Operation Reach

As Operation REACH is currently in the process of expanding and deepening its work across the American South, we have compiled a number of studies and research that has guided this process. Please click on the links below for more information:

Black Men and Boys

• We Dream a World: The 2025 Vision for Black Men and Boys (21st Century Foundation)
• A Snapshot of African Americans in Higher Education (Institute for Higher Education Policy)
• The Black Men and Boys of Louisiana (The Louisiana Council on the Social Status of Black Boys and Men)
• They Won’t Stay Outside Forever: Black Young Men and Unemployment (Karen Pittman, Youth Today)

Disconnected Youth

• Building a Learning Agenda Around Disconnected Youth (MDRC)

Early Childhood Development

• Building an Early Childhood Professional Development System (NGA Center for Best Practices)
• Infant Mental Health and Social-Emotional Competence (Center for the Study of Social Policy)
• Parents and the High Cost of Child Care (NACCRRA)

Education, Child and Youth Development

• AfterZones: Creating a Citywide System to Support and Sustain High-Quality After-School Programs (Lauren J. Kotloff, Public/Private Ventures)
• Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending the High School Dropout Epidemic (Civic Enterprises)
• Can I Get a Little Advice Here? How an Overstretched High School Guidance System is Undermining Students’ College Aspirations (Public Agenda)
• Changing the Face of Giving (Youth Leadership Institute)
• Engaging Older Youth: Program and City-Level Strategies to Support Sustained Participation in Out-of-School Time (Harvard Family Research Project)
• Learning Around the Clock: Benefits of Expanded Learning Opportunities for Older Youth (American Youth Policy Forum)
• Leveling the Path to Participation: Volunteering and Civic Engagement Among Youth From Disadvantaged Circumstances (Corporation for National & Community Service)
• Strengthening Partnerships and Building Public Will for Out-of-School Time Programs (NLC)
• Partnerships for Learning: Profiles of Three School-Community Partnership Efforts (Harvard Family Research Project)
• Partnerships for Learning: Promising Practices in Integrating School and Out-of-School Time Program Supports (Harvard Family Research Project)
• Putting It All Together: Guiding Principles for Quality After-School Programs Serving Preteens (Public/Private Ventures)
• Resilience in Childhood (Center for the Study of Social Policy)
• Service-Learning in Community-Based Organizations: A Practical Guide to Starting and Sustaining High-Quality Programs (Search Institute)
• Service-Learning and Academic Achievement Research Summary (GSN)
• Youth Researchers for a New Education System Report (Y.R.N.E.S.)
• Walking the Talk: Youth Engagement and Grantmaking in the Capital Region (Karin E. Tice, FERA)
• The Impact of Youth Development Programs On Student Academic Achievement (National Collaboration for Youth)

Statistics and Policy Related to Youth and Education

• Digest of Education Statistics 2009 (NCES)
• 2009 Kids Count Data Book (The Annie E. Casey Foundation)
• 2010 Kids Count Data Book (The Annie E. Casey Foundation)
• America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2009 (Forum on Children and Family Statistics)
• Brave New South (Southern Growth Policies Board)
• Youth Volunteering in the States: 2002-2009 (CIRCLE)
• A New Majority: Low Income Student’s in the South’s Public Schools (SEF)
• The State of the American Child (Chairman Chris Dodd and the Democratic Staff of the Subcommittee on Children and Families)
• Tracking Child and Youth Well-being (Forum for Youth Investment)
• Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 1972-2008 (NCES)
• World Programme of Action for Youth (United Nations)

Environmental Education

• Environmental Education Materials: Guidelines for Excellence (NAAEE)

Green Job Training and Workforce Development

• Green Jobs Guidebook: Employment Opportunities in the New Clean Economy (Environmental Defense Fund)
• Closing the Expectations Gap (Achieve)
• The Clean Energy Economy: Repowering Jobs, Business and Investments Across America (The Pew Charitable Trusts)
• Going Green: The Vital Role of Community Colleges in Building a Sustainable Future and Green Workforce (AED & NCWE)
• Green Collar Jobs in America’s Cities: Building Pathways out of Poverty and Careers in the Clean Energy Economy (Apollo Alliance & Green For All)