UNM
ENLACE receives grant to assist mid schools
By Steve
Carr
UNMs
ENLACE (Engaging Latino Communities for Education) program has
received a $75,000 grant for two years from the Lumina Foundation
for Education. The aim is to help lower the Hispanic dropout
rate in grades K-20, at Albuquerque Public Schools, Albuquerque
Technical Vocational Institute and at UNM, and to create the
systemic change necessary to graduate more Hispanics from institutions
of higher learning.
The grant
was awarded as part of Lumina Foundations McCabe Fund.
The McCabe Fund supports organizations that enable students,
particularly first-generation college students, low-income students
and students of color, to broaden and make the most of their
opportunities in postsecondary education.
The
Lumina Foundation funding is for middle schools so students
can be aware of what they need to do to graduate from high
school and get into college.
Karen
Sanchez-Griego, director
of UNMs ENLACE program
The project
looks to establish ENLACE Family Centers in three targeted middle
schools, including Garfield, Truman and Washington Middle Schools,
with predominantly Hispanic student populations. The centers
will provide students and families with academic, social and
cultural support to reduce dropout rates and increase graduation
rates. Center volunteers will serve as liaisons between parents
and school administrators as well as creating a home away
from home environment on campus.
This
was a great opportunity for the Lumina Foundation to come in
and support the model we already have in place, said Karen
Sanchez-Griego, director of UNMs ENLACE program. The
Lumina Foundation funding is for middle schools so students
can be aware of what they need to do to graduate from high school
and get into college, as well as preventing students from dropping
out once they get to college.
Weve
developed a model of family centers from a grant from the Kellogg
Foundation, which was for high school students. The Lumina Foundation
grant extends to middle school students and helps those students
that feed into the high schools already in the program, as well
as adding other students and families who need any assistance,
she said.
Fully staffed
by parent volunteers, family center staff advocate for all students
and their families. Hispanic families have additional needs
such as translating information for Spanish-speaking parents
and encouraging parents to take an active role in their childrens
education. In the last two years, volunteers recruited 25 core
family volunteers at each center and provided assistance to
more than 1,000 families. They assisted in lowering the dropout
rate of participating students, increased student access to
college via pre-college testing and assistance in completing
the federal financial aid form, provided tutoring for students
during and after school hours and conducted hundreds of home
visits in which volunteers track down dropouts in an attempt
to reenroll the students in school.
Expansion
of the family centers to middle schools will address problems
students and families face and establish family involvement
that will carry through into a stronger high school program,
helping to establish a pipeline of support for students and
their families throughout the educational system (K-20).
The McCabe
Fund provides modest, competitive grants for programs that work
directly with students to improve access to postsecondary education.
These programs expand successful models or propose new approaches
that are ready to be tested in the field. Grant proposals were
requested from a select group of organizations across the country.
We
are optimistic that these grassroots initiatives supported by
the McCabe Fund will help reduce the nations college attainment
gap by assisting organizations, such as UNMs ENLACE program,
that help students achieve their potential by expanding access
to an education beyond high school, said Martha Lamkin,
president and chief executive officer of the Lumina Foundation.