When Robert Murphy taught a class of mostly minority students back in 2004, the textbooks were so outdated that Nixon was listed as the current president. Murphy spoke about this experience for the A

It’s hard to read Don’t Quit On Me without feeling like the report is talking about my own life. After I wrote The Other Wes Moore, a book about a man who shared my name but ended up in a maximum-security prison while I went to Oxford, people often wanted to know what made me so different from him.

The themes radiating from Don’t Quit on Me have a special resonance with those of us working with young adolescents in the middle grades. Youth in this period go through natural developmental changes that can make it hard for them to stay on track, even if they had been doing well earlier. That’s regardless of which side of the opportunity gap they’re currently on, although youth with fewer supports have greater hurdles.

The first two months of a new school year are tough. It takes time for kids to get used to their new teachers, make new friends and adjust to new academic expectations.

I often wonder how well my children would have done in life if, in addition to their parents, they didn’t have an army of teachers, scout leaders, coaches, counselors, grandparents, aunts and uncles,

America's Promise Alliance published a new study this fall, Don't Quit On Me: What Young People Who Left School Say About the Power of Relationships, and invited young people to share their stories about the power of relationships. Amnoni’s story is the second post in a series by young people about the ways adults and peers can help more young people graduate from high school.

According to research, I should not be where I am at today: a masters-level educated Latina woman. I was raised my mamí and my mamá (grandmother) after my parents divorced. I lived in a neighborhood that was poor, overwhelmingly minority, attended public schools, and didn’t have immediate family members that had gone to and graduated from college. By all measures, I shouldn’t have made it.

In an era when many of us tend to be “plugged-in” at all times through social media, smartphones, email or other communication channels, it’s hard to understand that there are still young people out t

America’s Promise Alliance published a new study this fall, Don't Quit On Me: What Young People Who Left School Say About the Power of Relationships, and invited young people to share their stories ab

Add relationship poverty to the list of challenges facing young people who leave high school before graduating. It’s not a lack of love or family, but a lack of access and connection to people who ca

Increasingly, mentoring is being utilized as a powerful tool to bridge the opportunity gap and support young people in staying connected or getting re-connected to school, work and community.

This month, millions of Americans will be honoring the 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance through acts of service in their own communities. By donating books to people in prison, Melinda Hudson reminds us that it doesn’t take a lot to give a lot.