Little Havana

Background

The Little Havana neighborhood in Miami is an enclave that includes a heavy concentration of Cuban immigrants, as well as recent arrivals from the Central American countries of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala and others who often are fleeing high levels of violence in their homelands. The students come from poor families seeking to gain a new start in the United States. Developing Minds Foundation aims to provide a stable and dynamic learning environment for them to embark on the right path.

Project

Developing Minds Foundation supports an education project for the youth of Little Havana, with a strong emphasis on academic achievement and literacy skills. Managed by our partner St. John Bosco, the fundamental emphasis of the program is after-school support, homework assistance, specific literacy initiatives, projects stimulating creativity, and family skills building.

Specifically, the Readers are Leaders project is a reading enrichment program using the Developmental Studies Center’s KidzLit curriculum created to increase young people’s motivation to read and build their literacy skills. At the same time, it develops core values of helpfulness, fairness, personal responsibility, and respect for others.

Teachers use a five-part process in which children hear engaging books read aloud — or read them independently — and make connections to their own lives. They express their feelings and grapple with big ideas through discussion, drama, art, movement, and writing. The program is aligned with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) standards.

The Readers Are Leaders Program also includes a conflict resolution and peer mediation component developed by the Peace Education Foundation (PeaceWorks).