July 1 marked the second annual observation of No Shame Day—an event that promotes awareness of mental illness in the black community.

There is a great deal of competition for the attention of American students. Academic work, friends, home life, social media, and entertainment are just a few components of daily life that American youth juggle every day.

How can substance abuse prevention messages reach students effectively when their attention is already pulled in so many directions?

According to the numbers, boys are falling behind. They are dropping out of school at higher rates than girls, they are more likely to be suspended, and their grades are slipping. And not only are boys struggling more in grade school, men are attending college at lower rates than women. What is causing this academic imbalance?

One area of particular concern among professionals—and especially among parents—is the growing achievement gap in reading between boys and girls.

When you hear the term “toxic stress” in relation to young children, you probably think of kids living in areas of famine, war, or civil unrest in distant countries. But as I learned at a recent conference, the sad reality is that many children right here in the United States live in environments of toxic stress.

In schools across the country, education administrators are increasingly embracing restorative justice—a positive school discipline practice that focuses on repairing harm and developing students’ social-emotional health, rather than punishing perpetrators.