Peer Tutoring Program Gets High Marks

Sometimes, students are not only struggling with the new language and culture, but reuniting with parents who are virtual strangers because they immigrated much earlier.

The Bienvenidos program has, for some, given students what they need.

"I have friends in gangs, but I have to stay focused on my future," Lauchu said. "Plus, I spend so much of my time here, I definitely don't have the time to be in a gang."

Keeping students busy, involved and engaged is exactly what Leyva is after. "This," she said with emphasis, gesturing to the huddles of students talking and working on homework, "is gang prevention."

One of her favorite students is struggling with that influence now. She came from a strict South American private school, and the freedoms of big American public high schools have been dizzying.

"She began to hang out with the wrong crowd; . . . she started to skip," Leyva said. The student's flirtation with gangs brought her 3.2 GPA down to below 1.0, Leyva said.

"I keep after her," Leyva said as the girl joked with her friends a few tables away. "I let her know that I believe in her, that I'm not going to give up on her.

"So many of these students," she continued, "all they need is for someone to take the time to show they care."

As the day's session wound down, Leyva embraced each student, kissing each on both cheeks. A new student from Yemen who speaks little English approached her in the crowd. In halting and accented English, he asked if there might be room for him, too.

Leyva sighed. It's not the first request for help from other newcomers, but the program is funded specifically for Latino kids, she said, and there is a waiting list. She said she would try to make it happen.

After all, she said, "bienvenidos" means welcome.