Preventing learning slides over summer vacation

Assertive community treatment teams working through outreach-centered programs in Maricopa County have become an industry standard for treating those with persistent and severe mental illnesses who have recently been incarcerated. They provide a long-term approach, aiming to halt a cycle of incarceration and hospitalization by focusing on underlying issues such as what caused the police interaction and incarceration.

A nonprofit organization, the Internationals Network for Public Schools, delivers a first-class education to the children of illegal immigrants, helping to break the cycle of poverty and provide them a path to advance in life.

A Mumbai school located in a remodeled shipping container meets kids on the street where they are at. Signal School results from a collaborative effort between the city and a non-profit, and focuses on bringing education to migrant children, so that they are less likely to be forced into child labor or street begging. Signal School does more than just teach, it also provides meals, works with families to change the cultural perspective that education is an amenity for the privileged, and helps migrant families find permanent housing.

Journalist Marcella Bombardieri calls community college "one of America's largest and most important anti-poverty programs." The president of Amarillo College in Texas is testing just how far community colleges can go to fight systemic issues - day care, social workers, and emergency funds for students' daily expenses are part of his plan. Other administrators are looking on at the dramatic experiment with mixed views and takeaways.

Across New Hampshire, youth are leading the fight against substance abuse. Programs like Dover’s Youth-to-Youth, Stand Up Sachems, Youth Leadership Through Adventure, and the Making it Happen Coalition, are all youth-led, adult-supported initiatives that are empowering young adults to create and disseminate substance abuse awareness and prevention campaigns. Fundamental to each of these efforts effective communication and creating a sense of community as key to prevention.

Leading up to Father’s Day, Philadelphia criminal justice organization Frontline Dads raised money to bail out fathers. Inspired by the annual Mother’s Day bailouts that happen around the country, Frontline Dad aims to not just free father’s, but raise awareness about the issue of cash bail as well. Beyond bailing out fathers, participants will also have access to services like haircuts, counseling, and job placement assistance.

The Romani Education Fund in Slovakia is helping children from the Roma community, which has a history of social and economic disadvantages as well as being subject to ethnic discrimination, overcome challenges to finish high school and pursue higher education. The REF works by providing qualifying students with a stipend to pay for educational supplies, as well as providing school guidance and personal mentorship to help both students and parents overcome the social hurdles that impede the student's desire or ability to fulfill their potential.

Tennessee Reconnect, which started as a small-scale "mentorship and financial support program", has now been adopted and expanded throughout the state as a way to help adults start or continue higher education. Now in its second year, the program matches applicants with "navigators," adult mentors who understand the specific student's financial and social challenges and helps them navigate the process every step of the way. The program also provides funding to students to pay for coursework and is now looking to expand its operations to jails and prisons.

With an influx of COVID relief money, the Russellville school district began hiring and certifying more local, Spanish-speaking staff to help teach English language learners. Districtwide, the percentage of students who met their language proficiency goals increased from 46% in 2019 to 61% in 2022.

New Kituwah Academy Elementary provides immersive language education for members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, helping to keep the band’s language and culture alive. Students speak exclusively in Cherokee until third grade and then use both English and Cherokee throughout the school day to build proficiency in both languages.