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Between 2020 and September 2023, the LEI, in collaboration with Worcester Division of Public Health and UMASS Memorial Health, was actively involved in the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) Initiative as a result of the COVID pandemic to address health inequities within the Latinx community. The initiative aimed to identify, reduce, and eliminate health disparities through a robust communications and street outreach plan.
The REACH Initiative encompassed two sub-programs:
Health Promoters or Promotoras de Salud
The LEI Health Promotores or Promotoras de Salud were a small group of Spanish-speaking community members that worked directly with community-based organizations (CBOs) and primary care providers (PCPs) to establish a referral network that provided services such as high blood pressure screening, nutrition counseling, and breastfeeding support to improve the overall health and wellness of the Latinx community in Worcester. In addition, they were trained in important community health topics to support community health education. Their outreach community education efforts focus on the five social determinants of health: (1) social and community context; (2) economic stability; (3) neighborhood and built environment; (4) health care access and quality; and (5) education access and quality.
After the REACH Initiative was over in September 2023, the Promotoras de Salud are still active and working under the LEI to continue their valuable work in the community.
Health Ambassadors for COVID-19 & FLU education and vaccination
This targeted initiative involved a group of Health Ambassadors, most of whom were bilingual WSU students from health-related fields. They were trained on promoting COVID-19 and FLU education and vaccination among the diverse BIPOC community in Worcester. Their comprehensive multi-lingual (English/Spanish/Portuguese, and sometimes other languages) outreach educational effort and public messaging campaign aimed to address the increased risk of COVID-19 and FLU among underrepresented and underserved BIPOC communities and curb its spread by emphasizing on vaccination, booster shots, and health prevention promotion, and equity through a comprehensive community outreach camping and their engagement in different types of community activities.
In general, the REACH Initiative was centered around five main areas:
At the LEI of Worcester State University, we aim to effect change through expanding the body of knowledge on Massachusetts’ growing Latinx population by developing our research capacity. Our objectives include:
Voices of Latino parents and youth of Worcester Public Schools (2020)
Over a five-day period, LEI conducted interviews of parents, students, and community members to help understand what was important to include in the conversation around a new funding stream from the state to Worcester Public Schools through the Student Opportunity Act. The act provides an important opportunity to ensure equity, excellence and success for all communities.
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Worcester Mayoral Commission on Latino Education and Advancement (2019)
The Worcester Mayoral Commission on Latino Education and Advancement’s report A Way Forward: Latino Youth and Families in Worcester (2019), was the response to Worcester community concerns about opportunities for Latinx families and equity in education. Mayor Joseph Petty appointed Luis G. Pedraja and Mary Jo Marion to lead a multisector effort resulting in this report that includes actionable recommendations to achieve equity in Latinx education. Pedraja and Marion built a commission that integrated representatives from public schools, higher education, community-based organizations, and community leaders.
Study of Latino Male Education Outcomes (2016)
Rarely do studies look to the voices of youth to confront the struggles they face. This report captures the voices of young Latino males as they reflect upon their own experiences and perceptions—and struggles—with their educational trajectories and combines quantitative data to help reveal the challenges that Latinx males in urban Massachusetts face in pursuit of education and their imagined futures. The report suggests focusing on the early education experiences of Latino males and the value of early intervention to help improve pathways to college.
Not Present, Not Accounted For: School Suspensions in Worcester (2013)
This report examines out-of-school suspension data from the Worcester Public Schools and the issues of equity in the application of school discipline policies of exclusion and suspension as well as their disproportionate application to Latinx students. The report concludes that out-of-school suspensions do not improve safety of schools or the outcomes of students, are often not age appropriate and can be replaced by other methods of discipline for better outcomes.
Mayor’s Commission on Latino Educational Excellence (2011)
This report of the Commission for Latino Educational Excellence, in response to the Worcester mayor’s charge to study issues affecting the academic success of Latino children in the Worcester Public Schools, highlights the increasing numbers of Latinx students in the schools and their chronic educational underachievement as an urgent challenge for the community. The commission focused on the collection of local data, via community hearings, best practice research, and open, honest dialogue with the administration of the Worcester Public Schools, to identify strategies for improving educational outcomes for Latino students.
The Condition of Education for Latino Students in Springfield, MA (2009)
This report examines the socio-economic characteristics of the Latinx population in Worcester and the enrollment patterns and outcomes of Latino children in Worcester Public Schools. Data about the City of Worcester and the Worcester Public schools form a detailed picture of the situation with the goal of forming a basis for creating a coherent and deliberate strategy to improve the educational outcomes of Latino students.
