Engaging Voices of Disconnected Learners in Urban Environments

Success in school is critical for urban youth. This study reports on ten coaches effort to engage urban high school students in social action projects in a charter school that adopted the Public Achievement model of civic engagement. The coaches, who were graduate students, worked with ten groups of six to twelve students who were required to participate. This study draws from fieldnotes and interviews of each coach and examines their experiences of helping students think critically about community issues. This calls for families, communities, and schools to build social networks; providing children with social capital necessary to achieve.