Lessons from under the coconut tree

ourBRIDGE for Kids is a school-based program that helps English language learners improve their language skills. Since the pandemic increased rates of chronic absenteeism among English language learners, ourBridge shifted its focus to also provide family services to provide comprehensive support, like secure housing and grocery delivery, that helps keep youth in school.

Boulder Valley schools are working with Latino parents to create networks of community support, feedback, and insight about the success of Latino children in the district. Parents are working with the school district to make sure stereotypes and racial bias aren't limiting their children from receiving food services and quality education that fit their needs.

The town of Clinton, Iowa was struggling both economically and with student retention until a partnership with an American businessman and a Chinese company brought 72 Chinese students to fill empty seats in the public high schools. Not only does this stir up the local economy with businesses jumping at the chance to serve a new audience, but the students all benefit from the cultural and educational exchange. The Clinton school board and district representatives all voted unanimously for the program, and both sides are looking forward to continuing to develop and grow the program.

The ecosystem of D.C. charter schools that has evolved over the last two decades represents a cornucopia of creative and nontraditional approaches to education, in addition to fairly traditional college-prep schools, and is now producing some of the highest graduation rates, college acceptance rates, and average test scores in public schools in the nation.

In Oakland, black males are almost as likely to be killed as they are to graduate high school. One school is giving them special classes with black mentors to better address their emotional needs and keep them in school.

To address enrollment decline in St. Paul Public Schools, the district invested in language and cultural programs that cater to local immigrant communities. After four years of implementing Hmong, Spanish, Mandarin, and East African language and cultural programs, student enrollment is now rising.

Dual-language programs, which offer instruction in both English and a second language for subjects such as science, math, and social studies, improve English acquisition while allowing multilingual students to stay connected to their culture. In one Washington school district, most dual-language students outperformed non-dual-language students on state language arts exams.

The Access Project in London recruits volunteer tutors in science, math, and technology fields to help young women build confidence in their STEM courses. The project also works to spread educational resources and tutors to underprivileged areas throughout London and the Midlands.

In the mid-60’s, Anne Forsyth, an heiress, noticed that despite Brown V. Board of education, white prep schools in the South were not being integrated. She wanted to change that. She also thought that by exposing white students to Black students it would make them less bigoted. So, she created the Stouffer foundation, which recruited Black students and placed them in white prep schools. In its first year, 20 black teenagers were placed in 7 white prep schools. Decades later, one student says it made him less racist.

The Migrant Education Program, which offers educational and social services to migrant worker families in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, is growing in popularity among the valley’s migrant worker population, and has recently begun to focus on getting migrant students geared up for college .