ALAS DEL PUEBLO

In 2001, my oldest child entered Kindergarten and thus began my career as an educational volunteer. I worked with teachers in facilitating their learning centers and enjoyed working directly with the children. There is something rewarding about watching the light go on in a child's eyes when they learn something for the first time. The wide smiles, the bright eyes, the high fives ... it's just magical. 

 

In each class, there was always a handful of kids who seemed disengaged and struggled in class. They did not do their homework and were behind several grades in reading. They were also the children who didn't have someone at home who could check their homework, or read to them due to language barriers, nor did they have the resources to hire a tutor. As these kids grew older the learning gap became wider and their eagerness to do well gave way to indifference. They began to believe that school was "not for them", and that bright-eyed child that once gave high fives was now acting out in class so as not to be called on. By middle school, this child and a handful just like him had dropped out. It was disheartening to witness, and I was compelled to do something about it.

 

My background in Social Psychology prompted me to do some research and what I found was distressing. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2007 the high school dropout rate among persons 16-24 years old was highest in low-income families (16.7%) as compared to higher-income families (3.2%). The dropout rate significantly increases for English language learners (24%). Studies by the U.S. Department of Education found children’s initial reading competence is correlated with parental financial stability and the home literacy environment.

That's to say children from low-income families were over 5 times more likely to drop out of school than children from financially stable families. That number nearly doubles for children who are English language learners. There is an entire community of children that are being academically neglected, but we can change that.  

 

Alas Del Pueblo was created in an effort to break the perpetual cycle of poverty through education. Our mission is to reduce dropout rates by providing academic support and resources to our youth. The goal is not only to keep kids in school but to enable them to pursue a higher education and advance their career and their future.

 

We take great pride in developing partnerships with local schools and businesses. Funding for our programs provide the resources needed to build a learning rich environment where children thrive. We believe a community that invests in its youth is a community that invests in its future. Our sponsors and volunteers are the cornerstones of our Program, and their support helps nurture the excellence we come to expect of our future leaders. 

 

Alas Del Pueblo means The People’s Wings, and that is what we cultivate, wings on which our youth can soar to a prosperous future.