As schools prepare to welcome students and educators back for the 2021-2022 school year, there are a number of pandemic-related issues to address and consider. Our experts offer their insights into these crucial issues and we provide some links to helpful resources and information.
Researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and funders are increasingly aware of the powerful potential for summertime experiences and the need to design, implement, and continuously improve summertime experiences for all.
AIR’s work in civic learning draws on the diverse content and methodological expertise of AIR staff and the collaborations we form with clients and partners. Our research and technical assistance cuts across several areas of civic learning.
The need for safety, support, and trusting, reciprocal relationships is especially important as we work to rebuild and return stronger than before COVID-19. This resource describes the role that afterschool and summer programs and systems can play and offers strategies for afterschool and summer programs and school leaders to work ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of collecting and using data with intentionality—especially when it comes to the well-being of young people. The Every Hour Counts Measurement Framework can help out-of-school time system leaders leverage data to improve the lives of young people. ...
During the past 20 years, the afterschool field has been held accountable in varying ways—first, on the ability to provide safe places for young people to spend time while their parents work; then, on success in helping to improve participants’ academic achievement as a supplement to the school day. This ...
Youth engagement is a “win-win proposition”—it benefits young people, adults, and organizations. AIR interviewed six youth development organizations in Chicago to learn about their youth engagement strategies. This brief highlights five youth engagement strategies.
Too many students, especially those with disabilities, lack basic reading and math skills or have serious disciplinary problems in school. In a special issue of Teaching Exceptional Children, edited by AIR's Maurice McInerney, experts from the National Center on Intensive Intervention offer educators practical suggestions to help meet the needs ...
Teacher shortages may be the most acute problem in special education. In this blog post, Lynn Holdheide and Jenny DeMonte explore the issue and ask, "What drives special education teachers out of that role? And how can we keep them?"
In this brief, AIR researchers offer a potential pathway to understanding how learning and development happen in quality afterschool and summer programs. This pathway emphasizes three key competencies—relationship skills, a sense of agency, and identity development—that research suggests can facilitate learning and development in other areas. ...