Linking Learning, Belonging and Community
Hartford Public Library, Conn.
Innovation Synopsis
Linking Learning, Belonging and Community collaborates with anchor institutions to address the complex needs of high-risk, late-arriving immigrant/refugee language-minority high schoolers who have been in the U.S. three years or less. Core to its mission is creating a sense of belonging by responding to the learning barriers many English learners (ELs) contend with, notably, witnessing war and unaccompanied migration.
Challenge/Opportunity
In U.S. public schools, language minority students are the fastest growing population. While the recent Every Student Succeeds Act provides a sharp focus on closing the achievement gap between ELs and their native-born counterparts, opportunities to safeguard ELs rights to an equitable education remain sparse. Current research points to a critical need to invest in new strategies which accelerate and deepen academic learning for this population before they age-out of the system lacking critical college/career skills.
Key Elements of Innovation
An innovative curriculum model offers computer-mediated project-/place-based activities fostering inquiry, reflection, dialogues and relationship building by incorporating learners’ sociocultural values and skills inherent to the immigrant experience (i.e., resiliency and adaptability) while building awareness of the new surrounding culture. The library’s open and flexible alternative learning space uniquely addresses learners’ identity formation and civic connectedness.
Achieved Outcomes
Nationally, ELs display the highest truancy rates but in LLBC, the attendance rate is 97%. To serve reluctant-to-leave program completers, a weekly alumni component was added. Since Spring 2017, a total of 10 cycles have been offered serving over 100 enrollees. Formal assessments, focus groups and surveys all point to marked increases in learners’ language acquisition and sense of belonging. To date, learners from over 20 countries have bonded across cultures and languages within the LLBC’s inclusive learning community.