Announcements

This Dear Colleague Letter (PDF, 9 pages) provides information on young people’s unique developmental stage and suggests approaches and resources for incorporating practices into programs to meet their particular needs. This letter includes information on co-regulation practices, youth peer support, and authentically partnering with youth with lived experience. Learn more.

This webpage contains briefs summarizing a six-part webinar series designed to Raise the Bar for family engagement practices between school and home. The series provided an overview of evidence, highlighted bright spots in the field, and shared resources and evidence-based strategies to support student success with education leaders and practitioners. Briefs include:  

• Family Engagement to Support Student Success (PDF, 4 pages) 

• Family Engagement to Support Student Engagement and Attendance (PDF, 4 pages) 

• Family Engagement to Support Immigrant and Multilingual Families (PDF, 4 pages) 

• Family Engagement to Support Student Mental Health and Well-Being (PDF, 4 pages) 

• Family Engagement to Support Kindergarten Readiness and Early School Success (PDF, 4 pages) 

• Family Engagement to Support College and Career Pathway Success (PDF, 4 pages) 

Learn more. 

This infographic (PDF, 3 pages) outlines the benefits of creating a positive school climate and shares strategies and resources for enhancing school safety, fostering school connectedness and relationships, and enabling a supportive environment. Learn more (PDF, 3 pages). 

This fact sheet (PDF, 16 pages) provides information to help adoptive families support their child in developing a healthy racial, cultural, and ethnic identity and live a vibrant multicultural life. The fact sheet discusses the need for parents and families to examine their thoughts and biases and explores the importance of preparing the child to live in a society where race has a major impact on individual lives. Learn more. 

This interactive map highlights examples of state, districts, and localities investing COVID relief funds to support students with afterschool and summer programs. Learn more. 

This webpage contains a collection of tip sheets from the Engage Every Student Initiative for state, city, district, afterschool, and summer learning program leaders. Tip sheets include:  

• Collaborating with Municipal Officials to Support Afterschool and Summer Learning (PDF, 2 pages) 

• Sharing Your Story through Stakeholder Visits (PDF, 2 pages) 

• Responding to American Rescue Plan (ARP) ESSER Myths (PDF, 2 pages) 

• Research and Out-of-School Time Learning (PDF, 2 pages) 

Learn more. 

This virtual training series will highlight key findings and implications of the National Threat Assessment Center’s (NTAC) research on school violence prevention. Attendees will learn about the background, thinking, and behavior of school attackers and how some schools discovered and stopped plots before violence occurred. This series will also provide guidance on how schools may develop or improve existing violence prevention programs utilizing a behavioral threat assessment model. Webinar dates include: 

• May 8, 2024, 12:00 - 2:00 pm ET 

• July 11, 2024, 12:00 - 2:00 pm ET 

• September 12, 2024, 12:00 - 2:00 pm ET 

 Learn more and register. 

This 12-week program provides students with opportunities to work alongside highly skilled intelligence or cybersecurity professionals at DHS, gain hands-on technical experience, interact with experts and peers at professional development events, and expand their professional network at national conferences. Participants will be immersed in a federal work environment by collaborating with subject matter expert mentors on projects and performing assigned tasks on the intelligence and cybersecurity track. Learn more and apply. 

This learning community will focus on the behavioral health needs of military-affiliated youth. The community will underscore the importance of understanding risk and protective factors, illustrate ways to offer support through community efforts, and provide tools and resources to navigate the myriad of supports available. Objectives of this learning community include: 

• Examining risk and protective factors for substance use among military-affiliated youth 

• Discovering how communities can support their behavioral health needs 

• Identifying substance use prevention resources that are specifically tailored for military-affiliated youth 

The learning community will meet monthly for three sessions beginning in March 2024 via Zoom. Learn more and register. 

This suite of resources helps state and local education agencies develop and sustain school mental health programs that improve the mental and behavioral well-being of all students. Resources include data on the prevalence of common behavioral health issues along with information and customizable tools to promote student mental health. Learn more. 

This webinar series introduces students to the many career paths available at the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA). The series aims to show the next generation of agricultural leaders that agriculture is about more than just farming. Webinar dates include: 

• March 27, 2024, 3:00 pm ET 

• April 17, 2024, 3:00 pm ET 

• May 15, 2024, 3:00 pm ET 

• June 12, 2024, 3:00 pm ET 

Learn more and register. 

This paid program equips Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) youth ages 15-29 with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to combat pedestrian deaths and injuries in their communities. 

Ambassadors will participate in a 5-month educational and community engagement experience addressing pedestrian safety. This program harnesses the power of digital storytelling, advocacy, and community engagement to design interventions that prioritize pedestrian safety. 

This is a paid opportunity. During their program, participants will: 

• Contribute at least 5 hours per month to monthly virtual online cohort gatherings, one-on-one development meetings, and mentorship sessions. 

• Create, lead, and engage in interventions (advocacy, infrastructure, community mobilization) 

• Participate in NOYS engagements as assigned 

• Serve as a youth ambassador for mobility/transportation safety 

• Attend and participate in the end of program event 

Participants will receive a stipend of $300 and seed intervention funding for their participation in the program. Learn more and apply. 

This resource is designed to strengthen K-12 schools’ and school districts’ emergency operations plans (EOPs) and identify gaps and weaknesses. This training package includes detailed instructions for using the package; supplemental resources on emergency exercises; fact sheets sharing best practices for conducting emergency exercises and developing after-action reports; and four tabletop exercises that each include a facilitator podcast, participant guide, and resource list for scenarios involving infectious disease, power outage, flood, and cybersecurity incidents that impact education agencies. Learn more. 

This webpage contains resources to help parents, coaches, school professionals, and health care providers recognize, respond to, and minimize the risk of concussion or other serious brain injury among youth. Learn more. 

This infographic (PDF, 1 page) shares information on youth prescription drug misuse. The infographic provides communities with action steps to reduce youth prescription drug misuse, such as advocating for naloxone utilization, collaborating with healthcare professionals and educators to enhance prevention efforts, and fostering awareness within the community. Learn more. 

This webpage features content celebrating the achievements of women and resources to support their professional growth and efforts to create inclusive work environments. Learn more. 

This tip sheet (PDF, 2 pages) shares guidance from young people who have experienced mental health challenges about what they wish parents and caregivers would say and do when talking about mental health. Learn more (PDF, 2 pages). 

This fact sheet offers information for core planning team members and safety leaders at K-12 schools and school districts on elements to include in their Recovery Annex that address and prepare the education agency for the loss of a member of the school community. Learn more (PDF, 13 pages). 

This fact sheet (PDF, 4 pages) describes the obligations of public K-12 schools in protecting the rights of students with asthma under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The fact sheet defines asthma as a protected disability under Section 504, describes how it may impact a student’s experience in school, and shares guidance for the steps schools should take to accommodate students with asthma. Learn more (PDF, 4 pages). 

This fact sheet (PDF, 4 pages) describes the obligations of public K-12 schools in protecting the rights of students with diabetes under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The fact sheet defines diabetes as a protected disability under Section 504, describes how it may impact a student’s experience in school, and shares guidance for the steps schools should take to accommodate students with diabetes. Learn more (PDF, 4 pages).