In communities across the country, schools have become crucibles of contentious social and political issues. Heated exchanges — over mask mandates, the content of books in classrooms and libraries, prayer at athletic events, critical race theory, LGBTQ rights and more — have erupted at school board meetings and played out in the glare of local and national media with images of parents shouting each other down or being dragged from raucous public meetings. What is it like to be a student at a school that ends up at the center of controversy? Recently, we asked six high school students who attend such schools to share their perspectives on navigating the regular challenges of daily life — academic and social — together with those imposed by the broader culture wars as they come of age in this contentious era. “I want to help educate my community, make change in my community,” said Pragnya Kaginele, 15, who attends Carroll High School in Southlake, Tex. Read their stories through the link in our bios. (Photos of, clockwise from top left, Rio Colino by Barbara Davidson; Renee Ellis by Raymond W. Holman Jr.; Philip Smith by Andi Rice; Claire Warthen by Jovelle Tamayo; Jaxson Barrett by Sandy Huffaker; Pragnya Kaginele by Kaci Merriwether-Hawkins)