Every Friday, students in the new Latinos In Action club at Cascadia Elementary School get the rare opportunity to mentor younger students. They were immediately up to the task one Friday in November, partnering with transitional kindergarten students and reading with them. Some read in English, others in Spanish, but all the students were having a blast, giggling and learning.

Adriana Boulos – co-leader of Cascadia’s Latinos In Action program and a Multilingual Learner specialist at the school – said this mentoring session is one of many ways in which the program helps students develop leadership skills.

“A lot of the kids in this group isn’t always the strongest leaders in their classroom, because most of them are bilingual. Even though that’s an asset, they don’t always see that or feel that,” Boulos said. “By bringing them in here, it’s not only giving them more confidence, but it’s also giving them a role model experience where they’re getting to show what they’re capable of.”

This fall, Ferndale officially joined the Latinos In Action family with new elective classes at our middle and high schools and a before-school club at Cascadia. This nationwide program, which is present in more than 300 schools across the United States (including in Mount Vernon, Sedro-Woolley and Bellingham), focuses on empowering Latino students through leadership development and college and career readiness.

“This program is well put-together in a way that holds our students to a high leadership standard,” said Sam Tuckner, who teaches Latinos In Action at Horizon Middle School.

“A lot of my officers at the beginning of the school year were in their little shell, but now they’ve really stepped up,” added Blanca Mendoza Gonzalez, who teaches Latinos In Action at Ferndale High School.

More than 120 students participate in Latinos In Action this year throughout Ferndale – and there’s a waitlist of even more students at Ferndale High School. Even though the program is new here, it has already made a big splash. Earlier this fall, the high school program held a lively pep assembly filled with fun games and dances celebrating Latino culture.

Every class has a major focus on teaching students how to mentor their younger peers. Students learn how to create lesson plans, how to navigate the emotions of kindergarteners, and more. Tuckner said her students love visiting Eagleridge Elementary School so much that they’ve developed stronger attendance habits to retain that privilege.

“They have to be at school regularly in order to visit Eagleridge, and those kids are counting on them to be there,” she said. “It holds them to a really high standard that I think they’re excited to meet, because they want to be in a class where they’re talking about issues specific to their identity.”

One significant aspect of Latinos In Action is helping students celebrate and get in touch with their cultural roots.

“For a lot of people that may have grown up Latino, but aren’t that familiar with their culture, this is something that can help bridge the gap,” said FHS senior Abraham Perez, who is the president of the school’s Latinos In Action program.

At Cascadia, students learn about their family’s home country and how to build the courage to politely correct folks who incorrectly pronounce their names. Patty Padilla-Gonzalez, who co-leads the elective at Cascadia, said she’s already seen her students become prouder of their heritage.

“I’m a Latina myself, and I was that kid once upon a time – I didn’t feel I should be proud of who I was,” she said. “I love being a part of this program because I see the growth in our kids.”

Having a dedicated leadership program that’s explicitly designed with Latino students in mind is a smart move for Ferndale, where nearly a quarter of the student body identifies as Latino or Hispanic, said staff.

“It’s really important for them to see that their voices matter and there are multiple people who look like them, and they are capable of doing just as much as anyone else,” said Mendoza Gonzalez, the FHS teacher.

Multiple Ferndale students remarked upon the strong bonds that they’ve built with their peers in Latinos In Action.

“I love that we’re a class that’s treated like a family,” said FHS senior Marlenne Barragan, who is the secretary of FHS Latinos In Action. “I feel like this program brings everyone closer together and gives the Latino community an opportunity to break out of their bubble and try new things.”

“I like seeing the creativity of others, and how you get to communicate with them to make a plan,” added eighth grader Maggie Lopez, who is the co-president of Latinos In Action at Horizon. “It doesn’t depend on one person – it depends on the whole group.”

Cascadia Elementary’s program is particularly special – it’s the first elementary-level Latinos In Action branch in the state of Washington.

“We feel privileged,” said Padilla-Gonzalez. “When we had the CEO of LIA come to visit, one of the things they said is that we had one of the strongest starts for an elementary school they’ve ever seen. They are very happy with what we have done.”

You can follow FHS’ Latinos In Action program on Instagram at @ferndalehs_lia, or visit www.latinosinaction.org for more information on the nationwide program.