Texas ranks among the top 10 states for school dropouts with an annual dropout rate of about 30%. Some dropout prevention programs are incorporating community service components as a means to counter the alienation and low self-esteem frequently seen among dropouts and at-risk students. Significant adults other than school personnel provide youth…

The Llano Grande Center for Research and Development started as an oral history experiment in two of Texas's poorest school districts. Since the 1920s, when this arid region in the southernmost tip of Texas was first transformed into the orchards and farmlands of the "Magic Valley," workers of Mexican descent have worked the land. Over…