First Published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This book is about theory, practice, and reform in working with youth who are at-risk in our schools. The book addresses several important topics, including: Problems of definition of at-risk and measurement; social, political and health aspects of being at-risk; theories of at-risk status including coping competence, agency intrinsic motivation and cultivation theory; the voices of those who are at-risk; groups that are often ignored when discussing at-risk youth, Native Americans and Appalachians; necessary changes such as prevention, early intervention, and a critical look at assessment practices and grades; a look at the role of higher education.

This book pulls an array of voices together to understand the convoluted times of 2016 to 2021 and the unique times of COVID-19. The killing of George Floyd, Breanna Taylor, and the death of John Lewis are events that highlight a historical revival for numerous social justice issues. This book stresses the importance of sociologist W. I. Thomas's work: "if you define a situation as real, it is real in its consequences" -- otherwise termed the world of subjective reality. This helps explain what happened on 6 January 2021.

University involvement within their communities and the promotion of engaged scholarship is essential for the success of the learning institution as well as for providing students with opportunities to interact with various leadership roles and hands-on interactions with the communities themselves. Community schools employ strategic partnerships to expand the boundaries of school improvements and to increase the direct benefits gained by the community. Emerging Perspectives on Community Schools and the Engaged University is an essential research publication that explores the importance of civic engagement in various school settings, but especially in higher education settings. Featuring a wide range of topics such as service learning, charter schools, and democracy, this book is ideal for community organizers, superintendents, directors, provosts, chancellors, education practitioners, academicians, administrators, researchers, and education policymakers.

As this book cogently states this is an eclectic examination of current social problems using the lenses of literature, whether fiction or non-fiction, to open doors to understanding the potential for new and creative interventions that have the potential for transformative change. The beginning quote from Toni Morrison bringing light to those who don't always find themselves true ownership to the land to which they are rooted in is a climate system for readers of this book. James Agee and Walker Evans provide a clear and yet complex vision of how they came to study three families in Hale County, Alabama. Their work gives excellent details on how to enter cultures different from their own. Hillbilly Elegy, Appalachian Reckoning and Nickel Boys all written in the past three years yield description and rhetoric that inform social scientists of the human condition. Appalachian Reckoning disputes much of what J.D. Vance wrote. Furious Hours is an excellent source for data collection and analysis. Literature is not new to social commentary but these are contemporary works that can help scholar activists and public researchers who are doing research and publishing for the public. This is a major goal of this book. Educational issues and their intersection with crime and mental issues are key topics of this cogent book. Opportunity gaps, school to prison pipeline, anxiety and many more issues are fodder for scholar activists that are adumbrated in this forceful book. The community school is proffered as a hub of services for those thorny issues. The school is the place to offer services because so many are fractured in this country today and very likely to become more so. Systemic thinking is a key part of the interventions applied currently. A plus on this topic is that systems thinking is presented in a demystifying way. Vignettes are a strength of this book in that they are what happened and they give readers insight into what worked and what didn't. If you are a bridge player, one peak is worth two finesses. The people in these vignettes are as alive today as they were when these events took place.

University involvement within their communities and the promotion of engaged scholarship is essential for the success of the learning institution as well as for providing students with opportunities to interact with various leadership roles and hands-on interactions with the communities themselves. Community schools employ strategic partnerships to expand the boundaries of school improvements and to increase the direct benefits gained by the community. Emerging Perspectives on Community Schools and the Engaged University is an essential research publication that explores the importance of civic engagement in various school settings, but especially in higher education settings. Featuring a wide range of topics such as service learning, charter schools, and democracy, this book is ideal for community organizers, superintendents, directors, provosts, chancellors, education practitioners, academicians, administrators, researchers, and education policymakers.

Community Engagement: Principles, Strategies and Practices is a collection of chapters written by engaged scholars. The authors of the chapters work in diverse settings and come from different philosophies of community engagement. For instance, Taylor and Luter in Chapter One cogently make the argument that universities have essentially sold out when it comes to community engagement. The authors argue that engaged scholars would be better served by looking at the Civil Rights Movements than progressive theories that drive service learning. Harkavy, Hodges, and Weeks take an opposite position and discuss historical figures such as Francis Bacon. Bacon spoke of improving a mans estate. By that, Bacon meant that people should make life better for all. Astute readers will want to read and dwell on the thoughts and ideas generated in the first two chapters. In Chapter Three, Bielefeldt, discusses service learning and community engagement in relation to engineering. Her chapter will interest those who do not traditionally engage with the community and in service learning. Bielefeldts writing style is exciting and will open new doors for readers of our text. Basma and Arce-Trigatti introduce two important concepts to readers. The authors claim that mental health services are delivered more effectively through community schools than through traditional health clinics. Further, the authors entertain the notion that migrants and refugees are often missed by those doing community engagement. Basma and Arce-Trigatti fall in line with Taylor and Luter in bringing up important questions concerning the role that universities are taking in community engagement. In Chapter Five, Iwaskai does a marvelous job of describing how he involved those he is studying as part of his research team. Iwaskais discussion of the YPAR method may be of particular interest for young scholars who want to do on-the-ground research. In Chapter Six, Conwill writes from an ethnographic perspective about his personal experiences as a psychologist and community organizer. He is an inductive thinker and brings his experiences alive by relating them to theory. Readers of this chapter should be enticed to think about this type of work in regards to community engagement and service learning. In Chapter Seven, Kronick and Daniels discuss how the University of Tennessee engages with the community. The authors present service learning and collaboration as important aspects of community engagement. Hicks-Goldston and Goldston present a unique way of looking at service learning in Chapter Eight. They report both the successes and failures of doing service learning online. In Chapter Nine, Bruner, Szepe, and Blueford discuss systems theory. The authors consider the role that closed systems play in the role of mental health care. Finally, Butler uses extreme detail to describe a university-business collaboration effort to establish a STEM program.