The American Dream Isn't Dead. This Is How Immigrant Families Are Achieving It

Can we improve the methods we use to teach math in schools — so that everyone develops proficiency? A grade-school math program is changing how children learn based on the assumption that all children can achieve a high level of understanding.

Cities save money and help kids by connecting them with diploma programs. In Washington, iGrad is helping students do just this – and seeing results.

Half of U.S. farm workers are Hispanic, but few make it to leadership positions. A historically white non-profit, FFA, is creating equal education programs in California to increase leadership opportunities for minorities in agriculture.

To decrease the chance of formerly incarcerated individuals relapsing and ending up back in the prison system, the J.F. Ingram State Technical College in Alabama offers correctional education and vocational programs. This training has aided those incarcerated with life skills for after their release, decreasing the likelihood that they will relapse and increasing the likelihood that they will better adjust to their community.

When immigrant children come to America, they are faced with culture shock, language barriers, and a system of education different from where their original country. Houston’s Las Americas Newcomer School is designed to ease the adjustment of immigrant and refugee children as they enter the American educational system. Las Americas offers competitive wages for teachers, teaching in several different languages, and preparation for the SAT as the school has the highest rate of minority participation.

An Irish-based company, ALISON, provides free, high-quality e-courses to people around the globe in order to help close the gap between education and workplace skills. Particularly focused on providing access to areas where more traditional forms of education and job training are difficult to get, this approach is helping to change lives and the economy for the better.

When adults want to return to school, they face many challenges including the experience of long waitlists for classes, and poor relevance to the job skills they need for future employment. The Washington state community college system has started a program known as Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) that instead teaches in two parts: academic content and basic soft skills.

The Twilight Education Club is a non-profit working to break down the barriers – transportation, child care and cost – that typically prevent the economically disadvantaged from accessing social services such as language classes. While the Twilight program is specifically geared toward the needs of the parents - getting better jobs and securing greater stability - the long-term focus remains on creating future opportunities for their children.

A girls camp in West Virginia and a residential program in Kentucky help Appalachian women build self esteem and enable them to turn their life around through mentoring, stem classes, and job counseling.

Access Code is a nonprofit in New York that gives young adults, particularly those from minority groups, instruction and resources to learn coding. This education promotes greater access to lucrative careers in the world of technology.