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In 2009, IDRA celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program, an empirically-tested dropout prevention program implemented in 550 schools in the continental United States, Puerto Rico, Brazil and the United Kingdom. The program works by engaging youth at risk of dropping out as tutors of younger students.

Valuing youth of all backgrounds transforms perceptions and outcomes: since 1984, the program has kept over 34,100 students in school and positively impacted more than half a million children, families and educators.

Anchored in this transnational experience, Continuities – Lessons for the Future of Education from the IDRA Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program, vividly captures seven key lessons for improving the quality of education for all students. In Continuities, readers hear the voices of youth, teachers, family members and program leaders and learn why valuing youth is at the heart of school transformation.