In this Issue: Science of Learning and Development | Summer Learning | School Reopening | Social and Emotional Learning

When my phone's emergency alert alarm went off at 3 pm Wednesday, I knew it wasn't a weather emergency. The Mayor was shutting down the city. I assumed that the violence many of us dreaded had started. It wasn't until I finished my virtual meetings and turned on the news, however, that I saw the scope and seriousness of the events. It did not take long to process them: White nationalists had successfully breached the U.S. Capitol. I am still working to fully understand the motivations of the leaders - from elected officials to law enforcement - who fueled that rage and then let this happen. This was not a natural disaster. This was a man-made disgrace.

What I am really struggling with is how to respond to them. What can I do? What should I do?

Opportunities to support young people’s learning and development are normally shared and spread across various spaces, places, and delivery modes in schools, community organizations, and families. We have robust ways to measure and evaluate learning in school systems, but how do we measure the impact of out-of-school (OST) settings?

Happy New Year! After a long and difficult 2020, the Forum for Youth Investment is committed to working with our partners, clients, and funders to build back together in new ways to meet the moment. Though the challenges we face may be great, we also see incredible opportunities and potential to change the odds that all young people are ready for college, work, and life.

In this Issue: Federal Policy | Collective Impact | Service Learning | Developmental Relationships

Health, Education, Child and Youth Development, and Nutrition Leaders Urge Incoming Biden Administration to Prioritize Office on Children and Youth.

In this Issue: Summer Learning | Out-of-School Time | Developmental Relationships

Edutopia, a trusted source shining a spotlight on what works in education, recently released a new collection of compelling videos that connect what we know about the science of learning and development with practical applications for educators and providers in all youth-serving settings. The collection highlights exemplary out-of-school time programs in four communities and examines the best practices at work. While the videos were filmed pre-COVID, the strategies and themes are more important than ever.

In recent years, communities caught the collective impact fever and established robust cross-sector collaborations to improve young people’s educational outcomes. Interest was booming. Businesses signed up. Expectations were high. What does research tell us about how these efforts have fared?

In this Issue: COVID-19 | Career Pathways | Summer Learning | Adolescence

Offering hybrid or virtual programming this fall? Quality matters in those spaces, too! This session was designed for those already familiar with observation assessment using the Youth and School Age PQA tools. Adaptations for use in virtual program settings, an overview of new PQA scoring options, and guidance for conducting assessments are covered in this recording.