Purpose: This article illustrates the transformational nature of servant leadership and its capacity to empower and develop others. In it, I recount my close relationship with a high school mentor who embodied the key tenants of Greenleaf's (1970) servant leadership philosophy. I also advocate for others to provide mentorship and support in a…

Young people who graduate from high school are more likely to transition into further study or training, get a job and earn higher wages. However, many young people with the highest needs leave or become excluded from mainstream school settings and some complete their education in alternative education contexts. This paper shares reflections from…

This essay explores an English lesson I taught to a Year 9 class in which students drew upon and narrativised personal experiences. I describe and examine the literary sociability of the lesson, by which I mean the social and cultural exchanges that give shape to students' reading and writing. In doing so, I demonstrate the need for policymakers…

When teaching a course on American diversity, Jessica Lander realized that to understand the complexity of justice-related policies and events in U.S. history, students needed to relate personally. She had students write personal reflections on what it means to be American, which dealt with issues from immigration journeys, learning a new…

This short story illustrates an occasion of culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogical practices in relation to the canonical texts which are often used in urban classrooms. In it, a lesson on Jane Eyre's childhood point of view and mode of introspectiveness delves into a tale of dancing and Otherness. The story shows that in spaces where…

This discussion describes a collaboration between a high school for recently arrived immigrant and refugee youth and a local college. Across 6 weeks, college tutors read a wordless graphic novel, "The Arrival" (Tan, 2007), with newcomer students to support oral English language development, to develop interpretations, and to invite…

The issues associated with students' civic knowledge, engagement, and participation have been heightened in intellectual debates and public discussions. However, these discussions have not focused heavily on urban youths' civic identities or the locations of these identities within the youths' personal narratives of ethnicity, race, class, and…

Two high school students Jorisi and Elizabeth, after two weeks stuck at home during the COVID outbreak, wrote these reflections for their English class.

The Moth is a nonprofit performing arts organization dedicated to true stories told live, and its education programs make space for students and educators to tell their stories. In this edited transcript of a panel discussion given by student alumni of Moth storytelling programs, participants discuss the impact of personal narrative performance on…

Inspired by the work of the social and cultural historian Tim Cole, Stuart Farley decided to look again at the way he teaches the Holocaust. He wanted to focus on the geographical concept of place as a way of enabling his Year 9 students to build far more diverse narratives, which took full account of the chronological diversity of people's…

Diversity and inclusion are popular, yet often challenging, topics for youth in schools. A common approach to address the issues is to invite outside speakers to discuss ways to "celebrate diversity." After being invited to give such a talk, I created and enacted a presentation at an affluent high school on this topic that is grounded in…

"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 Early Career Spotlight column aims to illustrate accomplishments, or problems that are overcome, by early career school psychologists. In each column, a different school psychologist or NASP leader is featured. This issue features questions and answers with Libby Malone, who works as a school psychologist for Denver Public Schools at West…

In this article, we draw on the work of Michel Foucault to analyze one student's subject development in an expository writing classroom. James, the participant, was embarking on the project of becoming a good student, as he understood it, after struggling and leaving school previously. Drawing on interviews, classroom observations and written…

Guided by the concept of nepantleras and critical race nepantlera methodology, Nancy Acevedo presents the testimonios of Citlalli Bejarano and Natalie Ibarra Collazo, two Chicana students who attend urban high schools. Citlalli and Natalie share various forms of inclusion and exclusion that they experience as Chicanas attending private and public…