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Relationships with Caring Adults and Social and Emotional Strengths Are Related to High School Academic Achievement

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By Vanessa Sacks, Rebecca M. Jones, Hannah Rackers, Zakia Redd, & Kristin Anderson Moore, Reprinted from Child Trends youthCONNECT is an integrated student supports initiative, developed by Venture Philanthropy Partners (VPP), that is being implemented in Prince George’s County, Maryland, in partnership with the Prince George’s County government and Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS). […]

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Paper explores positive youth development in the context of COVID

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Ettekal, A. V., & Agans, J. P. (2020). Positive Youth Development Through Leisure: Confronting the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Youth Development, 15(2), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.5195/jyd.2020.962 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest: The COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting youth out-of-school-time programs (OST) and positive youth development in many detrimental ways.  Because youth programs are one of the […]

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What Works In Mentoring? New UVA Scale Can Shed Light

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By Stell Simonton, Youth Today What makes mentoring programs effective? And what makes some programs more effective than others? These questions have existed for years in youth development research. “We knew there was good empirical evidence for mentoring, but we didn’t know why. We just knew it showed benefits,” said Patrick H. Tolan, the Charles […]

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Lessons Learned for Improving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from Y-USA’s Out-of-School Time Programs

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By Zakia Redd, Kristine Andrews, and Fadumo M. Abdi, Child Trends The following is an executive summary of a longer brief, which is available here. Youth development program practitioners, policymakers, and funders are increasingly interested in how out-of-school time (OST) programs can effectively reach and engage diverse populations of young people. Indeed, research indicates that […]

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How interpersonal dynamics impact mentee-perceived outcomes

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Shier, M. L., Larsen-Halikowski, J., & Gouthro, S. (2020). Interpersonal Dynamics Shaping Positive Mentee and Mentor Relationships. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-020-00660-w Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest:   Despite the growing literature on mentoring, there’s still a lack of research on youth’s interests and priorities in mentoring, as well as the effectiveness and […]

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How positive staff relationship and support can encourage youth to be more active.

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Riciputi, S., McDonough, M. H., Snyder, F. J., McDavid, M. L. (2019). Staff Support Promotes Engagement in a Physical Activity-Based Positive Youth Development Program for Youth From Low-Income Families. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/spy0000169 Summarized by Karina DeAndrade Notes of Interest: In this study, researchers sought to examine if the relationship between staff and […]

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What youth-serving groups can learn by using frameworks from other fields

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By Rebecca Fabiano, Youth Today I am known to borrow tips, tricks and tools from all kinds of sources. I rely on a multitude of frameworks from the field of youth development to support or further the work I do. You may be familiar with the Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets Framework or their Developmental Relationships Framework? Maybe […]

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Campus coaches make crucial difference to foster youth in college

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By Katy Reckdahl, Youth Today Liz Burns, 22, was in the middle of a crazy-busy time at college. But, for some reason, she couldn’t stop thinking about her older brother. She texted him and got what she called “a scary” answer. So she called their aunt, who confirmed that her brother had just gotten out […]

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How ‘grit’ takes a toll on black college students

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By Joan Brasher Researchers have documented that black college students draw on ‘grit’—mental toughness and perseverance—to achieve in predominantly white academic institutions. But a new Vanderbilt study says that notion fails to recognize an emerging mental health crisis for these students. “Weathering the cumulative effects of living in a society characterized by white dominance and […]

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Youth anxiety: What to say when your mentee is anxious

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Written by Carey Wallace, time.com Today’s kids are more worried than any kids in recent history. According to some long-term surveys of mental-health literature, the average kid today is more anxious than people who were hospitalized for anxiety in the 1950s. And those worries tend to intensify around times of transition — like the start […]

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