Middle school is a critical period of vulnerability—and opportunity. Here's a look at how one New York-based Beacons out-of-school time program is successfully engaging young people from age 9 through 21 in a deliberate pathway from participant to "professional" and preparing them for success in high school and beyond.

Engaging young teens in quality out-of-school time programs is no easy feat. Cypress Hills-East New York, a Beacon Center located in Brooklyn, has developed a strategy for recruiting and enrolling youth ages 9 to 14 for its school-year program. What works best? The Youth Development Institute shares some of the secrets of success.

The President's budget and the House Committee on Appropriations have no more federal funding for Parent Information Resource Centers (PIRCs) and Arts in Education programs (AIE). The National PTA urges calls to the Senate to restore federal dollars for programs essential for meeting NCLB standards.

With 23 states flunking CSPI's report card on school foods, the Center for Science in the Public Interest says Congress should pass national legislation to ensure that all of America's children get healthy foods in their schools all day long.

In Brighton, NY, city officials, parents and schools are all involved in helping their kids become politically active and aware. One result: kid-conceived and kid-produced ads on the importance of voting, developed in conjunction with the National Student Parent Mock Election. Rob Capriccioso reports.

At age 13, Becca Robison dreams of becoming an astronaut. In the meantime, she's sharing her dream with hundreds of young girls in Utah. Connect for Kids intern Abigail Holt explains.

Some parents divorce. Some lose their jobs. Others fall ill, struggle with alcoholism or drug addiction. Some even die. But their children need to keep on with their lives, and that means going to school. How prepared are teachers to deal respectfully with children struggling with loss? Rob Capriccioso shares his view on the need to educate the educators.

Study Finds Link Between TV and Soft Drinks and Overweight Kids associated with obesity among middle-school students. Latinos spend more time watching television and consume more soft drinks than non-Hispanic white or Asian students.

Science News for Kids is devoted children ages 9 to 13. The site offers timely items of interest to kids, accompanied by suggestions for hands-on activities, books, articles, Web resources, and other useful materials.