Meet Sofia: a 67-year-old widow who uses Pokémon Go to reconnect with her city

Rates of problem behaviors and emotional issues among students are high - over 3 million elementary and secondary school students are suspended a year. To remedy the problem, a new program for educators delivers lessons on how to help students navigate their emotional lives.

Despite its small student body population, Xavier University, a historically black college in Louisiana, graduates more African American students who eventually become doctors than any other college in the United States. Xavier’s leaders cite its culture of “competitive collaboration,” community of shared experiences and challenges based on race, and free upperclass tutoring services as some of the characteristics that make its students stand out.

Virtual reality is being used as part of medical education providing a way for nurses and other medical workers to better understand how a patient may experiencing their surroundings. Virtual reality modules have been created for blind, colorblind, dementia, and dying patients.

At Cambridge Street Upper School, teachers, many of whom are white, meet regularly to discuss their own implicit biases and how they play out in a school in which 60 percent of students identify as black, Latino, or multiracial. "Cultural proficiency is no longer a separate thing we do once a month. It's at the center of what we do," the principal said.

Rural areas of Maine were being underserved when it came to dental hygiene, so the state opened a dental college and a loan repayment program in order to increase the amount of industry professionals. Since opening, the amount of dentists serving these areas has increased and now the university is looking to scale even further by increasing the amount offered in the loan repayment program.

Dementia units and long-term care homes for the elderly are often desolate and lonely places, with harried workers attempting to meet the needs of their patients while also meeting government-set metrics of success. For families and individuals, it can be difficult to imagine a better way. However, a pilot program in Canada called the Butterfly room is showing that dedicated efforts to making long-term care homes a vibrant and loving place for someone's last days has positive impacts for everyone - and is worth a government investment do right across the country.

Environments designed with soundscapes and visual art help to reduce anxiety and pain. In London, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital has noted a marked improvement in patient experience, including decreased pain and even a reduction in the time women spent in labor, in the presence of artistic installations. Other hospitals in the UK report similar benefits.

DOROT is a non-profit organization that matches seniors with younger adult volunteers for social visits to combat isolation and loneliness and to promote intergenerational friendships. Many of the seniors are widowers and social isolation can lead to negative health consequences. The organization also delivers fresh meals and holds other events, but was unable to operate as usual once the Covid-19 pandemic hit, so DOROT helped seniors set up Zoom for online conferencing. The group has matched 500 seniors with volunteers and advises similar programs across the country. Many pairs have formed deep friendships.

Intergenerational home sharing is a mutually beneficial option for seniors and young people. There are about 60 programs, run by cities, nonprofits, and platforms in the style of Airbnb, that connect seniors and young people for cohabitation. Seniors benefit by being able to stay in their homes, collect income, and have someone to help with social isolation and household chores. Young people benefit from access to affordable housing options in high-cost areas and engaging in rich relationship building. Home sharing services are facing legal challenges and the Covid-19 pandemic made cohabiting more risky.

In 2004, the Media Initiative set out to develop a trauma-informed curriculum for preschoolers in Northern Ireland. Using puppets, cartoons, and professional development, the social-emotional lessons have empowered students to better address conflict and communicate more effectively with each other. A Boston-based teacher education program is one of many who travel to Ireland to observe the program in action each year.