Youth-focused environmental programs develop environmental stewardship and related interest in future career pursuits. However, research is limited on how youth perceive the varied skills and capacities needed in environmental careers, which could impact their ability to contribute to environmental work. We describe findings from a…

Background: Youth from low-income, racially and ethnically diverse families are at increased risk for academic challenges and nutritionally inadequate diets. Summer programs offer an opportunity to foster interest and engage students in science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) education while addressing summer learning loss.…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the narratives constructed by urban youth in a summer program for future educators of color. In particular, we asked, "In what ways do students use texts to create counternarratives of urban education?" Utilizing visual counternarratives and counterstorytelling as theoretical frames, and through…

"Al Éxito" supports the leadership development, post-secondary education, and civic engagement of Iowa Latina/o youth. In the summer of 2015, it piloted "Movimiento Al Éxito," a "pop up" summer program. In this article, we detail the innovative components and curriculum and describe our journey with "new…

The authors describe and analyze the strengths and challenges of a 10-year summer writing program that provides out-of-school academic support for adolescent writers who are not yet college and career ready. The two-week program takes place at the university where faculty and school district English language arts teachers work with approximately…

Youth participation in sport is associated with positive developmental outcomes. The development of life skills is especially important for urban youth of color who are often underserved and face poor long-term outcomes. To service the needs of underserved youth, community youth sport programs have begun to utilize sport-based positive youth…

Diverse urban youth need a wide range of program opportunities and formats to develop their own sense of political agency and leadership. One size does not fit all.

This article presents an evaluation of the first 2 years of a research-based summer learning program that provided self-selected and developmentally appropriate books to students in low-income and low-resource elementary schools by a local philanthropic organization in a large urban district. The evaluation found evidence of a positive effect of…

Adopting an asset-based and resilience-building framework, the present study examines the effects of out-of-school activities on advancing the academic achievement, leadership skills, and service orientation of youth of color placed at risk who attended one of over 60 independent urban middle schools that follow the NativityMiguel model of…

Theories of writing process have informed the teaching of writing for the past forty years, providing writing mentors with a language of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing that broadens ways to invite young writers to approach composition. In the past forty years, new technologies for composition have impacted the products,…

Research on recreational media use among youth indicates young people of color who spend more time with media may also be at higher risk for school disengagement and low personal contentment compared to their white peers. This puts these students in a position to be even more influenced by the themes and messages that abound in pop culture,…

This study profiles tutoring programs that empower urban youth within the Regional Institute of Tutorial Education (RITE), a community collaborative of universities, youth agencies, community service organizations, and school districts. Representative members of RITE detail how they address shared urban problems of academic deficits, school…

In this article, the author talks about a summer program at the African American Adolescent Male Summer Literacy Institute which aims to improve literacy skills of black male teens. The African American Adolescent Male Summer Literacy Institute is now in its fourth year at the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC). Alfred Tatum, director of the…

Many teens today feel as though they have limited opportunities to prove to society that they can make positive and meaningful contributions to their communities. They are presented with few opportunities to make important choices and decisions regarding their lives and communities and often have no mechanisms in their everyday lives to help them…

This article stems from a grounded theory study of leadership among urban youth. It reports the perspective of students in a college preparation program by examining how they participated in leadership. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and field observations of 20 incoming college freshmen. Students conceptualized…