Educational Advocacy

One of our main goals at CrossingBarriers (CB) is to work towards improving the quality of education immigrants and students of color  receive in our local public schools. We work with students groups, activist parents  and community members  who are marginalized in the public schools to address the difficulties they are facing in accessing quality education. We strive to eliminate structural exclusion and inequities in education for immigrant students and students of color.

We provide information and awareness about the barriers to school success for our  student population  and address these barriers. We work with youth leaders, parents and community activists to advocate for change – from the local school district all the way to the state institutions – to bring about long term systemic change and develop educational policies that will eliminate structural exclusion for  marginalized students. Nourishing young students is the foundational for creating healthy, vibrant and productive communities which will strengthen the quality of our labor force and economy in the long term.

Leadership Development and Community Organizing

We run our programs on an Issue-Based Community Organizing and Leadership Development Model.  Such as we:

• Work with student leaders, youth groups and community activists  to address issues they are facing in their local schools and districts.
• Ask student leaders to identify the challenges they are facing in schools.
• Learn, together with our students, about how the institutions they are a part of work and how to develop strategic actions to influence these institutions.
• Take strategic actions until we see improvements and changes made.
• Develop work plan and recommendation for the schools/school district to implement that will eliminate structural barriers, provide quality education and encourage students to succeed.
• Work with students and their parents in order to develop a better understanding of their local school systems, allow them to improve communication with their local schools, and empower them to be influential in the education of their children.

If you are interested in partnering with CrossingBarriers to improve the educational system in your school, click here to contact us.

Of course, it is not only in schools that immigrant youth face institutional challenges and barriers. One of our main objectives is to work with immigrant youth and students of color that are committed to improving and empowering themselves and their communities. There are so many young people and adults that want to be catalysts for change but need support and guidance to nourish and build their leadership skills in order to be effective agents of change in their communities.

CrossingBarriers provides leadership training and experiences for marginlized immigrant youth and youth of color  through participation in projects designed to eliminate community barriers and institutional problems. CrossingBarriers provides space for citizenship development for  where youth and families can come together to support each other, to discuss and learn about civic and political issues, learn about civic engagement and to develop ways to work with the mainstream community on constructive solutions. The leadership training is customized for each project and its participants and the end goal is to prepare students so they can have positive systemic impact. All of our students come from low income families.

As a result, community activists, high school students and college students that volunteer in our leadership skills projects learn to better understand the root causes of issues that face their communities. They learn how to address issues such as lack of access to quality education, neighborhood safety, crime prevention and steps towards self-empowerment. Volunteers are trained in navigating intricate and convoluted mainstream political administrations. While developing their skills, they also learn how to speak in public, conduct meetings, develop strategic actions and organize. In addition, we work to support the careers and educational paths our student volunteers want to pursue. We connect and prepare them for internship opportunities that they otherwise may not have been aware of or have access to. Many students feel invisible in mainstream society and are not connected to career programs or internships that will empower their careers. CrossingBarriers provides support to such students and helps them to achieve the goals they set for themselves.