 ENLACE is an initiative of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Houston Endowment |
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ENLACE Albuquerque is a partnership of post-secondary education institutions, public schools, and community organizations designed to focus united attention and resources on producing more Latino/Hispanic graduates from high school and college. To strengthen the K-16 education "pipeline," the ENLACE partnership has three key targets: increasing retention rates of students in high school and college, family and community education, and the numbers of Hispanic teachers to serve as role models for students.
The partnership primarily targets students at middle and high schools in three clusters of schools with the highest Latino enrollment (69 percent) in Albuquerque Public Schools (APS). The high schools are Albuquerque, Valley, and West Mesa. At the post-secondary level, ENLACE targets Hispanic students at Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute (TVI) and the University of New Mexico (UNM).
Albuquerque can become a successful model of successful Hispanic education if students are provided with the support and skills needed for academic and personal success. The dropout rate for Hispanic students who begin school in APS is 43 percent. At TVI, 60 percent of first-year students leave school. At UNM, 1 of every 3 freshmen students drops out.
"Enlace" is a Spanish word that means "link." The philosophy of the project is that with partnerships, learning adds up. ENLACE Albuquerque targets two key points along the K-16 pipeline where there are "leaks" of students who leave school-especially the transitions from middle to high school and from the freshman and sophomore years in college.
To increase support of Latino students, ENLACE Albuquerque uses several strategies-including increased student mentoring and summer academic skills preparation programs for middle-grades students. A high school mentoring program will be expanded, so that six Latino university students will work with 60 youngsters, offering customized literacy and reading instruction. The summer prep program will be a "bridge" to high school for incoming ninth graders. Not only will the program de-mystify high school, but it will offer early college awareness with weekly trips to UNM or TVI computer labs.
For 9th- and 10th-grade students who need greater support, a community-based "education access classroom" will open in southeast Albuquerque, offering intensive tutoring to 20 students per month.
To promote family interest in education and advocacy, 200 parents a year will receive math, GED, and other classes at the Barelas Community Center. A bilingual liaison will lead outreach efforts, including creating a community leadership board.
To confront a statewide shortage of teachers, ENLACE Albuquerque intends to increase the number of Hispanic teachers by 18 percent per year. Future teacher clubs will encourage Latino high school students to pursue the career. Students will shadow teachers in elementary classrooms and serve as role models for young children. Also, "champion teachers" will be named among current faculty. Some 20 Latino classroom aides will receive annual financial aid to become fully certified teachers.
Promoting Hispanic culture and self-esteem also is critical. Student mentoring is an extension of the traditional Latino "extended family." With ENLACE, resources are available for Chicano studies courses to be taught at the three high schools on a regular basis. It means students "…develop a whole new self-esteem," says a 28-year teaching veteran.
At TVI, 12 annual ENLACE scholarships will be awarded. For 2,250 entering students at UNM and TVI deemed to be at high risk of dropping out, an "early warning" system will offer early intervention and counseling. At UNM, 11 Latino juniors and seniors will serve as peer counselors.
- Albuquerque population-700,000, 40 percent Hispanic, 48 percent minority
- Albuquerque Public Schools-85,000 students, 47 percent Hispanic, 27th
largest in U.S.
- APS teachers--70 percent of teachers are non-Hispanic Caucasian.
- TVI-25,000 students, 39 percent Hispanic, 58 percent minority, 74
percent first-generation college students
- Some 300 TVI students (about 1 percent) transfer to UNM each fall.
- UNM-24,250 students (1999), 27 percent Hispanic, 25 percent at or
below poverty level
- UNM Faculty-1408 total, 11 percent Hispanic
| Commitment | Grantee | Project Year Start |
PurposeStatement | $49,550.00 | University of New Mexico | 1983 | Produce a videotape on the primary care cur- riculum to inform medical faculty, students, and others in medical education of its potential as an alternative educational tool | $1,475,194.36 | University of New Mexico | 1977 | Implement an experimental curriculum to prepare primary care physicians for medically underserved communities | $643,576.00 | University of New Mexico | 1984 | Evaluate and disseminate information about the primary care curriculum and its impact on medical graduates and their patients | $900,910.00 | University of New Mexico | 1986 | Improve the health of the people of New Mexico by educating future teachers, nurses, and physicians to provide health promotion services | $1,462,282.00 | University of New Mexico | 1989 | Reduce infant mortality and improve maternal and child health for urban and rural residents through a collaborative case management health services program | $307,556.00 | University of New Mexico | 1990 | Improve the health of the people of New Mexico by educating future teachers, nurses, and physicians to provide health promotion services and disseminate the results | $92,745.00 | University of New Mexico | 1991 | Increase youth leadership skills by implementing an intergenerational wildlife education program | $50,000.00 | University of New Mexico | 1992 | Assist in the development of leadership skills for public works managers through the establishment of the Western Infrastructure Leadership Institute | $31,033.00 | University of New Mexico | 1992 | Improve child and family health and increase health promotion by establishing a community services center in a rural school | $55,000.00 | University of New Mexico | 1993 | Improve Hispanic health services by multidisciplinary training of health professionals | $1,842,933.00 | University of New Mexico | 1996 | Foster institutional change to redirect health professions higher education; encourage multidisciplinary approaches to meeting the health needs of people | $80,000.00 | University of New Mexico | 1996 | Increase the numbers of suitably educated primary care practitioners by assisting community representatives to be active in informing policymaking | $635,137.00 | University of New Mexico | 1997 | Strengthen professional development for Native and Non-Native persons working in student affairs | $1,248,000.00 | University of New Mexico | 1997 | Promote educational success in early childhood for vulnerable youth through a regional partnership linking professional development to family and community involvement | $3,768,196.00 | University of New Mexico | 1998 | Demonstrate how to sustain safety net providers through partnerships with community and health and human services providers | $97,100.00 | University of New Mexico | 2000 | Support the goals of the ENLACE Initiative by creating and strengthening partnerships among Hispanic-Serving Institutions and other higher education institutions, K-12 schools, and community | $1,218,297.00 | University of New Mexico , Albuquerque | 1960 | Establishment of medical school | $112,120.00 | University of New Mexico , Albuquerque | 1961 | Associate degree program in dental health | $99,496.00 | University of New Mexico , Albuquerque | 1975 | Develop a master's program in nursing |