Social Class Supports

From the Foreword:

"Education and poverty are tied together in a nightmare of policy failures, bureaucratic culture, stereotypes those trapped by poverty, and professional inaction. Fortunately, this important and timely work from Georgianna Martin and Sonja Ardoin help us unpack the link between education and poverty. In doing so, the reports from and about social justice warriors provide the roadmap for higher education to change itself and then change our country.

I was inspired by the efforts captured within this book. You will be challenged by these examples of innovation, realization, and actualization. The editors effectively segment examples how higher education institutions see, hear, and support a class of students higher education usually ignores. I was moved by each chapter and initiatives showcased. I saw my own institutional transformation at Amarillo College located within the groundbreaking work you will read.

I know how powerful it can be when you see your students for who they really are and commit your entire institution to their success. I witnessed the transformation of knowing your student, loving her, and building yourself for her. At Amarillo College, we named our typical student Maria. She is woven into each page of each chapter of this incredible publication. I want you to meet and know her, because she will challenge you to rethink your own work in the context of the Social Class Supports: Programs and Practices to serve and sustain poor and working class students through higher education."

Russell Lowery-Hart, president

Amarillo College

“Utilizing the expertise of students, practitioners, scholars, and faculty, the editors have curated a robust compendium of resources to support poor and working-class college students in higher education. This volume should be read by anyone seeking to center the experiences of marginalized students on their campuses; validate poor and working-class students' strengths, assets, and struggles; disrupt the stratified system of higher education; and dismantle axiomatic cycles of social reproduction on the eternal journey toward social justice, equity, and inclusion.”

Krista Soria

Director of Student Affairs Assessment, University of Minnesota

"Martin and Ardoin have created a masterful resource that provides scholars, administrators in higher education, ans students a way to transform colleges and universities. This book represents an important advancement in conceptualizing social class and classism as a critical aspect in our intersectional approaches to create and sustain healthy living and learning environments."

William Ming Liu

Professor and Chair; Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education; College of Education, University of Maryland

"[This] is the book we all need right now! Martin and Ardoin have pulled together an exceptional group of professionals who share powerful stories, do meaningful work, and offer practical strategies to support poor and working-class students in higher education."

Jackie Thomas Jr.

Chief Strategist, Lone Star College-Tomball

"This long-overdue work offers proven strategies and keen analysis that will assist practitioners and decision-makers as they seek to increase access, remove barriers, and change mindsets to support poor and working-class students as they navigate institutions that were not built with them in mind."

Jeremiah Shinn

Vice President for Student Affairs, Louisiana State University