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To read more of Learn4Life's article, please click here. Yes, the pandemic created huge learning losses for millions of students, so what’s being done about it? “We work with many students who used to come to us as freshmen reading at a fifth-grade level,” explained Kathyrn Limata, literacy teacher. “Now, most of the students I see in my literacy classes are at a third-grade level and some are even at a first-grade level, having to learn basic phonics. It’s heartbreaking.” Limata said that...

Family engagement is my "thing." So much so that I even wrote a book about it that was published a little over a year ago. I believe that a child's family is their first teacher. I further believe that we could learn a lot about how to best help our students learn if we would just rely a little bit more on the insight of their families. Backtrack about three years and a different district: My co-teacher and I decided to combine our classes and do a monthly STEM/STEAM parent engagement...

The brain doesn’t fully develop until about the age of 25. This fact is sometimes quite surprising and eye opening to most adults. It can also be somewhat overwhelming for new parents and professionals who are interacting with babies and young children every day, to contemplate. It is essential to realize however, that the greatest time of development occurs in the years prior to kindergarten. And even more critical to understand is that by age three 85 percent of the core structures of the...

(Spectrum News/ Zarina Khairzada) To read more of Zarina Khairzada's article, please click here. LOS ANGELES — Babies in the classroom? That’s a reality for parenting and pregnant students at Learn4Life’s Alta Vista Innovation High School in Inglewood, taking part in the Helping Our Parenting-students Excel (HOPE) Program . The program provides students with a safe space for parents to watch their children as they complete credits needed to graduate. It’s also common to see supervising...

Four Learn4Life students enjoyed a wonderful experience of having facials with Community Wraparound’s Community Mentor, Christina Vargas, on August 24th, at Community Wraparound’s office in the Jacobs Center in San Diego, Facial supplies were provided and the youth laughed and giggled as they enjoyed the experience together. Angelina shared that her favorite part was meeting everyone and having a different space to hang out with girls. Amy was grateful to be invited to express her feelings,...

Photo: Shutterstock To read more of Daniel Villareal's article, please click here. Several school districts in Virginia’s Democratic-leaning regions are flat-out refusing to implement transphobic policies recently handed down by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). The policies force students to use bathrooms, pronouns , and names that align with their sex assigned at birth. The state’s Attorney General Jason Miyares sent a letter on Thursday telling schools that they’re required to...

Shelley Paul and Jill Gough had heard that doodling while taking notes could help improve memory and concept retention, but as instructional coaches they were reluctant to bring the idea to teachers without trying it out themselves first. To give it a fair shot, Paul tried sketching all her notes from a two-day conference. By the end, her drawings had improved and she was convinced the approach could work for kids, too. “It causes you to listen at a different level,” said Jill Gough,...

To read more of Jennifer DePaoli and Jennifer McCombs ' article, please click here. DePaoli, J., & McCombs, J. (2023). Safe schools, thriving students: Evidence-based strategies for creating safe and supportive schools. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/701.445 A rise in the number of school shootings over time has driven increasing attention to school safety. However, school shootings are not the only physical safety threat students may encounter at school. Other types...

Announcing the Sharpen Shop with an entire collection of resiliency gear that has powerful messages of hope and healing. In particular the award-winning "5 Minute Mindfulness" program has been deployed in resilient schools and community suicide prevention initiatives for over 10 years.

Evidence-based "5 Minute Mindfulness" cards are available that boost resilience, mental health literacy and accessibility.

Successful health equity strategies must be inclusive, and focus on all marginalized and minoritized persons and their communities. Any lesser view will continue to yield a faulty health equity equation.

(This is a review of what I believe is an important new resource for the PACEs [for positive and adverse childhood experiences] science movement. Opinions expressed are my own, and are shared as a parent, advocate, author, and longtime student of trauma, healing, and prevention. Thoughts are also shared through my lens as someone who believes, deeply, in the incredible importance of and value in building healthier, more compassionate communities to support and nurture pregnant and new...