LEI of Springfield.
The Latino Education Institute of Springfield increases life opportunities through culturally responsive high-quality education programs, family engagement initiatives, and technical assistance for school districts and institutions of higher learning.
Help our Latino students and families shine.
Lets Improve our achievement and well-being.
How do we make this happen in Springfield?
Springfield image credits—John Phelan / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)
An innovative partnership—
The Latino Education Institute (LEI) of Springfield, established in 2014, is an innovative partnership of Springfield Public Schools, Springfield Empowerment Zone and Worcester State University. The goal is to improve the academic opportunities and wellbeing of Latino students (K-16) and their families by:
Delivering culturally and developmentally responsive programs in education, early college, literacy, leadership, civic engagement, and health
Providing technical assistance to schools and colleges, and
Family and community engagement around college and career success
Here’s what we bring to the table—
Dual Enrollment Courses in-person at local high schools and remote online through Worcester State University faculty and student supports
30 Week Direct After School Programming
Summer Learning Opportunities
Capacity Building Modules
Identity and Self-Expression
Skills-Building and Healthy Relationships
Service Learning and Community Engagement
College/Career Readiness and College Exploration
Academic Support: Goal Setting, Homework, Writing, Reading, and Presenting
Parent Support and Family Engagement
New Opportunities: STEM Academy and STEM Pilot Program
LEI participants were privileged to spend time with Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Photo Credit: MassLive
Together we can achieve our Goals.
—Dr. Milagros Martinez Schettini, LEI Springfield Program Liaison
In Your words, Your Stories—
A Parent’s Story.
My name is Marisol Lorenzo, I am a mother of 3 children, and I always care about the well-being of my family.
A Student’s Journey.
My name is Ivan Flores Vazquez,and the Worcester State Dual Enrollment program put me on the path to success.
LEI will continue to be a positive force in our schools.
My name is Michael Calvanese, I am the principal at Duggan School, and I care about the well-being of my students.
Our Impact on the Springfield Community.
Outcomes and Impact.
To achieve our mission, we provide a wide range of programs that prepare Latino youth and their families for college and a meaningful career. We focus on promoting academic engagement, providing free college classes, college and career planning, healthy communication, and community consciousness through culturally responsive methods and family engagement. Most programs incorporate a service learning component where youth are exposed to challenges in their communities and encouraged to work towards positive change. Research commissioned by the LEI guides policy makers and informs programmatic efforts.
The initiative has proven extremely successful outcomes in middle schools and high school. We have increased school participation in 250% over the last three years serving over 800 students in After School, Enrichments, Early College, and Math Intervention Programs and over 300 families in our family academies and community programs. Our Early College Program has grown in more schools allowing our Dual Enrollment students to earn 6 credits every year for the past 2 years, preparing first generation students to college life and providing college experiences and mentoring to Springfield students and Math Intervention program serving 34-38 students per session with MCAS 230.2 Average Passing Score.