August is officially here and for most of us, that means the first day of school or our program year is right around the corner! But don’t panic -- Early Impact is back with more resources and tools to set you and your students up for success. And with this issue we’re officially halfway through our series!

You probably know from personal experience that retaining and applying new knowledge is a struggle if you are stressed or anxious -- this naturally applies to our students as well, particularly those who have been exposed to trauma or have other pronounced academic or social needs. Today's resources build off a psychological framework known as SCARF (Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness and Fairness) to help maximize student confidence and alleviate stress factors. We'll start with the research behind the concept and then see how it can apply directly to our planning for the new school year.