Driving success with Adelante Hispanic Achievers and connectivity
Louisville, Kentucky (February 5, 2024) - The Adelante Hispanic Achievers (AHA) have mastered the art of finding programs that serve their community, involving everything from career prep to service development. The organization knew that the Digital Divide was a prevalent issue among those they worked with and sought to find ways to solve it. Thankfully, they found Connected Nation (CN) and decided to test out the programs offered.
Digital Literacy & Learning and Teens Teach Tech are two of Connected Nation’s programs available for partners across the nation, just like the AHA. From empowering people through career-focused training and opportunities to community-driven tech teaching, CN is working to make closing the Digital Divide seem less of an impossible task. These two programs have been successfully implemented by the AHA in their community. Together, the AHA and CN are working on making Louisville, Kentucky a connected city, especially for Latinx youth and families, the fastest-growing population in Jefferson County.
Hispanic students face barriers to educational opportunities starting from early education. Historically, Hispanics have high educational expectations but low educational attainment (Schneider, et al., 2006). However, in recent years, increases in the graduation percentage from high school by 30.3% and enrolment in higher education from 1.5 million in 2000 to 3.8 million in 2020 have occurred among the Hispanic population. Part of this success in Louisville is due to the Adelante Hispanic Achievers.
The AHA aims to enrich the lives of its students through academic and personal development programs that focus on five pillars: educational preparedness, career exploration, community service, cultural awareness, and personal and social development. The non-profit’s mission “is to empower Latinx youth to achieve their dreams and contribute as creative and educated world citizens.”
Proof of the success of the AHA is in the pudding, as some would say. Don’t take this article’s word for it, take these key metrics from Excelencia in Education:
● 100% of Adelante Hispanic Achievers graduate high school on time.
● 97% of Adelante Hispanic Achievers have gone to college directly after high school.
● 94% of Adelante Hispanic Achievers who have gone to college have graduated on time or are on track to do so.
Part of the work that the AHA does to achieve these numbers is to partner with organizations like CN and programs like Teens Teach Tech to provide knowledge and opportunity for their students and their families. Bianca Menendez, the Program Manager for the nonprofit, stated in an interview with CN that the workshops they do are integral because we live in a digital world where technological skill and safety are key.
A seventh grade student who participated in the workshops explained that the workshops were helpful for her parents. She also has an interest in pursuing technology businesses, potentially cybersecurity in particular, and the AHA and CN workshops provided a good starting point for generating and maintaining that interest.
When discussing the impact of the AHA, Menendez shared: “I used to be in the program, actually, for maybe like 10 years, and, so, I went off to college, but I knew I always wanted to come back because the work that we do is very important.” As CN continues to push for success for all students and families, the AHA is a valuable partner that provides important services for a demographic that is growing in population and achievement.
For more information on the Adelante Hispanic Achievers and how to get involved, visit https://adelanteky.org/. To learn more about partnering with Connect Nation and the programs offered, visit https://connectednation.org/programs.
About the author: Myren Bobryk-Ozaki is an intern providing support to the Communications division of Connected Nation.