FEBRUARY 2026

Charting the Path Forward!

Message from the Executive Director

2026 is another exciting and pivotal year for the Latino Education Institute (LEI)! After celebrating a successful 25th Anniversary in 2025, we are moving forward with renewed momentum as we launch a strategic planning process to guide our work in the years ahead.

To support this effort, LEI has engaged an experienced external consultant and convened a diverse Strategic Planning Committee of key stakeholders. The process will include one-to-one interviews and focus groups with community members, educators, and the parents and youth we serve, ensuring broad and meaningful input.

Through a collaborative, engaging, and inclusive approach, our strategic planning process will focus on:

• Creating a renewed vision for serving Latino youth and families well into the future
• Establishing a clear roadmap with defined priorities and measurable goals
• Examining organizational capacity, internal systems, and new revenue opportunities needed to serve our community effectively
• Aligning and strengthening strategic relationships, both internally and externally

LEI team with Senator Robyn Kennedy.

We were honored to welcome Senator Robyn Kennedy to the LEI to start this strategic planning year! We are deeply grateful for her continued support, advocacy, and dedication to our community. We look ahead with optimism as LEI enters a new phase of purpose and possibility!

Maria A. Juncos-Gautier

LEI Executive Director

The Three Kings - A joyful afternoon of culture, family, and shared traditions

The Three Kings Celebration on Saturday, January 3rd, was a truly special day, bringing together 93 participants, including adults and children, for an afternoon filled with joy, connection, and cultural pride. Families shared meaningful moments with their children through art activities, dancing, and drumming while enjoying traditional food and music, creating beautiful family memories with smiles, laughter, and togetherness. We are grateful to everyone who joined us and helped make this celebration a reflection of community, heritage, and love.

LIDER+, where student curiosity meets leadership and opportunity

This past December, our high school LIDER+ students had the opportunity to meet with President Barry Maloney of Worcester State University, creating a meaningful space for conversation and connection. The LIDER+ program is focused on career exploration, access to college, and civic engagement. During that time, the students asked thoughtful questions about the college experience, from academic expectations and campus resources to student involvement and leadership opportunities. They also discussed how they, as emerging leaders, could contribute to the campus community in the future. This whole event highlighted the importance of student voice and encouraged confidence in navigating higher education.

After-School programs that empower students beyond the classroom

LASOS girls starting the year with purpose!

Following a successful recruitment season, enrollment at the LEI has grown to 155 students this winter semester across our four intensive, year-long K–12 after-school programs—ISLA, LASOS, ENLACE and LIDER+—with an average cohort of 38 students per program. Participants are from 18 different public schools across Worcester.

Last fall, students engaged in meaningful learning experiences focused on exploring cultural identity, building strong peer connections, and strengthening leadership skills through mindfulness practices, mentoring, and confidence-building activities. As one LIDER+ student shared, “I feel really comfortable in the LIDER+ Program. I learn so much and it’s really interesting.”

Building on last year’s success, LIDER+ also relaunched its dual enrollment course, Special Topics in Sociology: Community Research and Action, led by WSU professor Dr. Francisco Vivoni. Through a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) approach, students are developing civic engagement and research skills and will present their findings at our Youth Summit on Saturday, May 9, 2026. We are excited to continue supporting our students as they grow as leaders, scholars, and advocates for their communities.

Club E WPS ESL Program -

Building confidence through language and community

The WPS/LEI Club E ESL Program launched in October 2025 with strong enrollment from parents and caregivers of Worcester Public Schools (WPS) students who were eager to improve their English language skills. The program is serving more than 100 adult learners across English Levels 1–4, taught by a cohort of experienced, certified ESL instructors: Cathy, Nuria, Arjana, Brendan, and David. Many of these instructors are also WPS teachers during the day. Participants represent the rich cultural diversity of the City of Worcester, thereby creating opportunities for meaningful interaction, collaborative learning, and confidence building through conversation. They continue to make significant progress toward their academic and professional goals. We are excited and ready to begin 2026! Special thanks to WPS for their continued support of this program!

Promotores de Salud - Promoting wellness through community connection

Workshops with LEI's ENLACE boys and the Community Builders Organization.

Under our Community Health Education Program, our Promotores de Salud, Olivia Roy, Gabriel Johnson, and Raysa Corporan have been out and about educating about healthy practices and lifestyles. Recently, they worked with two of LEI’s after-school programs, ENLACE and LASOS to teach about wellness and stress management exercises. They also offered workshops with the Community Builders Organization for residents of the Sever Street Apartments on cooking healthy, nutritious meals and on goal setting through vision boarding and collage activities. New and on-going partnerships in 2026 will include the Worcester Housing Authority and Sevita Health. 

Q &A session with UMASS Chan pediatricians

The Latino Medical Student Association at UMASS Chan and LEI collaborated last December to bring three pediatricians to talk to our parents. A group of ESL students, all parents from the Club E Worcester Public Schools cohort, participated in this Q&A session with questions in both English and Spanish about children’s health and development. The Q&A session provided informative and interesting discussion. ¡Muchas gracias por su ayuda doctoras Ariana Perry, Leah Evans-Wong, Carolyn Keiper, and Victoria Gutierrez!

Save the dates!

• Tuesday, March 17 - Club E will kick off another semester of adult ESL classes on Tuesday, 3/17 on the campus of WSU. If you or anyone you know might want more information on this LEI opportunity, please contact the Program Coordinator Steve Favulli @ sfavulli1@worcester.edu 

• Friday, April 17 - Southbridge Middle School visit to WSU

• Saturday, May 9 - LIDER+ Youth Summit

We appreciate the commitment of our donors, whose generous support at the start of the new fiscal year makes it possible for us to carry out our mission!

City of Worcester * Balfour Foundation * Barr Foundation * Greater Worcester Community Foundation * Hanover Insurance Group Foundation * Ruth H. & Warren A. Ellsworth Foundation * UMASS Memorial Health * UniBank * United Way of Central Massachusetts * Women’s Initiative of the United Way of Central Massachusetts * Worcester Public Schools (WPS)

Let's rise together in support of the students we serve!

We are committed to continually enhancing our services for the Worcester community. To achieve this, we rely on your ongoing sponsorship, collaboration, and dedication to help us thrive.

The LEI Team