Turnaround for Children Toolbox

The Turnaround for Children Toolbox is an online hub for science-grounded ideas and resources that empower educators—including teachers, school and district leaders, student support staff, and many others—to embed an equitable whole-child purpose into our education system. 

Supporting the Social and Emotional Learning of Systematically Marginalized Students in a Pandemic

These guides and report from the National Center for Learning Disabilities explores how to affirm students’ identities to promote equitable social, emotional, cognitive, and academic development during the COVID-19 crisis as well as actions families and school district leaders can take below. 

Creating Conditions for Student Success: A Policymakers’ School Climate Playbook

This Aspen Institute Education & Society Program and ExcelinEd  report contains proven school climate strategies along with a  set of recommendations to guide policymakers in building a comprehensive and coherent state-wide approach for improving school climate.

Identifying, Defining, and Measuring Social and Emotional Competencies Final Report

This AIR report serves as a resource and guide for researchers
and will help provide direction to those who seek to more fully integrate social and emotional
learning (SEL) into their practice.

Preparing Teachers to Support Social and Emotional Learning

This two-part LPI study offers information on how pre-service and in-service teacher training can support good teaching practices and implement SEL in schools, while providing a picture of what SEL looks like when integrated into the school day. 

Building Blocks for Learning

Turnaround for Children’s Building Blocks for Learning is a framework for the development of skills children need for success in school and beyond.

Teaching the Way Students Learn Best: Lessons from Bronxdale High School

This case study of Bronxdale High School in New York was written to illustrate what a successful school serving diverse learners looks like and does when its practices are consistent with knowledge rooted in the sciences of learning and development.

From a Nation At Risk to a Nation at Hope: Recommendations from the National Commission on Social, Emotional, & Academic Development

This culminating report provides recommendations to engage communities in re-envisioning a learning system that encompasses social, emotional, and cognitive dimensions.

The Promise of Adolescence:

Realizing Opportunity
for All Youth

This consensus report explores the science of child and adolescent development to inform youth-serving systems.

Thriving, Robust Equity, and Transformative Learning & Development: 

A More Powerful Conceptualization

of the Contributors to Youth Success

David Osher, Karen Pittman, Jill Young, Hal Smith,

Deborah Moroney & Merita Irby

Educating the Whole Child: Improving School Climate to Support Student Success

This LPI report summarizes evidence about the effects of positive school climate, social-emotional learning, and productive teaching strategies on achievement. 

The 180 Podcast: Turnaround for Children

The 180 Podcast, a new podcast by Turnaround for Children, explores how to transform 21st century education using 21st century science.

The Science of Adversity

Pamela Cantor, M.D., President and CEO of Turnaround for Children, explains the science of adversity and how we can use this information to design better learning environments to help all children reach their full potential.

Self-Assessing Social and Emotional Instruction and Competencies

This self-assessment tool from AIR is designed to help educators reflect upon (1) their current teaching practices that impact student SEL, and (2) their own SEL competencies to implement those teaching practices.

Designing for Learning

This resource from Transcend provides cards and activities to support teams in applying key insights from the science of learning and development.

Science of Learning:
What Educators Need to Know About Adolescent Development 

After reviewing research about adolescent learning and development, the Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed) crafted a set of principles (consensus statements) endorsed by a team of researchers. These statements now represent the twenty principles of adolescent learning and development at the center of All4Ed’s SAL initiative. 

The Evidence Base for
How We Learn: 

Supporting Students’
Social, Emotional, and
Academic Development

Under the support of the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development  these consensus statements of evidence call for the full integration of social and emotional learning with academic instruction.

Building Partnerships in Support of Where, When, & How Learning Happens

In this brief, the Youth Development Work Group of the Aspen Institute National Commission on Social,
Emotional, and Academic Development offers a framework and recommendations for educators, policymakers, and funders to partner with youth development organizations to take advantage of formal and informal learning settings.