Many talented students in under-resourced schools do not reach their full potential. Research shows that by sixth grade, children born into poverty have likely spent 6,000 fewer hours learning than their middle-class counterparts. Higher Achievement, an intensive summer and after-school program, aims to close that learning gap. It offers…

In July 1963, students from Queens College (QC) and a group of New York City teachers traveled to Prince Edward County (PEC), Virginia, to teach local black youth in Freedom Schools. The county had eliminated public education four years earlier to avoid a desegregation order. PEC Freedom Schools represented the first major effort to recruit an…

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) supports mentoring for children and youth from disadvantaged circumstances through several of their programs. CNCS believes that caring and capable adults can make a critical difference in the lives of children and youth in need. Mentoring is a proven method to ensure students complete…

Participation in development projects in the Global South has become one of the most sought-after activities among American and British high school graduates and college students. In the United States this often takes the form of Alternative Spring Break trips, while in Britain students typically pursue development work during their "gap…

Getting called into the boss's office isn't always fun. Memories of trips to the school principal's office flash through one's mind. But the day last year that the author was called in to meet with their division vice president turned out to be a very good day. Executives at his company, Microsoft, had noticed the program he created in his spare…

Universities increasingly see community engagement as a means to achieve their mission. In order to assess the impact of these efforts, it is necessary to gather and analyze data from across the institution on community-engaged activities. This article presents a case study of Virginia Commonwealth University's efforts in developing enterprise…

On April 8, 2016 when the class was discussing "digital literacy," a shocking news story from London AP intrigued us. The news was about a brief text message delivered by Ahmed, a refugee Afghan boy of 6-year old. His text message flashed on the cellphone of Liz Clegg, a volunteer at a migrant camp in France. Clegg and other volunteers…

Postdeployment family reintegration and relationship breakdown among combat veterans has received considerable attention from the Department of Defense and the media. Social interventions have been developed as a family strengthening strategy. In this article, we present a university-Wounded Warrior partnership where a relationship enhancement…

Describes the Literacy Volunteers of Virginia Institutions program (LVVI). There are LVVI programs at 22 institutions where inmate and community volunteers provide one-to-one basic reading instruction to students and are supervised by teachers from the Department of Correctional Education. (JOW)

Information on school/community partnerships in Virginia is provided in this resource guide, which is divided into five sections. The first section, "Building Community/Classroom Partnerships Through Coalitions," by Jane Asche, discusses recent findings that point to the need for coalitions to improve public education. Successful…

This booklet is a step-by-step explanation of how Gloucester County, Virginia, developed a solid and effective affiliate of Literacy Volunteers of America. It begins with a history of People Organized for Worthwhile Education of Residents (Project POWER). A discussion follows of the planning for this 1-year program for the development of a support…

The National Capital Region (NCR) is home to more than one-and-a-half million children and youth (ages birth through 24 years). Although the NCR is known as a place with a highly transient population, if history is any guide, many of these young people will remain in this region and fundamentally shape the quality of life--not only for themselves,…

The history and current status of Indochinese Mutual Assistance Programs (MAAs) is reviewed in the newsletter issue, and a description is provided of the six kinds of MAAs that are found in the United States. They include the following: (1) cultural preservation/social activities; (2) religious services; (3) special constituency groups; (4)…

The 1988-89 Highlands Educational Literacy Project (HELP) in southwest Virginia was initially designed to provide local volunteer tutors with intensive training in the Laubach one-to-one method of teaching reading. HELP was a cooperative effort of community service agencies, church and civic groups, and interested individuals to provide free…

In effective principal preparation programs, interns are encouraged to observe a wide range of well-administered schools through exposure to varied styles. Mentors are carefully selected, highly competent professionals willing to accept the role of teacher, confidant, and role model. Mentors should volunteer; they should never be assigned.…