Lorea MartínezLaura E. HernándezMarisa SaundersLisa Flook
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Social Justice Humanitas Academy is a teacher-led community school that advances student learning and development through its mission to support students on their journeys toward self-actualization, social justice, and postsecondary success. It maintains a supportive and inclusive learning environment, engages students in social and emotional development and student-centered pedagogical strategies, and provides access to integrated systems of supports.
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Education should provide opportunities for every student to learn and thrive, but the current U.S. system often falls short. Research from the science of learning and development points to whole child education as a method to transform systems to provide high-quality learning for all students. The Whole Child Policy Toolkit can help state policymakers and education leaders advance whole child policy and support schools, districts, and communities to meet the needs of every child efficiently, effectively, and equitably.
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More than 5 million children in the United States are living in deep poverty, but their economic circumstances do not have to determine their life chances. By leveraging three key strategies—funding adequacy and equity, community schools and partnerships, and a whole child teaching and learning culture—schools and school systems can mitigate the impact of poverty on student success and well-being.
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Polarizing and inaccurate framing of social and emotional learning (SEL) has caused concern for some parents. The authors examine a Fordham survey that sheds light on why and discuss how to help parents understand that SEL and academics are inextricably connected and not an either/or choice.
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A historic $3 billion investment in the California Community Schools Partnership Program provides an opportunity to transform schools into community hubs that deliver whole child education. Examining key elements of the new law, LPI and Opportunity Institute researchers lay out evidence-based principles of high-quality community schools implementation that are aligned with the science of learning and development and discuss the need for technical assistance.
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Many educators seeking to transform schools to allow more student-centered, inquiry-driven, and community-connected approaches to whole child learning face a wide range of institutional barriers. Nevertheless, thousands of schools have been redesigned to promote more student-centered principles, and these schools have created networks that provide schools with models for adopting methods that nurture the whole child.
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Felicitas & Gonzalo Mendez High School, a community school located in East Los Angeles, provides its students with rigorous and engaging academics in a nurturing and inclusive environment. Driven by a shared commitment to educational justice and building strong, community-grounded partnerships, the school prioritizes student engagement and leadership, both on and off the campus.
Jennifer A. BlandAdam K. Edgerton Desiree O'NealNaomi Ondrasek
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Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, districts nationwide have faced the difficult task of reopening schools safely and keeping them open, while also accelerating student learning and attending to the trauma and loss experienced by students and families. By adopting a nimble and forward-looking recovery strategy encompassing social and emotional, as well as physical, safety, Tulsa Public Schools had a safe and successful spring and summer 2021, and plans to continue these efforts into the fall.
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Although schools are reopening on the shifting sands of COVID-19 variants and low vaccination rates in some regions, they can resume in-person classes in a safe and supportive manner using science-based mitigation approaches, such as masking and social distancing, and by attending to student and teacher social and emotional needs.
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Thanks to unprecedented funding from the American Rescue Plan and other federal, state, and local resources, school districts across the country are leveraging several evidence-informed strategies to accelerate learning and support student wellbeing. Local initiatives include conducting formative assessments to measure and support students’ growth and health, providing high-quality tutoring that is connected to classroom instruction, and expanding learning time.
