Community schools have shown promising gains for students in the areas of student attendance, academic achievement, student behavior, and school climate. However, little scholarship has addressed the experiences of these schools and their stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic. To determine how community school programs were impacted by the…

This study examines the impacts of Chicago's Universal Pre-K (UPK) expansion on the operational dynamics of preschools across setting types from the perspective of administrators. Specifically, we explore how Chicago Public Schools (CPS) principals and and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) directors experienced the implementation of UPK.…

This study explores the quantitative measurement of Community Cultural Wealth (CCW), an asset-based approach to understanding the experiences of students from systemically marginalized racial/ethnic groups. Grounded in critical race theory, CCW focuses on forms of capital utilized by marginalized populations that are often unrecognized/undervalued…

Despite the fact that many learners are attracted to the humanities and liberal arts, community college students--particularly those from low-income backgrounds--are often advised to avoid those subjects in favor of STEM-related courses like information technology, health care, and engineering. The reason is clear: unless students have had…

There is a pressing need for focused leadership development aimed at rural community colleges, which have challenges distinct to their geographic contexts. Designed to address these needs, the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research developed the three-year, cohort-based Rural College Leaders Program (RCLP). This…

In the United States, community colleges have served diverse student populations, including students of color and students with disabilities. While these colleges are celebrated for their access and affordability, student success is not guaranteed. As educators work to continuously improve course and program completion, students' sense of…

This chapter reflects on how the Michigan Center for Student Success (MCSS) has leveraged its position within a membership organization for community college presidents and trustees to engage in statewide student success efforts in a state with a unique higher education governance structure. With no formal higher education governing body to set…

Research-creation practices have long consulted the public in the process of research, yet the act of making often rests in the hands of the individual researcher. This paper proposes a more integrated and collaborative framework for arts-based researchers and educators called Community-Based Research-Creation, which extends the collaborative…

Urban community colleges have been studied primarily from a case study perspective, often highlighted by doctoral students conducting research at their institutions. Little of this scholarship, however, has been translated into the base of literature, as less than 5% of the citations in the largest search engines are focused on urban community…

The efficacy of the CTE curriculum and program delivery can be affected by both internal and external factors. In an effort for community colleges to improve graduation and retention rates, institutions are developing enrollment and retention strategies that involve scheduling options. The purpose of this causal-comparative quantitative study was…

Education is a central aspect of social movements' ability to build individual and collective participation in political struggle. But, how do these processes of learning and consciousness take place? As Choudry (Choudry, A. 2015. Learning Activism: The intellectual Life of Contemporary Social Movements. University of Toronto Press) argues, it is…

A number of urban U.S. cities that were traditionally Black and underinvested are now becoming enclaves to whites and upper-middle-class people. Consequently, a growing body of research on schools and gentrification is emerging. While most of this research has focused on the shifts that neighborhoods and schools undergo due to gentrification, we…

The 21st-century global economy has significantly changed the landscape of the American workplace. Apprenticeship training programs are gaining momentum as a postsecondary training approach to fill growing worker shortages for industry-specific needs and prepare workers for new or expanding industries (Fitzpayne & Pollack, 2018; Freyer et al.,…

Since the implementation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the largest student veteran enrollments have taken place at community colleges. Student veterans are considered "at-risk students" due to their high attrition rates in higher education. There is a lack of literature regarding the experiences of staff responsible for providing support…

Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) serves the beautifully diverse city of Oakland in California's East Bay. The city, or "the Town" as Oakland natives might say, is steeped in community members' dedication to fighting for equity, particularly in education. The decades-long history of organizing and activism, especially that of Black…