Community Learning Collaborative

Community Learning Collaborative (YMCA of Greater Boston, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, The BASE, and Latinos for Education) is building an integrated continuum of services for Black and Latinx students and families in Boston. They are building learning pods to provide high-quality academic support, social emotional development, health and wellness, recreation, arts, movement, and food in a fun and engaging environment.

In addition to addressing the unique and immediate challenges facing working families over the 2020-21 school year in Boston, our whole child focus incorporates long-term interventions such as culturally appropriate curricula that leads to positive self-identities for children of color as well as immediate needs of food insecurity and hunger by providing healthy and nutritious meals and snacks.

For 40 weeks, Community Learning Collaborative will provide an academically, emotionally safe and healthy place for students to gather and be supported.

YMCA of Greater Boston

The YMCA operates eight branches in urban Boston and also operates more than 50 before and after-school sites, 10 Early Education Centers, and more than 50 food distribution centers.

During the summer of 2019, the organization provided services to 150,000 individuals, more than 50,000 of whom were children. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Y has intensified its commitment to hunger prevention and youth development. During the last five months, it has delivered more than 2.3 million meals and provided more than 135,000 hours of childcare to the children of essential workers.

Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción

Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA) empowers and engages individuals and families to improve their lives through high-quality affordable housing, education, and arts programs. In addition to developing the Villa Victoria community and securing 667 units of affordable housing, IBA administers five community programs:

• Preschool
• Youth Development
• College & Financial Empowerment
• Resident Services, and
• Arts

Annually, IBA’s programs serve 1,300 low-income people. IBA is a national model for the integration of affordable housing with comprehensive, culturally responsive and bilingual (English/Spanish) programming strengthened by social supports.

The BASE

The BASE combines exceptional athletic training and competition with education and career resources to empower student-athletes to achieve their full potential both on and off the field.

The BASE serves 1,500 student athletes ages 6-19 annually, primarily from the Boston neighborhoods of Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan. The vast majority of its students are Latinx or Black, attend Boston Public Schools, and come from low-income families.

Latinos for Education

The mission of Latinos for Education is to develop, place and connect Latino leaders in the education sector. It is building an ecosystem of Latino advocates by infusing Latino talent into positions of influence. Latinos for Education believes that Latino leaders should be at the forefront of creating an equitable education for Latino students.

Our goals include:

• Creating at least 12 Community Learning Centers, each serving up to 13 students, within walking distance of the student’s home (the same 13 students will be together every day in a “learning pod”)
• Providing programming from 8:00am-5:00pm that includes remote learning and before and after-school enrichment activities
• Creating a safe environment for students and staff using carefully developed and proven-effective safety protocols
• Providing culturally appropriate curriculum that leads to positive self-identities for children of color
• Combating the opportunity and achievement gaps by ensuring that youth have access to high quality, full day resources when school is not in session
• Combating food insecurity and hunger by providing two healthy and nutritious meals and one healthy and nutritious snack each day
• Employing qualified and dedicated staff to provide academic and enrichment activities, coaching and mentoring, with an emphasis on recruitment of Black and Latinx teachers and support staff
• Tracking our activities and measuring the benefits/outcomes for students and their families, and making continuous improvements
• Identifying and documenting best practices from our work that will help all of us reimagine and retool public education in Boston, leading to the elimination of persistent opportunity and achievement gaps