Mi Escuelita Preschool “Give Wings”
Mi Escuelita Preschool is a nonprofit organization founded in 1978. They offer early child education to one of the most underserved communities in Dallas, Texas. Since the children they education come from predominantly Hispanic and immigrant parents, Mi Escuelita implements a diverse curriculum that caters to English Language Learners.
Located in the heart of Fresno, California, the Chicano Youth Center aims to bring together Mexican American kids who share similar academic, social and cultural experiences. The center is run by Chicano parents and elders whose aim is to promote cultural awareness and understanding within the youth. It is among this community of social understanding that the center offers tutoring and mentoring to Chicano youth outside of school.
Community Family CenterLocated in the grater East End of Houston, Texas, Community Family Centers offer ‘Los Niños Montessori Program’, which provides early childhood education at little to no cost to low-income Hispanic families. With an experienced bilingual staff, the program is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and certified by the Rising Star Program. The program is incredibly flexible and offers full or half-day enrollment for the convenience of working parents. Under the program’s mission, the staff of Los Niños Montessori is committed to provide an environment where students learn from one another and their surroundings.
Mexican American Students’ Alliance
Advocating for one of the largest Hispanic communities in the South Bronx, New York, the Mexican American Students’ Alliance offers both an early childhood literacy initiative and after school programs for the youth. MASA is unique and highly effective in the way that they reach out and incorporate families into their program. Families are provided with an equal voice to that of the staff running the local programs. Through a partnership with Parent Child Home Program, MASA goes into the living rooms of families and work with parents to build practices that will strengthen literacy in toddlers. On the other hand, MASA after school programs offer culturally supportive intervention to youth who may be reading below grade level and could benefit from a mentorship relationship outside of school.
La Casa de la Raza is a powerhouse that helps the Chicano/Latino communes of Santa Barbara, California in various aspects of Hispanic life. However, La Casa de la Raza established a the (LCYC) Youth Center to educate the youth on culture, history and offer support daily after school. Among their many community activities, staff and mentors at the LCYC provoke the youth to explore meaning in their cultural heritage. The preservation of language and culture are an essential part of Chicano’Latino life.
The Centro Hispano of Dane county in Madison was initially founded in 1983 after the increased arrival of Cuban immigrants in the community. However, as the Latino population diversified, the Centro Hispano has redefined their mission and focus on ’empowering the youth, strengthening families, and engaging the community’. Centro Hispano’s ‘Juventud’, ‘Escalera’, and ‘Nuestras Voces and ReGeneracion’ youth programs allow young Latinos to explore their cultural identity and build self-esteem through academic support. Centro Hispano emphasizes on giving Latino students, in need of academic support, real alternatives and resources that work best for them.
Centro Esperanza Community Center
Though the San Marcos community started a Redwood Community Center in the mid 1980’s offering education assistance to low-income families, Centro Esperanza was created in 2013 to offer additional resources that the Hispanic community of San Marcos lacked. Among their many initiatives to help the community, Centro Esperanza offers an after school class and ESL Program for students. In collaboration with the San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District, Centro Esperanza bring in a professor in reading education and local certified teacher to spearhead a literacy program that helps fourth grade students struggling to catch up to grade level reading. English language learners are assisted in language acquisition through listening, speaking and writing the English Language.
Chicanos Por La Causa was founded in 1969 by community and student activists to confront the oppression of the Latino community in South Central Phoenix, Arizona. Although the organization has now expanded and acquired national recognition for helping Latinos in the southwest, their local impact is still heavily felt among Phoenix students and their families. In order to help underserved populations combating poverty, unemployment, housing insecurity, poor nutrition and cultural/language barriers, Chicanos Por La Causa has launched an Early Childhood Development program for children under five years of age. The ECD program aims to provide preschool aged Latino children from low income families with comprehensive services that would ultimately meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional and psychological needs.
Amigos For Kids started off in 1991 as a volunteer group working with kids that sought to bring awareness and obtain support from the Hispanic community in South Florida. The organization serves neglected, abused and less fortunate children through education and community involvement. Through a collaboration with the city parks, Amigos For Kids offers the ‘Jose Marti Park After School Program’ because education is one of the main determine factors of a student’s future success. The after school program is designed to help inner city kids by providing scholastic assistance, sports, and extracurricular/culturally enriching actives.
Through a vision of cultural preservation, social equality, and self-sufficiency, Amistades was founded in 2006 to develop and implement programs and activities grounded in grassroots outreach. Based in Tucson, Amistades promotes several values among the Latino community, which include the promotion of deep cultural pride, championing bilingualism, and acknowledging acculturation. Among their core services, Amistades fosters Early Childhood Education, Parent Education, and Youth Development. Amistades believes in transforming communities by engaging Latino and American Indian families through holistic learning. Such approach helps identify the assets and strengths of families and shapes the multi-lingual multi-cultural model.