Aprendiendo y Celebrando Nuestras Racies Latinas / Learning and Celebrating Our Latino Roots

- As part of the program Aprendiendo y Celebrando Nuestras Raices Latinas we have met in-person for 8 sessions. We had had high participation among children and their families. Youth are attending and enjoying all classes, and parents have enjoyed using the library (a space they feel is off-limits to them) while their kids participate in the class.
- Parents, as well as youth are shaping the classes as they are actively letting giving us ideas for future topics they would like to include in the curriculum.
- We have had a verity of cultural artists and leaders join us to teach a new skill and share their unique perspectives on their Mexican craft and culture.
- The Spanish teacher leading the literacy skills part of the project has met with us 4 times to advance literacy skills. Children are learning at a much faster pace then we had planned.
- Kids reading more fluently in Spanish- we have introduced toung-twisters to practice pronunciation and children are having a lot of fun getting in-front of the class and reading their different verses.
- The library has been a great colaborator and are in aw to see the number of Latino families who are visiting the library regularly every 2 weeks.; I am pleased to submit this report to share the incredible impact of our program on empowering communities in building identity and culture. With the support of your grant, we have been able to develop culturally diverse humanities programming that has had a profound effect on the children, their families, and the community at large. Our approach involved co-creating the program with teachers, community members, and the children themselves, fostering a sense of ownership and inclusivity.When we embarked on this nine-month program with the kids, a majority of the children had limited knowledge of the Spanish alphabet. However, through our dedicated efforts and the commitment of our team, we witnessed remarkable progress in their language and literacy skills. By the end of the program, each child was able to independently read jokes, tongue twisters, poems, and short paragraphs to a large audience of parents and friends, showcasing their newfound abilities and confidence. A key aspect of our program was the exploration of various cultural art forms. We delved deep into cultural programs, including dance, history, art, and singing classes, which ignited curiosity and a sense of cultural pride among the children. Through these interactive and immersive experiences, they were able to connect with their heritage, embrace diversity, and appreciate the richness of their cultural identities. Throughout the nine months, we fostered regular bi-weekly meetings with the children, providing a consistent and supportive environment for their growth. These sessions focused on improving Spanish literacy skills significantly, while also creating opportunities for the children to explore and engage with diverse cultural expressions. The attendance record of the children was exemplary, with an average attendance rate of over 85% (except Springbreak), demonstrating their commitment and enthusiasm for the program. We met our goals in improving Spanish literacy skills, learning about Mexican and other Latino cultures and history, increasing family connection, feeling a stronger sense of self confidence, community and own culture. I know we met our goals through surveys, teachers and collaborators observance of increased skills, children's and parent's testimonies. (The only two things that changed was we lowered the age range from 10 year old to 7. This allowed for siblings to be in the same program. We had children and youth ages 7-12. And instead of having 16 youth in the class we went down to 13 which allowed us to better meet the needs of the youth participating. We didn't take into account, when we first began, youth who had special needs or behavior "issues".)

One of the most rewarding moments of our program was the graduation ceremony. It was a great event where all 13 youth and their families were present, celebrating their achievements and the progress they had made. Witnessing the smiles, pride, and sense of accomplishment on their faces was a testament to the profound impact our program had on their lives and the importance of nurturing cultural identity. In conclusion, the grant has enabled us to empower our community by fostering a strong sense of identity and culture. It has also sparked a lot of conversation at home for families. Parents expressed children seeking out more Spanish books, music and movies. Through our collaborative approach with teachers, parents, children - we all collectively created a transformative experience for the children, their families, and the broader community. A couple months before the program ended, we received serval asks to repeat the program for children to continue their learning. At our "graduation" ceremony, we had several families who weren't in the program join and ask if their children could participate next year. (We informed everyone that this opportunity was possible thanks to a grant from the Minnesota Humanities Center and we weren't sure if I would receive the grant again next year.). We are immensely grateful for MHC's support in making this program possible and for recognizing the significance of promoting cultural diversity and humanities programming. We look forward (finders-crossed) to the opportunity to continue our work and expand the reach of our programs, building on the successes we have achieved.