Little attention has been given to institutional violence exercised by schools as a major stressor leading to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and high dropout rates among Latino students. Institutional violence is defined as the norms, values, and structures of institutions that exclude and discriminate against individuals of disadvantaged and culturally different groups, making their needs invisible. This paper describes a research project, an intervention strategy, and an educational approach that focus on the role of institutional violence in Latino student attrition, ways that institutional violence can be diminished, and the role of university scholars in bridging theory and practice. Focus groups on perceptions of neighborhood and institutional violence were conducted with secondary school students, dropouts, parents, and teachers in Southwestern Detroit, and student participants completed the Children's PTSD Inventory. The intervention, Youth Helping Youth, addressed both academic and affective needs of students through a tutoring program plus a psychologist-facilitated discussion group for high-risk middle school students in a predominantly Latino school. Tutors for the intervention were provided by a community service learning course at the University of Michigan; a second course focused on the politics of language and cultural identity among U.S. Latinos. Course assessment examined the development of cultural competence among participants. Recommendations are offered for teacher education related to cultural competence and the effects of institutional violence. (Contains 75 references.) (SV)