As the school year begins its final stretch, the focus naturally shifts to what comes next. For many educators and youth development professionals, April isn’t just about finishing strong, it’s about laying the groundwork for a summer that truly moves the needle for young people.

This month, we're inviting you to consider how you can make this a summer of impact. Whether you are refining your programming or preparing your staff, the goal remains the same: ensuring every student has the support they need to thrive during the out-of-school months. We believe that intentional preparation now leads to transformative experiences later.

To help you gear up, we’re sharing resources focused on making an impact, telling your story, and taking action.

Here’s what’s happening at PEAR.

Now Available: Tools for Impact

SPARK - Prove Your Impact, Fast

SPARK is PEAR’s streamlined evaluation designed to give you credible, decision-ready evidence in weeks, not months. Whether you're preparing for a grant, reporting to your board, or testing a new program, SPARK turns your data into clear, defensible proof of impact.

With SPARK, you get:

Access to PEAR’s validated assessment tools
Statistical analysis with pre-post comparisons and key subgroup insights
A one-page, stakeholder-ready impact infographic
A live review session with a PEAR evaluator to interpret results and identify next steps

Reach out to learn more about SPARK and other evaluation services!

HSA Action Reports

HSA Action Reports are now available at PEAR! Last month we introduced this new tool that shows school or program impact while also providing strategies for action

Included in the report is an executive summary of Holistic Student Assessment (HSA) data findings, a breakdown of student strengths and challenges, developmentally aligned clover insights, and activities educators can implement for classroom improvement.

Read it Now

Is Your Program Ready for Evaluation? A Practical Starting Point for Youth-Serving Organizations

by Sarafina Ndzi MA, LPCA, Evaluation Associate, PEAR &

Dr. Amreen Nasim Thompson, Associate Director of Research & Evaluation, PEAR

Evaluation can be a great way to understand the impact your program is having and to tell it's story. However, for those who are new to program evaluation, it can be difficult to know what questions to ask and how to collect answers.

That's where evaluation readiness comes in.

Read the newest edition to our Evaluation in Action blog where PEAR's evaluation team explains what evaluation readiness is and what to consider when assessing you program for readiness.

Read the Blog Now!

My interview with The Anxious Generation’s Jonathan Haidt

by Rebecca Manoush

PEAR's founder, Dr. Gil Noam, was given a special callout in Rebecca's Manoush's blog where she interviewed author of "The Anxious Generation," Jonathan Haidt. Dr. Noam's research about the importance of out of after-school and summer programs underscores the need for offline-options for youth growing up in a tech-focused world.

Read it Here!

FREE Curricula for Impact

PEAR and our partners at 4-Leaf Learning have two exciting new, free curricula available now! We are seeking programs interested in piloting EDGE (an engineering curriculum) and/or Clover for Youth (a mental health curriculum) this summer. For each curriculum we offer synchronous online facilitator training, easy-to-use facilitator guides, slides, worksheets, and implementation support.

EDGE is a six-session curriculum that provides fun, hands-on activities that tackle real-world environmental engineering challenges and build 21 century skills, all free of charge.

To sign up to be part of EDGE during summer 2026, click here by April 30, 2026.

The Clover for Youth curriculum helps students develop positive mental health and grow their interpersonal skills.

To sign up to be part of Clover for Youth during summer 2026, click here by April 30, 2026.

Coming Soon: A New Source of Program Data

Career Readiness Assessment

PEAR's Career Readiness Assessment connects developmental foundations like resilience, self-regulation, and agency to the real-world skills students need to navigate work and life after school. The result is clear, usable data on where students are growing and where they may be getting stuck, in real time.

That information can be used in two important ways. It helps educators and program leaders strengthen their practice and better support students while programs are still in progress. It also provides credible evidence of impact that can be shared with funders, partners, and stakeholders.

With the Career Readiness assessment, you can:

Measure the skills that actually matter to employers like time management, persuasive communication, building professional connections, and more
Connect youth development to workforce outcomes
Turn data into action and implement it in the real-world
Prove impact to funders and partners

PEAR's Approach to Career Readiness:

Combining whole-child view with workforce integration
Actionable, not just informational
Research-backed and field tested
Efficient and scalable survey administration

If your team is looking for way to translate resilience into real-world readiness, we’d love to talk to you.

Stay connected with us for resources, research, and conversations about youth development, education, and well-being.