Community outreach and service-learning are common components of medical and health profession programs. Outreach programs can provide diverse service-learning opportunities for students to work collaboratively with their communities. Many educational accrediting bodies require service-learning activities for students. The discipline of anatomy is…

Over the past decade, Illinois has emerged as a national exemplar of how state policy can drive systemic change in civics education. The Illinois Civic Mission Coalition, a pan-ideological alliance of educators, policymakers, and civic organizations, has shaped the state's civics education vision. The coalition built a scalable infrastructure of…

As schools across the country continue to search for innovative practices to address pandemic-related learning loss and combat social isolation, experts are pointing to high dosage tutoring as a strategy worthy of consideration. Great Oaks Charter School Bridgeport in Connecticut offers an example of a high dosage tutoring model that has been…

As one of the most culturally diverse schools in New York City, the Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School (MELS) serves about 850 students in grades 6 through 12. MELS is "A School for a Sustainable City" and a New York City Outward Bound School. MELS uses the Expeditionary Learning education model, which focuses on student…

What does the development of a young person's political agency look like, and what role can schools play in this process? The authors profile Blackstone Academy, where administrators integrate social activism, community service, and other service-learning projects into the curriculum to help students develop leadership skills and confidence. The…

When Emily Crosette, joined H2O for Life as a high school student, she never dreamed that it would be the impetus for her future educational and career goals. Crossette majored in civil and environmental engineering and minored in environmental science at Lafayette College and is now completing her PhD in environmental engineering at the…

Out-of-school time academic/STEM programs provide educational enrichment to a myriad of student populations with some designed to assist those underrepresented and at-risk who desire to purse post-secondary studies. One such program in West Virginia (WV) is the Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA), which provides hands-on, in person and…

Educating learners about the science of climate change can be challenging because of the socio-ecological complexity of the issue. Some studies show that increased knowledge about climate change can lead to decreased concern because increased information can overwhelm learners and make them feel powerless to effect change. This article describes a…

Youth engagement is the meaningful and sustained involvement of young people in efforts to create positive social change. This approach requires youth-serving organizations to rebalance traditional power dynamics between adults and young people, allowing youths to take on decision-making responsibilities. Collective impact initiatives such as…

The recently adopted TEKS for English I-IV that will be implemented in 2020-2021 require students to write for a variety of purposes and audiences, to practice the writing process, and to engage in reflective writing. These standards can be difficult to meet when literacy instruction is confined to classroom borders, where students often write…

The "Beyond Perceptions" collaborative visual art project, an ongoing initiative by the Indianapolis Art Center, provided opportunities for high school students to engage with homeless individuals through partnerships with people and organizations in the community who serve this marginalized group. These experiences challenged…

For many educators, the inspiration to teach comes from a desire to make a positive difference in students' lives. As they seek to guide students toward their big goals through trying times, teachers need resources that strengthen social and emotional skills. Facing this very challenge, Allison Silverman, a teacher at Port Chester Middle School in…

In this article, the authors examine their collaboration on a joint ELA-art-mindfulness project before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following chronicles the impact of the pandemic on the project and on student engagement, key takeaways from teaching and collaborating during a virtual school year, and the implementation of said takeaways…

Community activities can be an important part of the transition to adulthood, but many students with disabilities miss those experiences because they are not offered in their community or high school. This lack of opportunities in schools may account for the discrepancy that is found after high school graduation between the employment rates of…

Common Ground High School in New Haven, Connecticut, has made student voice and leadership not only a philosophy, but a universal principle. The single-site charter school sits on 20 acres of land and houses an urban farm that produces more than 10,000 pounds of local food each year. Students are encouraged to become local changemakers by serving…