Recommended Web Sites

Schools and Colleges
	BAM Radio
	www.BAMRadioNetwork.com     “BAM Radio is the largest education radio network in the world offering programming from the nation's top education organizations and thought leaders and reaching a wide audience of people passionately committed to quality education.”  On the Website you will find different channels for parents, teachers, and directors.  In addition to the “insightful education programming,” you can also buy educational products from the site. more...
	Countdown to College
	www.CountdownToCollegeRadio.com     “Countdown to College Radio is a weekly one-hour show dedicated to helping college-bound high school students and their families understand the process of getting ready for--and getting into--college. Show host Beth Pickett interviews experts on the college application process, high school coursework, summer opportunities, extracurricular activities, application essays, standardized testing, financial aid, and college options, with the occasional foray into how to maintain a healthy and positive attitude throughout what can be a very stressful process.” more...
	The Education Conservancy
	www.EducationConservancy.org     “The Education Conservancy (EC) is a non-profit organization committed to improving college admission processes for students, colleges and high schools.”  EC “returns control of college admissions to those who are directly involved in education: students, colleges, parents and high schools. It calms the frenzy and hype that plague contemporary college admissions,” according to the EC mission statement.  On the site you will find many resources dedicated to EC’s mission, such as guidance for students from influential college admissions professionals and advice “for college trustees, presidents and admission deans wishing to revise and develop college admission practices and procedures.” more...
	Colleges That Change Lives
	www.CTCL.com     “Colleges That Change Lives, Inc. (CTCL) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and support of a student-centered college search process.”  The website offers profiles of the 40 colleges chosen by retired New York Times education editor, Loren Pope, that are included in his book, which is also called “Colleges That Change Lives.”  Additionally, you will find many resources, from a step-by-step guide on how to do a college search to advice regarding scholarships and financial assistance.  You can also find information on where CTCL events are being held and how to schedule a CTCL speaker to do a presentation in your area. more...
	FairTest
	www.FairTest.org     “The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest) works to end the misuses and flaws of standardized testing and to ensure that evaluation of students, teachers and schools is fair, open, valid and educationally beneficial.”  Generally, this organization and website seek to reduce the influence currently placed on testing and offer alternative ways to assess students, teachers and schools.  One great feature of the website is a searchable list of the more than 815 four-year colleges that are test-optional, meaning they “do not use the SAT I or ACT to admit substantial numbers of bachelor degree applicants.”  The website also provides many resources and articles about K-12 testing and the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) program. more...
	Coalition of Essential Schools
	www.EssentialSchools.org     “For over twenty years, the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) has been at the forefront of creating and sustaining personalized, equitable, and intellectually challenging schools.”  Although no two Essential schools are alike, “all Essential schools share a commitment to the CES Common Principles, a set of beliefs about the purpose and practice of schooling.”  These Common Principles include: “Personalized instruction to address individual needs and interests” and “Small schools and classrooms, where teachers and student know each other well and work in an atmosphere of trust and high expectations.”  The website goes into great detail about what makes an Essential school, offers information about the CES annual conference (which is called the Fall Forum), and also provides many CES resources. more...
	Center for the 4th and 5th R's
	www.Cortland.edu/Character     “The Center for the 4th and 5th R’s co-sponsors the Smart & Good Schools Initiative in partnership with the Institute for Excellence & Ethics (IEE). The mission of a Smart & Good School is integrating excellence and ethics: developing performance character (doing our best work) and moral character (doing the right thing) within an Ethical Learning Community.”  According to the website, the fourth and fifth R’s are Respect and Responsibility.  The website offers information on many topics including parent resources, a 12-point comprehensive approach to character education, and sex education for students.  Additionally, you can learn about and sign up for the annual Smart & Good Schools Summer Institute, “which has trained more than 4,500 principals, teachers, and other educators from 35 states and 20 countries.” more...
	Sara Bennett-Stop Homework
	www.StopHomework.com     “Stop Homework is the blog of Sara Bennett, co-author of [the book] ‘The Case Against Homework: How Homework is Hurting Our Children and What We Can Do About It.’ Stop Homework provides up-to-the-minute homework news, opinion articles, and guest editorials. If you need help advocating for change, need materials, or are looking for a guest speaker,” you can contact Bennett by e-mail. more...
	Partnership for 21st Century Skills
	www.21stCenturySkills.org     The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is “the leading advocacy organization infusing 21st century skills into education.”  Some of these 21st century skills include: core subjects and 21st century themes, learning and innovation skills, information, media and technology skills, and life and career skills.  The website provides tools and resources and offers information on state initiatives and events and news. more...
	Needham High School Stress Reduction Committee
	NHS.Needham.K12.Ma.US/Pages/Stress-R     The Needham High School Stress Reduction Committee website is a very comprehensive website dedicated to reducing stress.  On the homepage you can find links to information and advice for educators, students, and parents.  Additionally, the website offers links to many resources including articles and books about stress, and what the research says about topics like perfectionism, college readiness, academic honesty, and parenting adolescents. more...
Health and Well-Being
	Adolescent Counseling Services
	www.ACS-Teens.org     “From the beginning, collaboration has been a core value at ACS. The founders of our agency included a diverse group representing local government, police, health care, social work, schools and parents. This spirit of collaboration continues today, as ACS partners with public and private agencies to provide an integrated network of services for teens and families in our community. Over the past 30 years, ACS has helped approximately 20,000 teens and their families find their way through and beyond the challenging adolescent years.” more...
	Reel Link Films
	www.ReelLinkFilms.com     “Reel Link Films was founded in 2007 by Vicki Abeles in response to the need for premium, socially relevant, story telling for the screen…Its first documentary, ‘Race To Nowhere’ is currently in post-production and will premier in 2009.”  The documentary film “is a close-up look at the pressures on today’s students, offering an intimate view of lives packed with activities, leaving little room for down-time or family time. Parents today are expected to raise high-achieving children, who are good at everything: academics, sports, the arts, community-service. The film tackles the tragic side of our often achievement-obsessed culture, with interviews that explore the hidden world of over-burdened schedules, student suicide, academic cheating, young people who have checked out.” more...
	American Academy of Pediatrics
	www.AAP.org     The American Academy of Pediatrics is “committed to the attainment of optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults.”  The website offers “general information related to child health” as well as specific guidelines concerning pediatric issues.  You will also find “information regarding the Academy's many programs and activities, our policies and guidelines, our publications and other child health resources.” more...
	Resiliency in Action
	www.Resiliency.com     “Resiliency is the ability to spring back from and successfully adapt to adversity. An increasing body of research from the fields of psychology, psychiatry, and sociology is showing that most people–including young people–can bounce back from risks, stress, crises, and trauma and experience life success.”  This website is dedicated to helping people—especially young people and families—become resilient.  On the website you will find information on the book entitled “Resiliency in Action,” on the Resiliency Training Program, and on the Resiliency Quiz. more...
	Alliance for Childhood
	www.AllianceForChildhood.net     “The Alliance for Childhood promotes policies and practices that support children’s healthy development, love of learning, and joy in living. Our public education campaigns bring to light both the promise and the vulnerability of childhood. We act for the sake of the children themselves and for a more just, democratic, and ecologically responsible future.”  The website and the organization focus “intensively on a few critical issues. Among these are the loss of creative play and hands-on activities in children’s lives, and the excessive amounts of time spent in front of screens instead of in face-to-face engagement with other children, caring adults, and the natural world. We also work against the commercialization of childhood, the misuse of high-stakes testing, and increasing levels of childhood obesity.” more...
	Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA)
	www.PositiveCoach.org     “Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) is a nonprofit organization founded at Stanford University with the mission to transform youth sports so sports can transform youth. PCA was created to transform the culture of youth sports to give all young athletes the opportunity for a positive, character-building experience.”  The organization is supported by coaching luminaries such as Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach, Phil Jackson.  On the website you can find free tips and tools for coaches and sports parents as well as youth sports blogs and information on how to become a PCA trainer. more...
	National Alliance for Youth Sports
	www.NAYS.org     “The National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS) is America's leading advocate for positive and safe sports and activities for children…Today, NAYS offers programs and services for everyone involved in youth sports experiences, including professional administrators, volunteer administrators, volunteer coaches, officials, parents and young athletes. The goal of NAYS is to make sports and activities safe and positive by providing programs and services that add value to youth sports.”  On the website you will find links to training programs, sports programs, events and features and youth sports resources. more...
	JFCS: Parents Place
	www.ParentsPlaceOnline.org     Parents Place, a program of Jewish Family and Children’s Services, is designed to support families and children.  The organization does this by offering “consultation, counseling, and parent education about everything to do with raising children—from infancy to young adulthood—including comprehensive services for teenagers and children with special needs.” more...
	Children's Health Center
	www.MayoClinic.com/Health/Childrens-Health/CC99999     The Children’s Health Center is one part of the MayoClinic.com website.  On this website you can find many articles on children’s health topics such as nutrition and fitness, childhood obesity, and children and TV.  Additionally, you can find links to numerous websites regarding children’s health. more...
	Just-In-Time Stress Relief
	www.JITSR.com     “JITSR, a product of Wellness Logic, LLC, started in 2005 to provide subscribers with low-cost access to an effective set of stress management methods and tools. Based on practices proven at The Stanford University School of Medicine, JITSR uses technology to help people develop stress management habits that automatically result in reduced stress and enhanced performance.”  On the website you can find information about the services JITSR provides, testimonials, news, and contact info. more...
	YogaEd
	www.YogaEd.com     “Yoga Ed. develops and produces health/wellness programs, trainings and products for teachers, parents, children and health professionals that improve academic achievement, physical fitness, emotional intelligence and stress management.”  The website offers information for yoga instructors, for teachers and schools, and lists information about products and events. more...
	Mindfulness in Education Network
	www.MindfulEd.org     The group of educators that started this organization “saw mindfulness as an antidote to the growing stress, conflict and confusion in educational settings as well as an invaluable gift to give students. The purpose of our network is to facilitate communication among all educators, parents, students and any others interested in promoting contemplative practice (mindfulness) in educational settings.”  The website offers many articles and resources as well as information about the Mindfulness in Education Network conference. more...
	Art of Living
	us.ArtOfLiving.org     The Art of Living Foundation “offers programs to uncover the strength, peace, and joy that lie at the core of every human being. By nurturing the spirit and compassion of every individual, the Foundation seeks to help build a global society that is free of stress, violence, and misery - and full of service, wisdom, and celebration.”  The website is very comprehensive and on it you will find information about the Art of Living course, advanced programs, special programs, service projects, the Art of Living Foundation’s founder, and local information. more...
	KidsHealth
	www.KidsHealth.org     KidsHealth is a website full of “information you can trust about kids and teens that’s free of ‘doctor speak’… KidsHealth is the most-visited site on the Web for information about health, behavior, and development from before birth through the teen years.”  The website has three sections: for parents, for kids, and for teens.  Each section has interesting articles and interactive features on health topics that concern parents, kids, and teens. more...
	Campus Calm
	www.CampusCalm.com     Campus Calm is a website that was started by Maria Pascucci, “a former college perfectionist, summa cum laude graduate and stressaholic,” who is now “a trailblazing young entrepreneur on a mission: to spread a dose of ‘campus calm’ to stressed-out students worldwide.”  On the website you can find tips and articles, and you can sign up for a free kit full of stress and time management tips. more...