The Mary E. Walsh Center for Thriving Children advances science, implementation, and innovation to promote healthy child and youth development, learning, and thriving.
The Center supports applied research and evaluation to uncover and better understand the impacts of programs, policies, and practices aimed at bettering the lives of young people.
We support the development, implementation, and refinement of best practices for educators, programs, schools, and community organizations interested in more effectively addressing the complex needs and strengths of children and families.聽
The Center is an incubator for collaborations between researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. We translate knowledge to inform policies, budgets, and practices at scale.
We pursue new frontiers in research and practice to promote the best opportunities for children鈥檚 healthy development, learning, and thriving.
City Connects
All children deserve a chance to learn, but many face obstacles too steep for them to climb alone. City Connects builds a network of support for students, their families, and the schools that serve them, improving outcomes now鈥攁nd for years to come.
Resources for professionals
Practitioners
Through City Connects, the Student Support Institute, custom consultations, a range of resources we co-design through research-practice partnerships, and our resources for practitioners, the Center helps schools, districts, and early childhood programs improve their approaches.
Researchers
Our research aims to improve understanding at the intersection between child development and learning. We investigate how best to support children over time and across individual, school, and community contexts.
Policymakers
The Mary E. Walsh Center for Thriving Children develops insights from research and practice into policy briefs, toolkits, and research summaries for policy leaders. We investigate effective state, national, and international approaches to growing opportunities for children and youth.
Our Most Recent Publications and Reports
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