In Philadelphia

Juntos: Juntos is a grassroots organization, started in 2005, that organizes immigrant youth and their families around issues of education. Some of the goals they work toward include to “improve language access for parents and families, increase accountability, and promote the educational advancement of immigrant students.” They have worked to get more bilingual staff in schools and to create a better schooling infrastructure for English Language Learners.

AFRICOM: AFRICOM, the Coalition of African and Caribbean Communities works in the areas of Health Literacy, Education, Culture, Leadership Training, Immigration and Citizenship, Community Development, and Policy Advocacy. Part of their Education mission includes “creating and maintaining an updated ESL programs database,” and they were involved in the development of hiring priorities in the Philadelphia school district that led to the hiring of more bilingual support staff.

Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha (Association of Puerto Ricans on the Move): APM provides a vast array of services in the realms of family, housing, health, and community. In terms of relevance to this project, they provide early childhood education to children who may be at risk, including non-English speakers. This kind of service ensures that students need less ELL support when they enter the public school system, and are more prepared to achieve academically even without bilingual supports.

Asian Americans United: AAU has been an advocate for the Asian-American community in Philadelphia since 1985. One of their most successful campaigns involved “initiating and monitoring the settlement of a lawsuit with the School District of Philadelphia to improve services to immigrant students,” leading to better accountability for the schools and support services to create a safe learning environment for immigrant students. They also contributed to the recent initiative by the Philadelphia district to hire more bilingual support staff.

Pennsylvania Immigrant and Citizenship Coalition: This organization began as an informal coalition following the events of September 11, 2001 to address the unsafe environment that was developing for immigrants. They have grown to a coalition of over 50 organizations and they work on a number of issues. One of their focus areas is Education Justice,  through which they seek to support the “passage of tuition equity policies, language access, and fair and adequate funding for schools.”

Outside Philadelphia

Dual Language Education of New Mexico: This organization, founded by dual language educators, aims to help design and implement dual language programs in public schools. The idea behind dual language programs is that all students, not just those from immigrant backgrounds or non-English-speaking homes, study and learn in two languages, thus excluding no one from the language acquisition and learning process.

D.C. Language Immersion Project: The D.C. Language Immersion Project advocates for the implementation of dual language programs in D.C. public schools in order to promote the academic success of ELLs. They also do research on the impact of multilingual education and educate communities about the value of these programs. Their programs have notably led to a drop in the percentage of students classified as ELL, which means there are fewer students who are in need of ELL academic supports.

Casa Central: This organization in Chicago, started by Hispanic pastors in 1954, provides community services to the Spanish-speaking residents of Chicago. These services include supplementary educational services, such as the Early Learning academy, which provides bilingual and multicultural early childhood education, and the School Age Program, which is a year-round program to supplement bilingual children’s education and help them to develop their academic skills.

Ohio Hispanic Coalition: This organization, founded in 1990 by three Latina women, focuses primarily on health and education issues. They have an after school program that “was founded in 2002 to ensure that Limited English Proficient (LEP) Hispanic/Latino children were receiving education assistance in Spanish.” It provides homework help and academic enrichment to ELLs, as well as providing them with dinner every day and nutrition education.

Sociedad Latina: This Roxbury, Massachusetts -based organization, started in 1968, provides three programs in the realm of education. All of these serve to supplement the education of bilingual students to support their academic achievement in school at the elementary and secondary level, as well as help them reach college and provide support once they are there.