Every aspect of community life has been disrupted, from the economy to the family. Disruptions on multiple fronts have wreaked havoc with young people’s rhythms, relationships and responsibilities. Coordinated responses are desperately needed, especially among the people, places, and spaces where young people spend their time.

One of the advantages of all of us being virtual is that we are getting really good at “warm welcomes” — ways to bring participants into a shared space with a quick exercise that asks them to think quickly and share. I loved this one, used yesterday to kick off the second day of rich discussions with members and friends of CASEL’s Collaborating States Initiative.

In this Issue: Social and Emotional Learning | Graduation | Youth Voice | School Reopening

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.

In this Issue: Social and Emotional Learning | Out-of-School Time Systems | Whole Child Approach

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.

As we all navigate this pandemic, the Forum seeks to offer reflections, tools, and resources – both our own and those from other leading national organizations – to help us all keep children and youth at the center as we’re adjusting. For example, in Karen’s recent blog, “What Happens When Out-of-School Time is All the Time?”, she ponders the critical questions of how we handle learning in this new age of social distancing.