives that make up American history and civic life, how young adolescents are absorbing current events around the state of democracy and how to inspire them to be engaged citizens to shape a more just future. Additional Readings and ResourcesEducating for DemocracyTeacher ToolkitMiddle School UnitsProfiles of ResistanceKennesaw State UniversityHarlem Children's ZoneSocial and emotional learningSocial Cognitive Domain TheoryLarry Nucci, University of California at Berkeley“What Kind Of Citizen? The Politics Of Educating For Democracy,” Joel Westheimer, University of Ottawa and Joseph Kahne, Mills College, excerpted from “What Kind of Citizen? The Politics of Educating for Democracy” American Educational Research Journal. Volume 41 No. 2, Summer 2004, 237-269. Joanna Lee Williams, Associate Professor, School Psychology, Rutgers UniversityLessons in Adolescence, Episode One: Lessons with Dr. Joanna Lee Williams