We’ve experienced a summer like no other, and Karen Pittman recently spoke with Catherine Augustine from the RAND Corporation and Melanie Claxton with Pittsburgh Public Schools to explore how districts have adapted to this new form of virtual educational engagement, and what lessons may be applied to virtual or hybrid school environments for the 2020-21 school year.

The potential for thriving is universal, but so too is the existence of adversity. Young people can overcome adversities, but the ease of doing so is not equally shared. Opportunity structures – in schools, communities, and society – make it easier for some youth to avoid or buffer the impacts of adversity than others.
A new report from the Readiness Projects partners, Thriving, Robust Equity, and Transformative Learning & Development, speaks to the needs of all youth, as every youth can benefit from robust approaches to thriving, equity, and learning.

Recently, the Forum for Youth Investment, the National Urban League, and the American Institutes for Research united to start the Readiness Projects, an effort to devote time, resources, and perspectives to stimulate equity-driven solutions and policies.

To further this effort, the partners have launched a new blog on Medium, Changing the Odds for Youth: A Community Dialogue on What it Will Take, to start a critical conversation on what we must do to upend inequities and build back better and broader together.

Developing powerful environments where youth can thrive requires coordination, critical backbone services, supports, and continuous quality improvement. The American Institutes for Research (AIR) and The Opportunity Project (Tulsa, OK) presented this webinar focused on integrating learning systems through quality expanded learning opportunities.