Out-of-school time (OST) has great significance as a youth development space that can support students' exploration of social justice. Such opportunities for exploration are especially important in times of social distress and upheaval, such as those experienced during the school shutdowns and racial unrest associated with the global pandemic.…

The U.S. education system often functions as an adverse developmental context for Black students. Discriminatory policies and racist ideologies contribute to a series of cascading inequities in students' learning experiences. For example, years of data indicate an overrepresentation of Black students suspended and/or expelled from school.…

Organized out-of-school time (OST) activities are critical assets that help youth develop life and social skills. Latine youth have some of the lowest rates of participation in OST activities out of all racial and ethnic subgroups due to structural and interpersonal barriers that perpetuate and reproduce patterns of inequality. The purpose of the…

The beginning of 2020 marked the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and a new reality. Mainstream learning loss discourse emerged as young people faced new social challenges and rising inequities. However, how we define some of these challenges may pose new barriers to equity promotion. Deficit-based narratives often negatively construct youth…

Out-of-school time (OST) programs provide important contexts for youth's development and well-being. Moreover, OST programs have the potential to serve as an anchor for refugee youth who lack familiarity with U.S. schools and communities. Youth civic engagement encompasses activities that are critical for empowering young people to participate in…

Schools have an important role to play in adolescent suicide prevention. This article describes universal screenings for depression and suicidality as one component of the Signs of Suicide (SOS) program in middle and high schools following the suicide death of a student in the past few years. Of the students screened (N = 7,429), 11.0 percent of…

Urban policymakers, city officials, and community residents utilize neighborhood revitalization initiatives to establish safe and empowered neighborhoods. In 2016, leaders in Columbus, Ohio, launched a neighborhood revitalization effort designed to improve safety, access to opportunities, and economic development in the historically underserved…

Community schools respond to a variety of risk factors that impede student learning and development. School and community leaders in Canyons School District (CSD) have created community schools across one highly impacted feeder pattern to strengthen academic learning efforts, school climate and youth development opportunities, parent and family…

Adolescent health and well-being are abysmal due to low and declining physical activity rates, increasing mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, and minimal opportunities to engage in meaningful social experiences. Adolescents who live in communities that are underserved face greater risks for experiencing health disparities…

Guided by the National Association of Social Workers' Code of Ethics and measures of competence provided by the Council on Social Work Education, the social work field serves as a model for strategies that promote collaboration across difference, strengths-based advocacy with communities, and education through engagement. These values and…

Research-practice partnerships play an important role in critically examining racial disparities in schools, as well as supporting the immediate adoption of practice improvement. This article outlines the results of a multisite case study with students, teachers, and administrators across two racially and ethnically diverse middle schools in the…

Poverty continues to be a significant public health crisis across the United States, and its impact is particularly prevalent among school-aged youth and their families. Many K-12 educators do not fully understand the realities associated with living in poverty. Such a lack of understanding impacts teachers' ability to meet the unique educational…

University-assisted community schools (UACS), which work as partnerships between schools and universities that assist the mobilization of coordinated services to children, families, and communities, can build capacity for schools and neighborhoods to better serve the needs of marginalized families, such as grandparent-headed households. Despite…

The authors investigated the effects of a collaborative after-school inclusive sports program on adolescents with disabilities and neurotypical students in underserved high schools. The program brought together a large urban school district and a private after-school program to provide a service on the school site. The goals were to provide a…

Youth who are bullied are more likely to experience negative social and educational outcomes; these problems may be exacerbated for Black youth who also experience racial bullying or discrimination as part of their victimization. This study investigated the ways in which Black parents understand and respond to their adolescent children's bullying…