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Youth Communication helps marginalized youth develop their full potential through reading and writing, so that
they can succeed in school and at work and contribute to their communities. [more]
Our Magazines
School (95 found)
Moving to different foster homes has disrupted Akeema’s education, but she still manages to graduate. (full text)
A learning disability and the difficulties of living in foster care have caused Eric to fall far behind in high school. (full text)
When Fan Yi enters a prestigious high school, she’s astounded to find widespread cheating. (full text)
Tichelle and her fellow high school cheerleaders aren't taken seriously and she thinks it's because they're girls. She feels they should get more respect: not only do they pump up the crowd, but cheerleading demands skill, discipline, and lots of practice. (full text)
Why did the girl with the best reading score in her whole junior high get left back in 9th grade? (full text)
To fit in, Jesselin does poorly in junior high—until she realizes she’s jeopardizing her chance to go to college. (full text)
A sense of failure holds Angi back in school, until she breaks the pattern and gets help. (full text)
Transferring from a large, impersonal high school to a small, supportive one is the key to Troy’s success. (full text)
As she gets older, Sarah finds ways to deal with her learning disability, but it never entirely goes away. (full text)
Neha was failing physics until her teacher went the extra mile to make her believe she could succeed. (full text)
Anthony is teased when his classmates catch him reading a book for fun, but he refuses to change his ways. In fact, he argues that his peers should read more, not less. (full text)
Many New York City high school grads need extra help before they're ready for college classes. This can hurt their chances of ever earning a degree from CUNY or other colleges. (full text)
The City University of New York offers several programs to help students transition successfully to college. (full text)
Cristhians got hooked on hooky parties and fell behind in school. Eventually, she dropped out and got a job, only to realize she wanted much more for herself. (full text)
Some New York City schools find ways to force low-performing students out, a widespread and illegal practice to improve test scores and graduation rates by any means possible. (full text)
About 40% of New York City teens missed at least a month of school in 2008-2009. Shahlo explores why the absence rate is so high. (full text)
Two experts explain what the GED is, why prepping for it is so important, and how it's different than a high school diploma. (full text)
Irving is initially upset when he's placed in special ed, but eventually finds that a great teacher matters more than a label.
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DeAnna's habit of cutting class finally catches up with her. She decides to transfer to a new school, but first she must prove that she's serious about starting over. (full text)
After Crystal moves from a Catholic grade school to a public junior high, her fear is slowly replaced by affection.
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High school students discuss how they fell behind, and what they're doing to get back on track. (full text)
Marco feels cheated out of a better education. He was less prepared than other students for the specialized high school admissions test because he didn't know about it, and ends up in a mediocre school. (full text)
Anthony only has a few weeks to find a new high school, and the choices are overwhelming. He explains how he got through it and what he learned. (full text)
New York City offers several different paths toward graduation. Here we explain some of them, including alternative schools and programs for pregnant teens. (full text)
Halfway through her senior year, Catherine gets expelled. She has fun partying and taking ecstasy with her dropout boyfriend—until a scary experience forces her to evaluate her life. (full text)
After getting into a lot of trouble, Quotesia is sent to a residential treatment facility. She initially hates all the rules, but looking back, she sees they helped her and gave her a new appreciation for school. (full text)
In a roundtable discussion, five writers consider the pros and cons of ambition in its many guises. (full text)
When she joins her school's Gospel chorus, Suzy is upset to find that most of her peers don't share her dedication. Eventually, she comes to see her hard work in a different light. (full text)
In a sidebar to his plagiarism quiz, Evin provides tips on how to make sure you're not plagiarizing. (full text)
In a quiz using examples from the work of fictional student Skeeter McCheater, Evin shows readers there's more to plagiarism than cutting and pasting. (full text)
Rumonat is annoyed that her younger brother gets better grades than her. When he starts slipping up, she has to decide whether to help him or to gloat. (full text)
Starting out at a new junior high school, Crystal puts a wall between herself and her classmates. Only Alexei, a lovable misfit, reaches across the wall to befriend her.
When Irving realizes that his 4th grade teacher has been criticizing and isolating him because he is dark-skinned, he develops a plan to prove that skin color is not an obstacle for learning.
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When Christina gets dropped as a starter on her school's handball team, she decides to give up the sport. Although she sometimes regrets walking away from the team, she also feels she took the best course of action and has moved on to pursue other interests.
In 1998, the police department took over school safety in New York City schools from Dept. of Education staff. Some like the idea, but others feel it creates a prison atmosphere that violates student rights. One critic, the ACLU, is suing the city to change the policy and remove police from the schools.
The writer is being abused at home but can't share that secret with anyone. She bonds with a teacher at school, who offers support and love when the writer needs it most. (full text)
After one too many new placements (and schools) Samantha decides to get a GED—but then wonders if she made the right choice.
For too many students, special ed becomes a trap. A lawyer describes how to make it work for you.
A lawyer explains your educational rights and how to advocate for yourself.
Anita hates the rules at her Catholic school, but soon realizes it’s hard to stay on track without them.
Amber gets into a special high school where she can earn both a diploma and a two-year college degree, but she has trouble handling the workload.
Shameka feels abandoned when her school makes little effort to help her apply to college. She later realizes that it's also up to her to take some initiative. (full text)
Working with toddlers in a preschool teaches Gamal more about human nature than he could ever learn in books. As he sees it, children are the last people left on earth who do and say what they truly feel. They display the same behavior and emotions of adults, but without disguise.
After growing up in Pakistan, Kanwal revels in the intellectual creativity and freedom of her American high school.
Tanisia struggles in elementary school, but through good study habits and determination she becomes an excellent student and makes it to college.
Fabio has a learning disability that makes it hard for him to understand language and express himself.
An article in a school paper, meant to be a satire poking fun of people who are intolerant of gays, offends the student body and leads to a debate about freedom of the press. (full text)
Confined to a wheelchair, Tania has to fight harder than most teens for her independence.
A lot of students rebel against school by refusing to eat the cafeteria food (which is also associated with poverty), but Kenneth isn't one of them.
Cassandra’s high school is diverse, but students rarely mix in the cafeteria.
Because he's not one of the "cool" and popular kids, Fabio feels intimidated about running for a position on his school's student council. But his campaign ends up surprising him in a number of ways.
Angelina feels out of place at the elite private school she attends where she’s one of the only black students.
In Haiti, students are deeply respectful toward teachers and are well-behaved at school. The fighting and disrespect in American schools are a shock for Sabrina.
After Johana's parents divorce, she's shuttled between them and has to change schools every six months. For a time she lives in upstate New York, and the rural, all-white community is a difficult adjustment. The positive side to all this is that she doesn't fear new situations.
Zainab describes her experiences with peer mediation, which trains students to help each other resolve conflicts peacefully.
Zainab doesn't want another four years of education after high school. She's always liked subway trains and fixing things, so she enrolls in the High School of Transit Technology, where she's learning a trade by majoring in industrial electronics.
When Dean visits a suburban high school he is shocked to discover clean and quiet classrooms, and a lot of learning going on.
At 14, Oni decides she no longer wants to be isolated from the hearing world and transfers to a public high school.
With school work piling up, Tanya, a high school junior, needs a chat with her older sister to calm down and set priorities.
Esther’s first day in 8th grade is a nervewracking one: she's a newly arrived immigrant, and her classmates seem “weird.”
A classmate in a wheelchair helps Esther confront her prejudices about the disabled.
Brandy always assumed she'd go to college, but now her plans are to drive cross country after high school. She's not sure what she'll do after that, but she's had enough of school and she doesn't want to settle down.
Students tell Zeena they want to break down traditional barriers and have closer, one-on-one connections with their teachers, both inside and outside the classroom. They want help as much with personal problems as with academics.
Slade makes the transition from a school for the blind to a regular public high school.
At a time when bilingual education is facing mounting attacks, Jia Lu credits it with being crucial in her successful struggle to learn English as a seven-year-old Chinese immigrant.
Daniel struggles mightily as a new immigrant who does not speak English. But when he realizes that numbers are a universal language and discovers his own resilience, he begins to find a path in America.
Michael visits Thomas Jefferson HS, where a 15-year-old killed two fellow students, and tries to get some answers.
Maurelhena loves running high school track, yet hates feeling like a dumb jock. Her relay team breaks a New York State record, but she fails to score high enough on the SAT for college scholarship eligibility. She later raises her scores and wins a scholarship.
At first, M. Joe is bummed out about having to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a weekend to write a school report. But with the help of an arts-loving girl he encounters there, he comes to appreciate the Egyptian exhibits and Dali's melting watches.
When Barry starts school in New York, he is surprised at how easy it seems compared to the strict approach to education in Guinea. He starts to slack off until he realizes that this new approach to education could help make him more independent. (full text)
When he is 12, the author’s parents move the family from Hong Kong to New York so that he can have a better education and get into a good university. He feels pressured to excel, but a lack of motivation interferes. (full text)
After immigrating to New York, Shahlo must convince her parents - and herself - that pursuing her dream of higher education will be worth it in the long run. (full text)
Marisa has always viewed school as a happy escape, but her dedication to education is put to the test when, at 16, she moves into her own apartment. School is two hours a way, and college deadlines loom. (full text)
Danica's big school is staffed by rude security guards, distracted teachers, and a bad guidance counselor. She falls behind. (full text)
Did you know there are different types of high school diplomas? Or that foster kids can get free money for college? Read on to get the details. (full text)
After several years in an RTC where all his decisions were made for him, Anthony has to push himself both to choose a school and then to find people to hang out with. (full text)
Jamell, who feels alienated in his foster home and at school, finds comfort with a group of friends who like to skip school together. When he realizes he won't be able to graduate on time, he starts changing his ways. (full text)
Sherilyn learns how her habit of littering affects sea life and begins to care about the environment. (full text)
Playing the piano is an escape from the pressure Linda puts on herself to be a perfect student. When her constant self-criticism starts affecting her music, she realizes she needs to ease up on herself. (full text)
In her senior year, Breanna realizes that she needs to get her grades up if she wants to get into college. (full text)
Emmanuel is intimidated by the competition at his first speech tournament. When he makes the judges laugh, he realizes that acting confident is part of a winning strategy. (full text)
Breanna's not happy when she's teamed up with Amani, a quiet, poorly-dressed girl, for a class project. But when another student makes fun of Amani, Breanna decides to defend her. (full text)
Julieta's passionate Spanish teacher inspires her to learn about Latin America, get involved in politics, and stand up for any injustice she sees in the world.
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New sex ed curriculum includes an interesting (optional) homework assignment: Students are supposed to go to a drugstore to shop for condoms. Julieta does her homework. (full text)
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