2010 Ford Driving Dreams Through Education Grantees

The 2010 Ford Driving Dreams Through Education Grantee recipients have successfully completed their two year programs. The innovative programs designed and implemented by LULAC Councils, positively affected the lives of over 270 students nationwide. Given their immense impact in their communities, two of the 2010 program sites have been selected to continue implementing their programs during the 2012-2013 academic year. The selected sites are: LULAC Council 2055 (Salinas, CA) and LULAC Council 4734 (Temple, TX).

Learn more about these innovative programs below!

LULAC Cesar E. Chavez Council # 1086 (Mesa, Arizona)
LULAC #1086 will work with Mesa United Way, Mesa Association of Hispanic Citizens, Mesa Public Schools – Mesa Community College Latino Advisory Committee and the Mesa Public Schools to implement an adult/peer mentoring program designed to stimulate academic achievement and high school completion. Under the program, 20 ninth- and 10th-graders at Mesa Public Schools, the largest school district in Arizona, will have access to peer mentors made up of 11th- and 12th-grade students and adult mentors made up of community volunteers. The program will also expose their parents to a network of parents, students and community volunteers involved in the program.Through this network, the parents will have access to resources on navigating the education system and tools to support their child’s future education.The students will remain in the program for two years. They will recruit
additional students for the 2011-2012 school year.

LULAC # 1083 (Phoenix, Arizona)
Twenty students at Betty H. Fairfax High School will participate in the Don’t Drop Out-Give Back! program aimed to reduce the dropout rate among high school Hispanic/Latino students learning English as a Second Language. Adult mentors will meet with the students weekly and also organize job shadowing opportunities. Students will be able to recover class credits through evening make-up classes taught by Phoenix Union High School District teachers. Studentsparticipating in these make-up classes will receive financial incentives for participating. Guest speakers will present an autobiographical lecture and then work interactively with the students on a project related to the speech. Twenty additional students will join Don’t Drop Out-Give Back! during the 2011-2012 school year.

LULAC Salinas Council #2055 (Salinas, California)
Twenty, ninth- and 10th-grade students at Alisal High School will participate in Triple M Mentor, which pairs students with college student mentors. These mentors will meet with the students weekly and tutor them in small groups. The program also offers workshops aimed to increase motivation to succeed, bolster self-esteem and address cultural assets and tutoring. The workshop speakers will include program directors and key staff from the local community college and area college campuses. The students will participate in the program until they graduate from high school.

Santa Ana LULAC #147 (Santa Ana, California)
LULAC #147 will partner with KidsWorks, a local nonprofit that exposes students to science, technology, engineering and math through an after-school program.Twenty, ninth- and tenth-grade students will be selected to participate in this coveted program for a two-year period. Through it, they will learn about career exploration through the context of science, technology, engineering and math. Students will receive tutoring from Monday-Thursday by KidsWorks instructors.The program will alternate between science-related field trips and workshops focused on college readiness and preparation.

Midwest City LULAC #19002 (Midwest City, Oklahoma)
High schools students from the Oklahoma City metro area and Putnam City West High School will be mentored and tutored by local community volunteers. Each student will create a portfolio documenting their personal goals and will get prize incentives for completing different assignments. The student’s mentor will work closely with them to help develop their overall career and academic goals and will communicate regularly with the student during the two-year period.

Central Texas LULAC #4734 (Temple, Texas)
The program will offer music lessons and academic tutoring to 10 ninth-grade Hispanic students at Temple High School during a two-year period. A music student and a professional mariachi instructor will provide weekly music lessons to the students. In addition, LULAC Youth Council members who are Temple College students will provide weekly tutoring and mentorship to students during the student’s work study or lunch period. An experienced social worker will track each student’s success. Ten additional students will join the program during the 2011-2012 school year. The students will receive mariachi costumes as an incentive for remaining in the program.

Collin County LULAC #4537 (Plano, Texas)
Students at Bowman Middle School will learn how to build and program robots as an introduction to science, technology, engineering and math through a Robotics project. Bowman M.S. teachers will nominate seventh-graders to participate in the Robotics project and twenty students will be chosen to participate in the 2010-2011 school year. A teacher chosen by the school principal will lead weekly meetings with the students and Collin County LULAC members and Collin College Robotics Club members, who will serve as mentors to the students. Students with the best attendance will have the opportunity to participate in Robotics competitions and all of the students will attend a summer robotics camp sponsored by Collin College in the summer of 2011. The program will ultimately grow to encompass all sixth- and seventh-graders in the school.

Greater Houston LULAC Council #4967 (Houston, Texas)
The Greater Houston LULAC Council will target 50 sophomore and junior-year Latino students in America’s fourth largest city. The program will focus on matching students with a mentor who will promote academic achievement. LULAC members and other community members will serve as the mentors. Students will also participate in four cultural and social field trips and a volunteer program. Monthly family activities will be planned to increase parental involvement in their kid’s education. These 50 students will participate in the program for a two-year period.

LULAC Council for Justice, Equality, and Business Development #4782 (Farmers Branch, Texas)
Steering Students to College is designed to address the staggering dropout problem in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District. It will target R.L. Turner High School with the possible expansion to other district schools. Community volunteers made up of LULAC Young Adult council members and other community members will provide monthly tutoring and mentoring. Student will have access to college prep and tutoring, volunteer opportunities and motivational speakers. The program will target 75 students in the 2010-2011 school year and will add an additional 75 students the following year. As an incentive, student with a perfect attendance will receive gift cards. The program will also offer leadership workshops aimed to increase school involvement by the students’ parents.

Milwaukee LULAC #326 (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
Through the LULAC’s Academic Enhancement Program, LULAC #326 will work with 20 students from Pulaski and South Division High Schools, who have the highest Hispanic student enrollment. Through a partnership with Milwaukee Area Technical College and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the program will help facilitate the transition of the participants from high school to a post-secondary setting. Each student will be designated with four guidance champions who will lead the students’action plan and offer support. These champions will include high school educators, community partners and college faculty, depending on each student individual challenges and needs.