The purpose of this guide is to illuminate best practices for meaningful engagement of youth in Community Schools and to recognize youth voice as a community asset that can help advance more equitable school systems. Youth voice plays an important role in redesigning how public education functions. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted education and highlighted the need for more responsive systems that better serve the individualized needs of students. By engaging students as leaders in problem solving and decision making, Community Schools can build capacity of students to feel personal ownership for self, school, and community. Schools have operated in much the same manner for decades; it is now time to engage the next generation of leaders to design school systems, services, and programs that are responsive to their needs. This guide is designed for use by Community Schools practitioners who are working to advance their student engagement efforts. The strategies also offer considerations for youth-led work and youth-serving professionals working in communities and with schools. In this section we introduce key definitions, concepts, and principles that together create the foundation for this guide.