This article reports on the findings of a photography and literacy project ("Through Students' Eyes") the authors conducted with middle level English language learners and alternative high school youth from a mid-Atlantic (US) ex-urban area. In order to bridge middle and high school settings, the authors used multimodal and photo elicitation methods to allow young adults to document and describe their relationships to school, thus helping to uncover youths' perceptions of "quality" literacy pedagogies. They learned that visually based practices support young adolescents' literacy engagement, engage diverse students in core language arts practices, and help youth persist through middle school, high school, and beyond. (Contains 3 figures.)