JUNTOS (in English)

That's a common Spanish phrase that translates to "Knowledge is power." And in Open Campus, we believe that the Juntos program serves to equip youth and their families with the knowledge that empowers them to pursue opportunities in higher education. Juntos is unique among college access programs because it engages the entire family with a strong emphasis on cultural responsiveness while minimizing barriers to participation. All programming is delivered in Spanish by bilingual bicultural facilitators, with meals and child care included.

Juntos workshops and family nights are held at local middle schools and high schools, where teachers and administrators are encouraged to attend and engage with the families. In Oregon, 14 percent of the population is Latinx, yet it is the fastest-growing ethnic minority. During the 2020-2021 school year, nearly one in every four students enrolled in K-12 were Latinx. The Juntos program in Oregon has served over 5,500 students, parents, and family members since 2012, and it's present in over 60 schools throughout 34 communities across Oregon.

Juntos is built on a foundation of partnerships between our program and school districts, community colleges, community-based organizations, foundations, and other programs. Thanks in part to those relationships, we have direct access to the immediate needs of K-12 students and families. This provides opportunities for communities to become more aware of what OSU has to offer and for OSU to learn about their needs. Juntos can especially provide critical feedback to the university on barriers and challenges Latinx students are facing when attempting to enroll and persist at OSU.

Every two years, Juntos welcomes over 1,200 students and their families to a college visit designed specifically for them, complete with college tours, workshops, resource fairs, keynote speeches, panels, games, and music. This event helps students and their families envision themselves as part of OSU. In our own surveys, 82 percent of youth stated that their experience in Juntos motivated them to go to college.

Juntos is working towards expanding program access for families by increasing the number of partnerships and program sites statewide. It would be my hope that in five years, we have Juntos available in every county that wants the program, with expanded support from the university and private funding. Another goal would be for the Juntos program to be viewed by the Latinx community as an established, trustworthy source for information and guidance for post-secondary education, and that we be a leader in the state for culturally relevant programming.

Juntos has sustained a high level of reach and engagement across Oregon through local and regional partnerships. Partnerships with community colleges have been particularly impactful for empowering students and families around education and building more equitable college access pathways for Latinx learners. School administrators often note that the families who participate in the Juntos program become some of the most actively involved families at their schools.

One of the benefits of partnering with community colleges is that parents who participate in the Juntos program also may benefit from learning about opportunities to enroll in English language courses, GED programs, citizenship workshops, and basic computer skills courses, among other things. In this way, Juntos attempts to serve and empower entire family units rather than individual students.