Mental health and well-being significantly impact students' academic performance, social interactions, and school engagement. Partnering with communities can enhance the effectiveness and reach of mental health initiatives and supports within educational settings. By collaborating with community organizations and agencies, schools can augment…

All undergraduate students at Saint Mary's College of California, a small, private institution, are required to complete an engaged learning (EL) course or experience for graduation. This graduation requirement was established to provide students with the opportunity to learn in and from the community; an important value from the principles of the…

Universities seek tools that provide a clear vision and expectations for community engagement at the institutional level. This study focused on the development of the Community Engagement Institutional Assessment (CEIA) rubric to evaluate four key criteria and its application in a pilot study of course-based community engagement. The results…

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is an internationally known arts institution in Washington, DC. The Kennedy Center recognized that many young people need equitable and ongoing access to the arts in schools because access to the arts often depends on school budgets, scheduling constraints, and administrative commitment. In 2009,…

This article describes the collaborative efforts at Pikes Peak State College to support veterans within the institution and community. In partnership with PPSC's Military and Veterans Program and with assistance from professional colleagues inside and outside the institution, two English faculty spearheaded efforts to organize events and create a…

Tina M. Ellsworth and Toni Gates center their article around stories of Black joy, agency, and resistance of Black Kansas Citians. Ellsworth and Gates' collaboration demonstrates how educators can effectively construct partnerships between schools and grassroots organizations. The authors of this piece will guide educators in ways to find local…

Partnerships between communities and institutions of higher education have become central ways in which post-secondary students and faculty members interact with teachers and students in community environments. These partnerships can be challenging to develop, however, particularly given the numerous and shifting priorities of both schools and…

Community college students often face more stressors than those at four-year institutions. Many are working adults with families. Some are homeless, food insecure or have financial instability. The pandemic has exacerbated these challenges. Community college leaders are employing a number of strategies to solve the mental health crisis, such as…

Starting in the early 1980's, the environmental justice (EJ) movement was critical in drawing much needed attention to how communities of color, low-income groups, Indigenous peoples, and other marginalized groups have experienced a disproportionate burden of environmental and ecological harms. The EJ movement sparked the birth of the EJ field of…

School-community partnerships enhance school districts' capacity to provide effective educational services to their students. In under-resourced schools - such as small-to-mid-sized urban school districts - these partnerships play a crucial role, as resource limitations often inhibit the availability of services traditionally provided by public…

Universities have the potential to bring significant assets to community school development, and community school models align with emerging priorities in higher education, including shifts toward community engagement. University-assisted community schools (UACS) present an ideal place for these mutual interests to be met, although barriers to…

Over the past 50 years, colleges and universities have taken on increasingly important roles as anchor institutions in U.S. cities, partnering with local communities to promote development and well-being. Such community-campus partnerships rely on the work of community engagement professionals (CEPs), staff tasked with administering, coordinating,…

Sport- and physical activity-related participatory action research (PAR) often involves voluntary partnerships spanning institutions, organizations, and jurisdictions. Negotiating and maintaining multi-stakeholder and multi-jurisdictional research partnerships can be likened to a delicate balancing act fraught with potential challenges and strains…

Anchor movements rest on the premise that people- and place-based initiatives can be mutually reinforcing. The community development movement, however, has been haunted for years by the people-place dilemma -- the idea that efforts to help people harm efforts to uplift places and vice versa. Most of the literature on the anchor strategy has…

Purpose of review: School-based health centers (SBHCs) primarily serve underserved students and families through removing barriers to care. The number of SBHCs have increased dramatically with investments from state- and federal-funding programs, including expanded funding from the American Rescue Plan. This article reviews findings on the…