Edges of Dreams for Marginalized, Urban, Latino Students: Building a Community School
This study examines the way an urban Hispanic school in New Mexico, ranked 50 th academically in the United States, grapples with the issues of poverty, disconnection, race, conflicting visions, and hope. Investigating the school’s transition to a community school, a movement that is sweeping high-poverty areas, provides a more encompassing way to look at school reform.  In its one-year existence as a community school in Las Cruces, Lynn Middle School has engaged a vast number of stakeholders along with the School Board and City Council who have begun to work on turning this ‘ghetto’ school into a vibrant community school.  The paper answers the research question, ‘What are the process, procedures and challenges in starting a community school?’ and rather than simply continue to test students, thus providing data that reflect their failure, community schools collaboratively ameliorate the non-academic barriers to student success.  What then might be the anticipated benefits for students, families and neighborhoods? Keywords : poverty, community schools, Hispanics, urban schools, relationships