Latinos Unidos at Eldridge Park School
Latinos Unidos is a support group for the rapidly growing Latino population in our school. Lead by our ESL teacher, and supported by our principal and seven staff members, we seek to provide a welcoming, caring environment in which to address issues of assimilation, culture, acceptance into the school community, and academic success and character education for the bilingual child. Every six weeks, the twenty-five families are invited to a dinner, usually donated by area restaurants. Following this the group breaks into two, with an activity for the children focusing on literacy, technology, or the arts, while the adults convene to join in discussions on fostering academic success in the home, community outreach, introduction to American culture, or immigration issues. At the conclusion of each meeting, children choose books to take home. Books are new (funded through a local grant) or gently used, but all are eagerly accepted and lovingly chosen. Substantial emphasis has been placed on literacy in the home as a way to bond with children, increase their vocabulary, knowledge of the world, success as readers and students, and as a means to build confidence and foster ambition.