FEATURED: New Research Synthesis: Thriving, Robust Equity, and Transformative Learning & Development: A More Powerful Conceptualization of the Contributors to Youth Success

Each and every young person has great potential to thrive. The potential for thriving is universal, but so too is the existence of adversity. Young people can overcome adversities, but the ease of doing so is not equally shared. Opportunity structures — in schools, communities, and society — make it easier for some youth to avoid or buffer the impacts of adversity than others.

COVID-19 and the renewed attention on racial injustice thrust the country into long-overdue debates about how (not whether) to dismantle systemic, institutional inequities that are literally taking the lives of Black Americans and other people of color. Systemic changes are needed in every system — not just law enforcement and education. Educational equity cannot be achieved without a focus on racial equity.

We make these points in a new foundational research paper developed by the Readiness Project partners. Together as authors (David Osher, Karen Pittman, Jill Young, Hal Smith, Deborah Moroney & Merita Irby, representing the American Institutes for Research, The Forum for Youth Investment, and the National Urban League) we leverage recent syntheses of the science of adolescence, the science of learning and development, and the impacts of institutionalized inequities to emphasize that children and adolescents can realize their potential and …Read the full Column on Medium