What is Juntos Aprendemos?
*This program is facilitated only in Spanish
Juntos Aprendemos prepares 3-5 year olds and their parents to acquire early literacy and school readiness skills necessary to overcome the barriers faced by Spanish-speaking minors in our community. That is why Juntos Aprendemos, instructs not only children in their own language, but also parents, offering them those useful tools for the process of the road to kindergarten.
Program Details:
Juntos Aprendemos takes place weekly in area elementary schools, often where the child will be attending kindergarten. Children gain their first school experience in a protected environment in accordance with their parents, their culture and their mother tongue. Juntos Aprendemos uses an effective skill building model by recruiting its teachers from graduate parents.
Where does Juntos Aprendemos originate from?
Since 2000, Juntos Aprendemos has supported more than 2,000 Latino children and their parents through this community program. The program was born from the same community in the Portland, Oregon area in 1999. Little by little it became stronger and bigger. In 2003, Juntos Aprendemos joined the Latin Network Organization giving it strength to continue growing. The Juntos Aprendemos program remains strong in more than 19 schools there. Now in Central Oregon we have the privilege of partnering with the Latino Network to provide the Juntos Aprendemos program here in our community.
testimonials
What Parents are Saying
“I asked my daughter Paula what Juntos Aprendemos means to her and she told me jumping and with a lot of love: “The greatest thing is that we went and took classes together Mommy”, she and I thought the same thing. For me, the most special thing about the program is the space that I spent with my daughter doing activities together and then separately, each one learning in her class; So both my daughter and I studied. Not only did she help me talk to her about how important school is, but I could also teach her by her example. During Juntos Aprendemos, parents are the role model, and what more than showing it with facts, that’s how my mama Paula (grandmother) and my parents Ida and Hernan taught me. There is nothing that is better taught than by example.
As a mom, I had the joy of learning the customs, stories, and frustrations of other families. Juntos Aprendemos is a space where my daughter and I were able to express our mother tongue in all splendor, this program gave us the opportunity to feel more proud of our mother tongue and Peruvian roots. Listen to a song where they mention your country, listen to songs that our parents also taught us, have conversations about our countries of origin, memories, traditions, celebrations, etc. Little big things that make me and my family feel welcomed, valued, respected and above all accepted. I felt that the teachers were there to support, listen and also learn from my family and that is priceless. The program recognizes that each family contributes to our community. In addition, I felt that my constructive criticisms were well received and I have no doubt that they will be taken into account for the future.
I hope that Juntos Aprendemos will be an inspiration for the educational system of the Bend-La Pine Schools in the central region of Oregon, JA adapted to the need and the reality in which we live due to the pandemic, provided the necessary materials and even supported families economically and even in the summer the opportunities for interaction with the program will continue. I personally think that JA understands how important it is to create valuable and culturally appropriate opportunities to cultivate the necessary trust with the Latino community in order to make us flourish and grow.”
