Show Details
Helping America's Youth: Engaging At-Risk Students - Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Time: 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM ET
"We want every child to be surrounded by caring adults who provide love, advice, and encouragement, and serve as good role models. We're taking action in the most important parts of each child's life—family, school, and community." — Laura Bush
Today, in communities nationwide, countless people are working to ensure that all young Americans have a chance to realize the great promise of this country. From rural dirt roads to inner-city streets, we see parents, teachers, clergy and community members reaching out to our nation's youth. And by most measures, their efforts are paying off: studies shows that the majority of children are headed in the right direction, and many students are achieving at historical levels under No Child Left Behind. However, too many students still face persistent challenges that hold them back from growing into healthy, protective adults. Risky behaviors, including alcohol and drug abuse, violence and early sexual activity are still among the top causes of disease and mortality among young people. These risks are particularly heightened for boys, who often begin to fall behind girls in elementary school, and are more likely to drop out of school, join gangs, and engage in criminal activity.
With research showing that children are less likely to engage in risky behaviors when they are connected to parents, family, school, community and places of worship, in 2005 President Bush announced the Helping America's Youth (HAY) Initiative. HAY is a nationwide effort designed to bring attention to the needs of children and teenagers through public awareness and to rally communities around research-based strategies and programs proven to help our youth reach their full potential. Led by Laura Bush, HAY helps our nation's children and teenagers find success by bringing attention to their needs—especially those of youth who have been traditionally underserved—and by empowering community partnerships that support the cornerstones of youth development: strong families, effective schools, and caring communities.
The March broadcast of Education News Parents Can Use will explore the Helping America's Youth Initiative, with a special emphasis on what schools can do to engage children in their studies, promote healthy behaviors, and prepare students for successful lives after graduation. The program will feature a special videotaped message from U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, "best practices" in positive youth development, and a conversation with educators, researchers and community leaders to explore key questions such as:
- What is the Helping America's Youth Initiative and how is it engaging Americans to ensure positive outcomes for children?
- What does the research say about the current state of America's youth? How well are they doing in and out of school, and what kinds of unique challenges do they face?
- Why are families, communities and schools so critical to positive youth development? Specifically, what can parents do to ensure that their children stay on track for healthy, successful lives?
Web Casts
To view live web casts of Education News or archived webcasts of past programs please visit
www.connectlive.com/events/ednews/
Disclaimer
Permission: Programs produced by the U.S. Department of Education are in the public domain. Use, duplication, and distribution are free and unrestricted. Thank You!
|
