What is the Juntos Program?
Juntos (pronounced “Who-n-toes”) means “Together” in Spanish and works ot unite community partners to provide Latino 8-12th grade students and their parents with knowledge, skills, and resources to prevent youth from dropping out and to encourage families to work together to gain access to college. Research shows that Latino youth are at greatest risk for dropping out of school between the 9th and 10th grades.
The Juntos program reduces this risk by bringing together cohorts of 8th-grade youth to support each other for three to five years as they enter high school and prepare together for higher education. The multifaceted partnerships between Extension Educators, school and college administrators and staff, and other community volunteers are what make the Juntos program a sustainable success in many communities across the U.S.
Our Four Components
The Juntos program is an intensive long-term program made up of four components:
- Juntos Family Engagement via a five-week workshop series and other family nights and family events.
- Juntos 4-H Clubs with a focus on tutoring, public speaking, life skills, and community service.
- Monthly One-On-One Success Coaching and/or Mentoring by an adult who monitors academic progress and coacher Juntos youth to achieve their academic goals.
- Summer Programming that includes the Juntos Summer Academy, which is a week-long experience at NC State University, and other local 4-H summer programs.
Our Objectives
- Increase family engagement that leads to students’ educational success
- Increase the sense of belonging among Latino students and families in their schools and communities
- Increase Latino student success by improving student attendance and grades, and achieving high school graduation
- Increase the percentage of Latino students attending higher education
