Recommended Resources

Rapid Resources
The Arc - Inclusive Volunteering
The Arc - Inclusive Volunteering
The Arc - Inclusive Volunteering

This webpage explains how community organizations can include individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in volunteering. The page also includes volunteering resources and tips.
Rapid Resources
Why Chronic Absence Matters for Faith Leaders
Why Chronic Absence Matters for Faith Leaders
Why Chronic Absence Matters for Faith Leaders

Attendance Works provides recommendations to faith-based leaders on how better prepare children for the future.
Best Practices
Strengthening Life Skills for Youth: A Practical Guide to Quality Programming
Strengthening Life Skills for Youth: A Practical Guide to Quality Programming
Strengthening Life Skills for Youth: A Practical Guide to Quality Programming

This guide helps donors and youth-serving organizations in enhancing the design, planning, implementation, and evaluation of life skills programming and training based on the International Youth Foundation (IYF) nine Life Skills Standards of Excellence.
Rapid Resources
What Employers Can Do for Employees Whose Children Have Special Needs
What Employers Can Do for Employees Whose Children Have Special Needs
What Employers Can Do for Employees Whose Children Have Special Needs

This article helps working parents of children with special needs identity what they should look for in a company. It also helps employers see how they can better serve their employees.
Rapid Resources
Afterschool Toolkit: Community to Business
Afterschool Toolkit: Community to Business
Afterschool Toolkit: Community to Business

This toolkit helps after-school advocates form partnerships benefitting the business community, after-school programs, parents, and the youth who need these programs.
Best Practices
What Are 21st Century Skills?
What Are 21st Century Skills?
What Are 21st Century Skills?

This list describes 21st Century skills, how they help students, and their importance for career success.
Rapid Resources
The Impact of Stress on Students in Secondary School and Higher Education
The Impact of Stress on Students in Secondary School and Higher Education
The Impact of Stress on Students in Secondary School and Higher Education

This article presents the most recent research concerning the impact of academic-related stress, including discussion of the impact on students’ learning capacity and academic performance, mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, sleep disturbances and substance use.
Rapid Resources
Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAP) General Fact Sheet
Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAP) General Fact Sheet
Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAP) General Fact Sheet

This fact sheet details Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAP) requirements and the importance of IRAPs.
Rapid Resources
Teaching Teenagers to Develop Their Emotional Intelligence
Teaching Teenagers to Develop Their Emotional Intelligence
Teaching Teenagers to Develop Their Emotional Intelligence

This article discusses the importance of teaching teenagers social and emotional learning in improving career outcomes.
Best Practices
State and Federal Investments in Afterschool Programs
State and Federal Investments in Afterschool Programs
State and Federal Investments in Afterschool Programs

This article details how states and the federal government fund after-school and summer programs.
Rapid Resources
Expanding Learning Opportunities Through Afterschool Programs
Expanding Learning Opportunities Through Afterschool Programs
Expanding Learning Opportunities Through Afterschool Programs

This article describes how after-school and community-based programs are funded and supported legislatively.
Rapid Resources
Study about Religions in the Social Studies Curriculum
Study about Religions in the Social Studies Curriculum
Study about Religions in the Social Studies Curriculum

This position statement informs the general public, the K-12 community, and educators about the importance of teaching world religions in the social studies curriculum in ways that are constitutionally and academically sound.
Best Practices
Elements of Successful Schools
Elements of Successful Schools
Elements of Successful Schools

This article identifies six critical elements that impact several important aspects of schooling.
Rapid Resources
Helping Youth Transition to Adulthood: Guidance for Foster Parents
Helping Youth Transition to Adulthood: Guidance for Foster Parents
Helping Youth Transition to Adulthood: Guidance for Foster Parents

This fact sheet guides on how parents can help youth build a foundation for a successful transition to adult life outside of foster care. It also describes the challenges youth face, the effects of adolescent brain changes, and Federal laws and programs.
Reports
The Misdiagnosis of Special Education Costs
The Misdiagnosis of Special Education Costs
The Misdiagnosis of Special Education Costs

This report looks at the factors leading to increased special education costs for districts.
Best Practices
Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (PECAT)
Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (PECAT)
Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (PECAT)

This tool helps school districts and schools conduct a clear, complete, and consistent analysis of physical education curricula for K–12 students.
Rapid Resources
New and Alternative Sources of Student Support and Funding
New and Alternative Sources of Student Support and Funding
New and Alternative Sources of Student Support and Funding

This resource provides a list of philanthropic organizations and city/county funding streams for districts/schools seeking alternative resources to provide students with necessary supports and services.
Reports
Investing for Student Success Lessons From State School Finance Reforms
Investing for Student Success Lessons From State School Finance Reforms
Investing for Student Success Lessons From State School Finance Reforms

This report looks at how federal and state governments can invest resources to achieve high-quality education and student success in ways that redress the effects of inequities and historical discrimination. The report also reviews resource inequalities in U.S. schools. It analyzes the results of efforts to address these inequalities, examining recent research on the outcomes of school finance reforms nationally and in four states—Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and North Carolina. The report also contains recommendations for federal and state actions that could support greater resource equity.
Reports
Attendance Playbook: Smart Solutions for Reducing Chronic Absenteeism
Attendance Playbook: Smart Solutions for Reducing Chronic Absenteeism
Attendance Playbook: Smart Solutions for Reducing Chronic Absenteeism

This resource provides local policymakers and educators with nearly two dozen practical strategies for improving attendance that have proven track records and in many instances are easy to introduce and simple to scale.
Rapid Resources
A Guide to Understanding Career and Technical Education
A Guide to Understanding Career and Technical Education
A Guide to Understanding Career and Technical Education

This guide provides a summary of the value of Career and Technical Education as well as a glossary of terms, branches of government, business associations, and student organizations meant for anyone conducting outreach in the CTE Community.
Best Practices
Success with STEM Toolkit
Success with STEM Toolkit
Success with STEM Toolkit

This toolkit helps users engage with a diverse set of stakeholders about the importance of high- quality STEM teaching and learning.
Rapid Resources
Physical Education and Physical Activity in Schools
Physical Education and Physical Activity in Schools
Physical Education and Physical Activity in Schools

This webpage offers specific policy recommendations to ensure more children in the United States have consistent access to healthy foods from the earliest days of life. The page also has feature studies and resources highlighting physical education and obesity among K-12 students.
Rapid Resources
Microsoft, Verizon, and Other Big U.S. Companies Design Their Ideal High School Courses
Microsoft, Verizon, and Other Big U.S. Companies Design Their Ideal High School Courses
Microsoft, Verizon, and Other Big U.S. Companies Design Their Ideal High School Courses

This article details what courses executives at major companies would like to see in high schools.
Rapid Resources
Why Social and Emotional Learning and Employability Skills Should Be Prioritized in Education
Why Social and Emotional Learning and Employability Skills Should Be Prioritized in Education
Why Social and Emotional Learning and Employability Skills Should Be Prioritized in Education

This brief highlights the need for social and emotional learning in schools as a key of success to workforce development.