Background: Since the COVID-19 pandemic, American students have demonstrated substantial losses in achievement (Amplify, 2021; Domingue et al., 2021; Dorn et al., 2020; Storey & Zhang, 2023), while chronic absenteeism doubled after the pandemic, with the largest increase among low-income students (Chang et al., 2022; Dorn et al., 2021). Among…

The potential of music-making to foster an individual's social development has been widely explored. The objective of this review is twofold: (1) to examine the characteristics of group music-making initiatives aimed at promoting social skills; and (2) to analyse the impact that group music-making initiatives have on people's social development.…

The paper begins with a challenge, namely: How do we work with families and communities to co-create the next generation of family and community engagement, providing equitable learning pathways--both in and out of school and from birth to young adulthood--that will enable all children to be successful in the 21st century? Exploring what it takes…

This article sought to identify factors related to high school completion rates and college enrollment among Hispanic students. Hispanic students were found to have high attrition rates in institutions of higher education. Implications for the development and implementation of retention programs for Hispanic high school students, such as…

Positive behavior interventions and Supports (PBIS) programs are being introduced in school districts throughout Illinois and the rest of the United States, resulting in decreased behavioral incidents and increased academic achievement. Programs for students who are deaf or hard of hearing benefit from implementation of this type of…

This Guide is intended to share the insights of SEDL's National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning (the National Partnership) as well as information about both the academic and the organizational and management practices that successful afterschool programs use. The authors have organized these practices into the following four focus…

This report asserts that given the importance of families to a variety of positive youth outcomes and the emphasis placed on family involvement in federal law, young people should not be treated as "islands" by school and youth programs, separate from the context of their families. The report is the result of an analysis of over 100 evaluations of…

When it comes to student support, widespread agreement exists for moving in new directions. It is easy to agree that change is needed. It is harder to agree on what the changes should look like. And, it is even harder to get from here to there. The intent of this paper is to focus the discussion about new directions for student support by…

This report describes the creation of New Horizons, an ArtsConnection comprehensive model for talent identification and development in the arts. New Horizons focuses on how schools can identify and appreciate artistic talents, how teachers can help students use their artistic abilities to improve their school performance, and how economically…

This report presents the findings for public four-year colleges and universities that participated in ACT's 2010 What Works in Student Retention survey. The report contains information pertinent to only these institutions. Appended are: (1) Data for Public Four-Year Colleges and Universities; and (2) What Works in Student Retention: Instrument.…