This article was inspired by a belief in the need to connect physical education with community-based physical activity programming in minority communities. The initial steps of this reflective narrative were described in a previous article. This article describes a program called Project Guard: Make A Splash E.N.D. (End Needless Drowning), a…

In 2007, Walter P. Webb Middle School faced a crisis. One evening in January, the superintendent at the time held a meeting at the school in Austin, Texas, to let students, parents, teachers, and community members know that at the end of the academic year, their school would close. Thanks to a new state law focused on accountability, the…

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth may endure adverse experiences related to their sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. While social supports are commonly described as protective factors, few researchers have investigated this phenomenon for LGBT youth. The current study used thematic coding to analyze…

The college-going rates of rural students lag behind those of more urban students, a gap likely due, in part, to rural students' lower educational aspirations. These lower aspirations appear to be tied to the dilemma that higher education presents for many rural students: whether to remain in their rural home, working in traditional trades and…

During a discussion with a panel of speakers from All of Us or None, an organization fighting for the rights of people who have been imprisoned, nearly every student in Andy Peck's senior economics class at Berkeley High School in California spoke of family members or friends who were currently locked up or formerly incarcerated, back on their…

The article discusses the implementation and results of a youth participatory action research (YPAR) project carried out with black high school students in 2009 and 2010 in Montreal, QC. The aim of the project was to involve black youth in studying the factors that either enhance or impede their success in school and thereby have them identify…

The nonprofit community-based organization Pittsburgh Promise aims to help revitalize Pittsburgh and its public school system by offering college scholarships to any Pittsburgh Public School graduate who meets the academic requirements. Executive director Saleem Ghubril spoke with "Voices in Urban Education" guest editor Jacob Mishook…

This guide describes the role of enforcement and community organizations or groups in preventing underage drinking parties and how to safely disperse them. It describes the problem of underage drinking, in general, and youth-drinking parties in particular. It provides step-by-step information on how to address underage drinking parties and how to…

We investigate class differences in youth activity participation with interview, survey, and archival data from a diverse sample of parents (n = 51) in two schools. Findings point toward structural rather than cultural explanations. Working- and middle-class parents overlap in parenting logics about participation, though differ in one respect:…

In this webinar, Dr. Joyce Epstein, Director of the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships and the National Network of Partnership Schools, discussed what the research says about effective family engagement. The webinar and PowerPoint presentation are also available. A brief list of resources is included.

New York City's College Access and Success Initiative (CAS) focuses on improving the odds of success for young people who have graduated from failing high schools, are recent immigrants, or who have dropped out and then attained a GED. Begun in 2004, it demonstrates how colleges and community organizations can integrate education and youth…

Discussions about the ways of improving high schools have frequently considered school size and many "new" schools reduce the size to personalize the school experience and produce more positive student outcomes. Interest in designing new small schools has increased. Embedded in many of the small school design initiatives is the belief that new…

Communities In Schools, Inc. (CIS) is a nationwide initiative designed to connect needed community resources with schools to help students, particularly those identified as at-risk, successfully learn, stay in school, and prepare for life. As part of a comprehensive 5-year national evaluation of CIS, ICF International conducted a school-level…

Arts education has been a low priority in the nation's public schools for more than 30 years. In some communities, a countermovement to this dwindling presence of arts education in the schools has developed in the form of initiatives aimed at coordinating schools, cultural institutions, community-based organizations, foundations, and/or…

This case study examines the struggles and successes of teachers and students collaborating with community organizations on the Second Tuesday Project, a community-based research and service program at an urban high school. Using qualitative methods, the study includes data from interviews, participant-observations, and focus groups to describe…