Grades 7-9

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.

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.

What Are 21st Century Skills?

This list describes 21st Century skills, how they help students, and their importance for career success.

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.

State and Federal Investments in Afterschool Programs

This article details how states and the federal government fund after-school and summer programs.

Expanding Learning Opportunities Through Afterschool Programs

This article describes how after-school and community-based programs are funded and supported legislatively.

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.

Elements of Successful Schools

This article identifies six critical elements that impact several important aspects of schooling.

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.

The Misdiagnosis of Special Education Costs

This report looks at the factors leading to increased special education costs for districts.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

U.S. Businesses Need More Multilingual Employees

This report provides additional information supporting the claim that learning a new language opens career paths and increases employment opportunities for students.

Students in Special Ed Gain Real-Life Experience

This article describes how a Texas school district offers special-needs students opportunities to receive hands-on training that will allow them to flourish in the real world through work-based learning programs at various schools across the district.

Ready for Work? How Afterschool Programs Can Support Employability Through Social and Emotional Learning

This brief defines employability skills overall with a focus on social and emotional competencies and research on why they are essential. It also discusses how social and emotional learning programs and practices can support the development of these skills and how after-school and expanded learning settings are an ideal place for this to happen.

Leveraging National Service in Your Schools: Toolkit to Utilizing National Service Resources

This toolkit gives superintendents, principals, government officials, and community members resources on creating national service partnerships between districts/schools and organizations.

Equity & Social and Emotional Learning: A Cultural Analysis

This brief analyzes, revises, and supplements what is known about social and emotional learning to foster the development of citizens who contribute to an increasingly interconnected, diverse global community.