Check out what our people and partners are researching, thinking, reading, writing, watching and doing! (Note: The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of ETR as an agency.)
By ETR | June 18, 2019
It makes sense to engage young people in planning and implementing programs focused on youth. These steps can benefit organizations and communities as well as young people themselves. So…what do you do if you’re a believer, you want to see more youth engagement in your organization, but you’re under-resourced? Or your leadership isn’t on the same page? Or you’re just not sure how to proceed?
There are some fine resources that can offer guidance, but we’d like to suggest you start by watching this video from ETR Project Coordinator Alda Santana.
By David Manuel Torres | June 13, 2019
Research Assistant, ETR
Every year, the National Science Foundation (NSF) hosts a unique virtual event—a week-long STEM for All Video Showcase. In the videos, Principal Investigators, practitioners and researchers describe federally funded projects that seek to improve and innovate within STEM education. The brief videos are posted and viewed globally. This year, I joined up with ETR Senior Research Scientist Jill Denner and Senior Editor Marcia Quackenbush to create an ETR video for the NSF showcase.
By Lance Sprague | June 11, 2019
Former Associate Publisher, ETR
It didn’t take long for Bill to figure out I was a baseball fan. One day he walked up to me and said, “Did I ever tell you about the time I hit a double off Satchel Paige?”
“What?!” I said.
Now, Satchel Paige was one of the greatest pitchers of all time—certainly the most legendary.
By Laiah Idelson, MSPH | June 4, 2019
Strategic Partnerships & Innovation Lead, YTH Initiative, ETR
What happens when a motivated, creative group of high school juniors and seniors is asked, “How might we use technology to create an innovative solution to improve the mental health of young people?”
To answer this question, our team conducted nine workshops from January through April this year. Seventy-seven juniors and seniors at De Anza High School in Richmond, CA, joined in.
By ETR | May 31, 2019
We are all members of a global society. We are excited that ETR’s recent merger with YTH brings a deeper and more experienced global perspective to our organization’s work. YTH has a long history of international work with youth communities. The YTH Initiative presence at the upcoming Women Deliver conference demonstrates this beautifully.
By Ahna Suleiman, DrPH | May 29, 2019
AYSRH, Developmental Science & Youth Engagement Consultant
Consent is complicated. And learning about consent is even more so. Thinking back over conversations and experiences I’ve had the last six months, I am struck by how truly complicated it is.
By Barb Flis | May 23, 2019
Founder, Parent Action for Healthy Kids
I am approaching my 15th year of helping parents talk to their kids about sex. It’s hard for me to fathom that this equates to several hundred workshops, impacting thousands of parents and supportive adults. The parents from those early years now have adult children and, in many cases, even grandchildren.
I’ve been fortunate to have had contact with some alum who tell me how much our workshop affected them.
By ETR | May 21, 2019
How do we make choices about our behaviors? How do we judge the potential risks and benefits of a decision to, for example, use tobacco products?
In 2002, psychologist Daniel Kahneman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for demonstrating that the answers to these questions are found through an integration of psychology and economics.
By ETR's Qualitative Evaluation Sub-Core Group | May 16, 2019
Advancing health equity is one of ETR’s core values. We are part of a movement to improve health and education outcomes for all communities. Qualitative research—the kind that asks questions, gathers stories and provides rich contextual information—is a valuable tool in this work.
Qualitative research helps us better understand how communities see themselves, their future, their history, and the ways they change over time. It gives us information about structural and social influences and how these affect individuals, neighborhoods and society at large. This is essential knowledge as we engage in efforts to address inequities.
By David Manuel Torres | May 13, 2019
Research Assistant, ETR
For most people, “data” is a four-letter word—not many enjoy looking at distributions and comparing percentages. Even fewer like to do so at the end of an hour-long meeting on a Tuesday morning. It’s data. If you’re not into statistics, it can be confusing. It isn’t always clear how it’s going to be useful in the real world.
Still, there are times when data need to be discussed.
By Anisha Singh | May 9, 2019
Doctoral Student, University of Tennessee, Knoxville and 2018 ETR Kirby Intern
Here is an essential truth about internships: they go by really fast. Another essential truth: any intern can get more out of their experience by being as prepared as possible ahead of time.
Here are three tips I put to work for my internship. Whether you’re doing an internship yourself or offering guidance to others, these steps can make a difference both in what an intern gives an organization and what they learn for themselves.
By Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES | May 8, 2019
Senior Editor, ETR
One measure of a successful training or conference is whether you learned something useful. Did you change your thinking? Get inspired by leaders in the field? Will you do anything differently when you get back to your work?
By any of those measures, 2019’s YTH Live conference was simply dazzling for me.
By Vignetta Charles, PhD | May 3, 2019
Chief Executive Officer, ETR
May the fourth be with you! It's a pretty awesome day for many of us at ETR because we love the chance to applaud/hail/praise Star Wars. In 2019, we are particularly celebrating how Star Wars inspires youth.
By John Shields, PhD, MSW | April 30, 2019
Senior Research Scientist, ETR
Journalist Tyler Kingkade’s recent story for The 74 is such a disturbing read that it appropriately includes this warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of sexual assault involving children. Still, it’s critical that you do read and understand it. You will see that there’s an immense amount of uphill work we must do to protect K-12 students from sexual and gender-based assault and harassment.
By Amy Peterson, MSc | April 25, 2019
Strategic Development Manager, ETR
Educational equity is closely related to health equity. In fact I’d like to suggest that they are essentially inseparable—that educational equity isn’t merely an element of health equity, but that the two are inextricably linked. Put simply, one cannot exist without the other.
In 2014, I was among a group of colleagues who sought out a framework that would help us unify the work we were doing across ETR’s projects. We found that no existing framework covered all the aspects of our work so we adapted, developed and iterated to create ETR’s Health Equity Framework (HEF).
By JT Perez, Jahnell Butler, Tatyana Moaton & Camille Lewis | April 23, 2019
ETR Consultants; Prevention Educator, Alianza (JTP); Human Resources Manager for Howard Brown Health (TM); Translluminati Program Manager (CL)
How do we increase the effectiveness of High Impact HIV prevention? How do we reach the individuals and communities most at risk with strategies that work?
One of the most important steps we can take is to identify who those individuals and communities are, then engage their leaders to create and deliver prevention programs. Our group represents one approach to this strategy.
By George Weiner | April 18, 2019
Co-Founder and CTO, Power Poetry
A single poem—a simple combination of well-chosen words—can liberate a young person's soul. "A great poem is no finish to a man or woman, but rather a beginning," wrote Walt Whitman.
It is in this spirit of new beginnings that the To Be Heard Foundation (TBH) carries forth its mission: to educate youth through heightened literacy. We seek to empower youth as individuals, within their communities, and as social activists through a mastery of reading, writing and expression of poetry. The foundation sponsors the work of two core programs, Power Writers and Power Poetry.
By Tracy Wright, MAEd | April 15, 2019
Program Manager, ETR
Think about a sexuality educator you know. Think about something brilliant or inspired or compassionate they’ve done in their teaching. Think about the students they serve and what those students need in the classroom. Think about the challenges that educator faces in their school or district, community or state.
If you’re like me, what you get when you think through these things is one highly dedicated, deeply committed individual.
By Jamie Sparks, MA | April 8, 2019
School Health Program Manager, ETR
This week, health and physical education leaders and teachers from across the country are descending on Tampa, Florida. They’re heading in for the the annual SHAPE America National Convention and Expo.
I am excited and humbled that my first official convention as a part of the ETR team will also be the moment I step into my role as president of SHAPE America. Receiving the news last year in Nashville that my peers had selected me as president-elect was the highest honor in my professional career.
By Teagan Drawbridge-Quealy, MEd & MSW | April 4, 2019
Get Real Trainer, Planned Parenthood League of MA
Here in the Northeast, it feels like winter might just be fading. Spring is coming, and with spring, the end of the school year is just around the corner. For many educators the start of spring also means the start of sex education in their health classes, coinciding with the changing of seasons. Maybe there is something to the “birds and the bees” after all!
