| Blurr Borders: Table of Contents |
Binational Partnerships that Work—Education:
Excellence and Justice in Education (EJE) and Escuela
Para Familias
http://www.geocities.com/enlaceje/
 Founded
in 1991, Excellence and Justice in Education (EJE)
is a Hispanic grassroots community organization formed by parents,
students, teachers and community members from the El Cajon Valley
Union School District (CVSD) seeking excellence and equality in education
for all children. EJE works to make a difference by reaching out to
new immigrant families to teach them about the importance of parental
involvement as a predicator of success for students.
To successfully carry out the parent involvement program in El Cajon and Lemon Grove, EJE has partnered with the Tijuana-based organization, Escuela para Las Familias (EPF) to develop and administer courses to Latino parents in both El Cajon and Lemon Grove. The EJE/EPF partnership is an excellent example of a binational collaboration that is assisting San Diego’s growing trans-national Mexican community succeed in their new adopted home. |
With the support of San Diego Social Venture Partners (San Diego SVP) and San Diego State University’s Entrepreneurial Management Center, a study was undertaken to measure the success of participating EJE students in terms of scholastic performance. The study compared the average performance level of 50 EJE children on the STAR test to Latino/Hispanic children in the CVUSD. The results show that the EJE children score startlingly higher in all subjects than the general Latino/Hispanic population and about equal to the student population at large. |
Las Californias Youth Leadership Program ICF/FIC/ISTEP-SDSU/Lead San Diego |
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| In May 2003, the International Community
Foundation, in collaboration with the International Studies Education
Project of San Diego State University (ISTEP), LEAD San Diego, and
La Fundación Internacional de la Comunidad (FIC), initiated
the "Las Californias Youth Leadership Program" (LCYLP),
a binational youth leadership program, which aims to strengthen the
social capital in the border region by empowering high school seniors
from San Diego and Tijuana to improve their mutual understanding of
the border region. The program was created to encourage young people
to become leaders to help form solutions for complex border problems.
LCYLP seeks to engage the San Diego-Tijuana community, especially its civic leaders and emerging youth leaders, to better appreciate the need for collective action. The program provides participants with opportunities for community service, mentoring, job shadowing and a comprehensive educational enrichment program focused on the dynamics of the U.S.-Mexico border region. Collaboration among the above-mentioned institutions has allowed for an interactive exchange of ideas which have strengthened, reinforced and positively impacted the LCYLP. The talents of each of the participating institutions have made this program a truly binational effort. |
The selected high school students meet once a month at various universities in the border region to discuss relevant border issues such as immigration, environment, public policy, U.S.-Mexico relations. One participant commented that, "LCYLP teaches me about things that neither my school nor my parents could teach me." Another student noted that, "I always thought I would go away to help people, but now I realize that there is much to do here and I want to stay in Tijuana to help my community." The border region’s future prosperity hinges on the ability to nurture a new generation of future leaders who embody individual responsibility, a greater appreciation for cultural diversity and possess a strong commitment to leadership both at home and beyond our international borders. Investing in young people and training them for leadership in their schools and communities is critical to our society especially along the border. LCYLP is one avenue to increase binational understanding and collaboration. |
