Education Pathways

Strategic Priority 3: Enhance opportunities for people to achieve their goals and contribute to community through diverse, equitable, culturally responsive, and transformative educational pathways.

Mutual Learning: Increase opportunities for postsecondary students and educators to collaborate with preK–12 students and educators in mutual learning, inspiration, and empowerment.

Family-School Collaboration: Strengthen the capacities of families and educational institutions to build trusting relationships with one another and create opportunities for collaboration.

Decreasing Barriers to Education: Strengthen hubs and networks—in our neighborhoods and at the University—through which partners can collaboratively address the multilevel barriers people face to accessing educational opportunities.

Lifelong Education: Support education institutions and community groups in creating and connecting learning opportunities through which individuals of all ages can define and further personal, professional, and community goals.

Key Indicator: # of west side residents enrolling in and completing postsecondary education at the UofU and SLCC.

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Poetry Slam: Freeing Our Voice

By: Michelle Sanchez, JJYS Community Engagement and Opportunity Director

In 2022, several Juvenile Justice and Youth Services (JJYS) staff and community partners came together to promote access to civic engagement opportunities for the young people at Decker Lake Youth Center. During this time the JJYS youth council was looped in to capture youth voice and interests on several projects. Projects included community partners working with youth, facilitated conversations around civic engagement, and a focus group with families. These experiences helped youth and parents to vocalize their experiences in regards to fines and fees ordered by the court, which was later shared during the legislative session. Sharing their experience was important to the youth council, which resulted in the development of a poetry slam.

The Poetry Slam, which is what we titled the series, was divided into 3 separate virtual engagements. Since the workshops were virtual, all youths in secure care in the state were invited to participate. Youth engaged in a writing clinic, heard from diverse local poets, and ultimately youth shared their own poems with community members. During this final event many of the community partners suggested making a book to recognize and celebrate the event. University Neighborhood Partners, Voices for Utah Children and several JJYS staff collaborated to create the book, which was later printed in early 2023. The book was given to the youth who participated then shared with community members.

The youth, along with other partners, expressed interest to make this an ongoing project. It has been such a great way to create connections for youth, who oftentimes are not connected to their community and resources. In 2023 another series of poetry and writing workshops were held, working along with community artists such as Monica Lisette, Jessica Begay and others. We are looking forward to creating another booklet highlighting the words and art of JJYS youth, with the help and support of our on-going partners.  This type of partnership is important as the youth are not able to leave the facility. One recurring theme we have heard from youth is that they don’t know what they don’t know. By partnering with community organizations, it opens doors to unknown interests and positive relationships that the youth are able to connect with. These relationships provides them a space they feel welcomed and comfortable going to once they are back in the community. It gives them the confidence to seek out new experiences and skills that they may not have thought possible. It helps them picture the life they want for themselves. Highlighted here are two of the pieces of art included in the 2022 booklet.

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Empowering Families and Youth to Engage and Transform Schools

By: Leticia Alvarez Gutiérrez U of U Dir Director of Graduate Studies, Almaida Yanagui UNP Ed Pathways Partnership Manager and Sonny Partola U of U Graduate Research Assistant

In 2008, Almaida Yanagui, Community Organizer and Assistant Partnership Manager with University Neighborhood Partners (UNP), and Dr. Leticia Alvarez Gutiérrez, Associate Professor in the Department of Education, Culture and Society (ECS) at the University of Utah (UofU), formed a collaboration that centers community dialogues with multilingual students and their families, along with educators and school leaders. After a year of community dialogues with the various community partners, including families and youth, the U of U Family-School Partnership (FSP) was formed. FSP is an intergenerational university partnership that includes multilingual immigrants and refugee families and youth who reside on the west side of Salt Lake City. The FSP also includes teachers and school leaders who are thoroughly committed to ensuring that multilingual families have opportunities to engage with K-12 schools in culturally relevant ways. FSP also aims to serve as a community engagement learning pathway to train licensure students who are applying to or enrolled in the Urban Institute for Teacher Education (UITE) at the University of Utah. This vision resulted in Dr. Leticia Alvarez Gutiérrez designing a course: ECS 5709/6709: Family-School Partnership, which focuses on family engagement. All licensure students are required to complete this course.

FSP is vital for providing the University of Utah students with opportunities to work directly and collectively with multilingual families and youth on educational issues that are important to the community. Research illuminates how challenging it can be for culturally and linguistically diverse families to counter harmful narratives and ideologies given the narrow definitions of “involvement” that limit engagement to active participation within school walls. We align with research that affirms the multitude of non-traditional ways that immigrant and refugee families are involved in their children’s education. This is pertinent given that research indicates that structural inequities (i.e., lack of transportation, work schedules) prevent families from participating in school functions, thereby challenging the deficit notion that these families simply “do not care.”

With the partnership’s rich history over the past 16 years, FSP continues to collaborate with families and educators to provide multiple opportunities for university students to collaborate with historically marginalized families and youth to identify educational needs and collectively resolve issues. The Utah Community Advocate Network (UCAN) emerged from the collaboration of FSP and families in the community, and continues to be a space where university students connect with families to work toward transforming schools into places where all students can be successful. To strengthen the partnership, Alma and Leticia have developed and cotaught a special topics course since Fall 2022 titled: ECS 5950: Introduction to Family Leadership Education, co-taught with Noreida Acosta, UCAN member. Community members who sign up for the course receive tuition and university credit for completing the course. This program exemplifies the collaboration between emerging educators and community members via the required course developed by Dr. Alvarez Gutiérrez: ECS 5709/6709: Family-School Partnership. Dr. Alvarez Gutiérrez has also mentored Sonny Partola, doctoral student in ECS, and Dr. Jacob Jobe, a graduate of ECS, to teach the course. Both courses have achieved great success, enrolling nearly 100 UCAN community members who collaborated with over 70 university students within the span of only two years. These courses have also trained over 500 university students to work directly with culturally and linguistically diverse families on educational issues identified by the community. The collaboration has had real-life implications for both families, youth, and university students. For example, Mariana Arce shared that she “was able to learn to work with people of different ages in the Latino community, and realized how necessary it is to take into account the points of view of each of the members.” Furthermore, Monica Pérez shared that the course was “very interesting” and provided “the opportunity to learn tools and develop skills for managing emotional situations with our children.” Anabel Ponce shared that the course benefited her and her family: “It helped me find myself as a person. The course gave me the wisdom and tools to identify the things that had to change in my life and the life of my family—finding within me a strong woman capable of changing what has hurt me and my children for many years. Now I know who I am and I have learned to value myself and what it means to be happy.” Brandi Yanagui expressed her newfound confidence: “I learned my rights as a parent and how to navigate the education system. I now have a voice to advocate for my child in his education as well as my own education. I have a better understanding of the quality of education that my family and I deserve.” These powerful narratives underscore the tangible impact of FSP and its affiliated courses, bridging communities, families, and schools to create meaningful change in education.

Sonny Partola, a doctoral student in ECS, shadowed the ECS 5709/6709 course which facilitates the collaboration between UCAN and the University of Utah students. He shared that the course has impacted families, youth, and university students alike: “The community-engaged nature of this course works to mend a long-lasting divide between schools and historically marginalized communities on the west side. I have seen the powerful outcomes of bringing together pre-service educators and community members to learn from one another and build a true partnership that empowers families and centers the educational hopes and dreams of youth.” Looking ahead, the ongoing collaboration between the department of ECS and UCAN is evolving and growing in new ways. However, the promise to enrich educational experiences and empower families and youth continues.This partnership exemplifies the transformative potential of community- centered initiatives in creating critical, empowering educational environments where every voice is heard and valued.

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UNP–Glendale Community Learning Center Scholarship

By: Arturo Canela, University of Utah, Education Pathways Program Manager

In my role as the Education Pathways Program Manager, I serve as a vital link between the University of Utah and the westside neighborhoods of Salt Lake City. Ensuring a strong connection with the community is crucial for developing educational opportunities aligned with their interests, particularly in academic support. Glendale, situated west of the I-15, boasts a culturally diverse population with a potential to contribute significantly to the state’s workforce diversity, fostering innovative thinking and societal transformation. Recognizing the financial barriers faced by marginalized communities in accessing higher education, especially in Salt Lake City’s westside neighborhoods, I applied for a departmental funding opportunity. Securing $3,000, I collaborated with University Neighborhood Partners (UNP), an institutional partner, to establish ‘The Glendale Community Learning Center Scholarship’ (Glendale CLC) for the 2023–2024 academic year. Each year, UNP launches a scholarship application that is designated for members from SLC’s westside neighborhoods. Our efforts aimed to increase scholarship opportunities, by infusing a new scholarship opportunity into the application pool. Consequently, I worked with UNP & Salt Lake Community College partners to develop and facilitate a 5-week workshop to help students through the scholarship application process.

Partnering with UNP allowed me to expand scholarship options for westside community members and develop a comprehensive workshop covering various aspects of the application process. The workshop highlighted community-based scholarships, including UNP’s Scholarship, the Salt Lake Education Foundation Scholarship, and the Rose Park Good Samaritan Foundation Scholarship. The goal was to expose students to local opportunities, educate them on applying, encourage multiple applications, and ultimately award the $3,000 scholarship to a deserving student.

The inaugural 2023–2024 Glendale CLC Scholarship was awarded to Mireya Ahumada Teran, a University of Utah student focusing on completing her teaching practicum in the 2023–2024 academic year. Mireya’s direct experience growing up in Glendale and her connection to schools supported by the Glendale CLC made her an exemplary recipient. Her journey from Mt. View Elementary to Glendale Middle Schools underscores the scholarship’s impact on individuals with strong ties to the community. Mireya joins a cohort of educators inspiring future generations to pursue their ambitions, specifically as those goals connect to higher education and university access.

Building on the success of the previous year, my department allocated $5,000 to award two $2,500 scholarships to students from SLC’s westside neighborhoods. These funds will once again complement the UNP Scholarship, facilitating another iteration of the 5-week Scholarship Workshop with the overarching goal of preparing students to compete for financial opportunities that facilitate higher education completion.