Research that matters
Community-based work exploring literacy, education, and youth development in underserved neighborhoods
Cultivating community cultural wealth and armed love
This article examines Freedom School–inspired programs as spaces where literacy, care, and cultural knowledge support academic growth, identity development, and collective agency among youth. Published in Urban Education by Ares, Duckles, Smith, and colleagues.
Urban Education journal
Ares, Duckles, Smith, et al.
Peer-reviewed scholarship
Freedom School practice and community cultural wealth
This publication explores how Freedom School practices center youth voice and community knowledge to challenge deficit-based approaches to education. Published in Pedagogy, Culture & Society.
Pedagogy, Culture & Society journal
Peer-reviewed scholarship
Community-centered research
Navigating communities under pressure
Community-based study in progress
How scholars, families, and staff co-create belonging
This community-based study explores how scholars, families, and staff co-create spaces of belonging, care, and learning within afterschool programs. Presented at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Rochester.
Strategic safe spaces of resistance
Programs as spaces of care and collective agency
How afterschool programs function as resistance
This work examines how afterschool and community-based programs function as spaces of care, resistance, and collective agency for youth and families. Presented at the National Council on Family Relations.
Student and partner scholarship in action. We support university presentations, posters, and reflective research projects developed through engagement with our programs.
Research grounded in consent and care
All research involving youth and families follows ethical guidelines and Institutional Review Board requirements. We prioritize consent, confidentiality, and participant well-being in every study.
Questions about our work?
Reach out to Jeremy Smith, our Executive Director, to discuss research collaboration and inquiry.