Santa Clara University will partner with the Latino Education Advancement Foundation (LEAF) and The Foundation for Hispanic Education (TFHE) to support college preparation, persistence, and completion among Latinx students in East San José. The team will use a mixed-methods approach to examine 1) how students and their families from three TFHE high schools experience and navigate academic, financial, and socio-emotional stressors that inform college decisions, persistence, and graduation; 2) how a LEAF program facilitates college-going and persistence; and 3) how institutions of higher education can better support Latinx students’ sense of belonging and connectedness. By supporting new staff positions and research retreats, the grant will help build community partners’ capacity to design effective research and use research findings to inform decision-making, strategy, and investment decisions toward better serving Latinx youth from low-income families in East San José. At the university, the grant will support the School of Education and Counseling Psychology in working to revise standards that guide tenure and promotion decisions at the departmental level, opportunities for faculty to engage with organizations in East San José, and the recruitment and support of Latinx students as the university strives to be a valued Hispanic Serving Institution.
This grant will strengthen the partnership between Santa Clara University, the Latino Education Advancement Foundation, and The Foundation for Hispanic Education.
