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When Samantha Wagner and her colleagues at the Winona Area Learning Center watched the documentary “Paper Tigers,” their first thought was: “That’s our school.” The film traces a big change in a small town, Walla Walla, Wash., where the community capitalized on new science to help turn around the lives of struggling students. When Winona State University (WSU) Professor Ruth Charles gave a presentation on that science in Winona, a girl in the audience exclaimed: “Me! This is me!” After using...

The baby bottoms of Americans born before the 1980s likely never touched a diaper-changing station in a public restroom. Prior to the ‘80s, when parents, and mothers in particular, went to shop or go out to eat, they usually had to fold themselves into the back of a car, balance their wriggling infant on a toilet seat , or crouch on a dirty bathroom floor to change their child’s diaper. In the decades since, changing tables have grown more common, but they still can be hard to find,...

While for many of us the New Year is the time for resolution-making and goal setting, whether you realize it or not, everything you do — all year long — starts with a goal. And, how you approach goal setting determines how you experience life each and every day. The better you are at goal setting — whether your skill is innate, deliberately practiced, or newly learned — the greater fulfillment and happiness you will experience, and conversely, the less able you are, the more frustration,...

For the past 18 years, every 4-year-old in Oklahoma has been guaranteed a spot in preschool, for free. These kids are learning their letters, numbers, colors and shapes. They’re also developing arguably more important social and emotional tools--how to make friends, feel empathy, solve problems, manage conflict. These are the kind of building blocks children need to become thriving adults . Nearly 75 percent of 4-year-olds are enrolled in Oklahoma’s pre-K program. That's one of the highest...

he relationship between Physical Health and Mental Health plays a significant role in our lives. It has been found that staying physically fit actually helps our mental health as well. When our physical health is poor it puts a great strain on our mental health. Eating healthfully , exercising regularly and getting a good night’s sleep are all important elements in a mentally and physically healthy life. Lifestyle interventions with a combination of psychotherapy and medications are all...

Herbert Manown is a self-described “jack-of-all-trades but master of none.” A Harley Davidson-riding Vietnam War Navy veteran, he has worked in construction, at the post office, and with the United States Census Bureau . At 62, he’s still fit and healthy, with a strong handshake and grandfatherly eyes framed by black glasses and thick, bushy brows. Life was stable for Herb until 2013, when he “got lazy” and neglected to renew his truck-driver license. He didn’t realize the severity of his...

After a rash of police killings last summer, H. Richard Milner, a professor of urban education at the University of Pittsburgh, set out to answer a question that had been gnawing at him for some time. As a noted expert on race in education, he frequently received calls from journalists seeking comment on how to help teachers talk about race in the classroom, typically following the fatal police shooting of a black victim. And he always thought the questioning was misguided and inadequate.

Since the opening in January of many sessions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the territories, legislatures have addressed a myriad of issues from budgets, job growth, health care, immigration, the opioid epidemic, police-community relations, education and others ( featured in the State Legislatures Magazine ). Many of these proposals will impact how well communities will prosper and thrive, fewer will impact childhood adversity directly, and an even smaller number will...

When I first heard about the CDC-Kaiser Permanente ACE Study , it felt like a light bulb had actually gone on. Finally, FINALLY, someone was validating what I saw every single day teaching in East Oakland. For eight years, I taught at an elementary school in the most violent part of Oakland , the part that the police called the “Killing Zone.” The kids in my class had seen friends, neighbors, and family members shot or stabbed, and routinely hid in bathrooms and closets when gang fights...

What this report finds: Income inequality has risen in every state since the 1970s and in many states is up in the post–Great Recession era. In 24 states, the top 1 percent captured at least half of all income growth between 2009 and 2013, and in 15 of those states, the top 1 percent captured all income growth. In another 10 states, top 1 percent incomes grew in the double digits, while bottom 99 percent incomes fell. For the United States overall, the top 1 percent captured 85.1 percent of...

Children with serious behavioral disorders might fare better at school if they get some exercise during the day, a new study suggests. The researchers focused on children and teenagers with conditions that included autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety and depression. They looked at whether structured exercise during the school day -- in the form of stationary "cybercycles" -- could help ease students' behavioral issues in the classroom. Over a...

Across the past decade, the juvenile justice community has been shift ing its thinking from being “tough on crime” to being “smart on crime.” This change has been largely attributed to an enhanced understanding of both youth development and the effectiveness of interventions to reduce recidivism and promote positive outcomes for youth. In fact, in 2013 the National Research Council concluded that: Evidence shows convincingly that reforming juvenile justice in accord with well-established...