This article uses story as a process to highlight the work in a South Texas community that focuses on the education of youth and the development of community. The work is guided by a new consciousness of place, community engagement, and identity formation. The work is local, but breaking the isolation of youth, families, and ideas has been part of…

There is universal agreement that a good education for all our citizens is the harbinger of future personal success, a high standard of living, and a flourishing economy and improved global competitiveness. Actions that contradict that postulate must therefore be challenged, exposed and corrected. Remedial academic programs have effectively…

For young people who have dropped out of school, are out of work, or lack connections to family or other caring adults, there are often no easy answers. Their hopes for a better life are frequently no different than those harbored by their more advantaged peers, but their path to adulthood is rendered more difficult by tangled combinations of…