It's a question that pops out during a ride in the car, at the dinner table, through a recently-slammed door after a fight about finishing up homework: "What good is all this stuff I'm learning in school going to do me in the real world?" Programs that make a strong, direct connection between school learning and future career options can be powerfully motivating for students, even those who eventually choose a different path. Gayle Hargreaves reports on one such program that introduces teens to museum careers.

MindOH! offers free advice on ways to encourage students to get involved in their communities suring the summer.

Summertime. For many, it’s a season of carefree memories colliding with stressful, expensive realities, as busy parents try to figure out how to keep the kids busy, safe and entertained. Linda Baker looks at the challenges, especially for low- and moderate-income families.

CFK Reports From: Summer Food Service Program Food Tasting Fair
Event: Food Tasting Fair
Organized By: DC State Education Office
Where/When: Beacon House, March 30, 2006

As summer approaches, many parents are asking themselves this question: "Will my child have enough healthy food to eat this summer?"

Imagine it. Plan it. Make it. That’s the basic formula for the popular after-school and summer classes offered by Leonardo’s Basement, a Minneapolis, Minn. program started by hands-on guy Steve Jevning seven years ago. Harvey Meyer takes a look.

A once-a-week adult-student mentoring meeting does not an after-school program make, according to this brief from the Forum for Youth Investment. But perhaps, with a little help, it could. The question is not which makes more sense, mentoring or after-school, but how can we utilize both strategies to increase the likelihood that young people have the supports they need to thrive. The 8-page brief offers some ideas.

Among the many organizations that have stepped up to help youngsters traumatized and displaced by Hurricane Katrinia, the Houston-based Writers in the Schools program has sent writers to help evacuees work on personal essays and journals about their experience. Sharon Ferranti recounts her experience, in this story from Writers in the Schools.

The 2006 National Smart Start Conference will be held March 7-9 in Greensboro, North Carolina.

The Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) will hold its annual conference in Arlington, Virginia.

The National AfterSchool Association hosts its annual conference February 23-25, 2006 in Louisville, Kentucky.