LEOPOLDA™
Culturally Responsive Literacy Practices For Diverse Children
The goal of our program is to help young students from pre-K to 5th grade to become avid and skilled readers and writers. We accomplish this goal by incorporating 14 years of research-based instructional strategies that improve literacy outcomes.
Through research, curriculum development and by working with parents, students, teachers, and school leaders, we have developed culturally responsive strategies, tools, and methods, empowering students to become problem solvers and creative thinkers. Research has shown and teach us that students must possess a strong oral language foundation to achieve literacy success. Low-language native English speakers and ELL speakers arrive at many grade levels with insufficient language knowledge to support learning. When structures within a text are beyond students' receptive capacity, students struggle. LEOPOLDA™ is a proven program for oral language development, helping students to understand that their thoughts can be spoken, written down, and read. LEOPOLDA™, support students in developing the language and learning strategies necessary for both reading comprehension and writing composition. WAMN partners with school districts to customize professional development and strategies focused on refining the cultures and systems around effective literacy leadership and instructional practices.
Better outcomes are achieved by engaging all stakeholders in ongoing professional development to allow a shared understanding of effective instructional practices. We perform assessments and analyze learning growth. We use social media, art forms, and other resources to inspire children's creativity and learning. Our Literacy Program involves the whole family and makes reading and learning activities fun. It enhances language acquisition, comprehension, speaking, listening, and writing skills.
By achieving our children's educational goals, we improve literacy, which is the most effective way to reduce disparities.
STORYTELLING &WRITING THROUGH ART
Using Art to Express Emotions & Imagination
"A picture is worth a thousand words"
Using art to leverage the learning of literacy concepts and skills
When children's stories are driven by rich visual images, their writing is transformed in many powerful ways. Integrating children's visual imagery at every stage of the writing process from the earliest prewriting/idea formulating stage through rehearsal, drafting, revision, and publication. By being introduced to a variety of simple art materials and methods from the very start, young author/illustrators have access to visual and kinesthetic, as well as verbal, modes of thinking. For verbal thinkers, this approach can serve to extend their thinking and their writing.
OTHER AREAS SUPPORTING EDUCATION
- Educational projects: Conceptualization, design, implementation, and evaluation
- Curriculum design and development
- Curriculum facilitator training in education and related fields (Core Areas of Knowledge include adult learning theory, infant & toddler development, inclusive childcare, preparedness for early childhood, language and literacy development)
- Mentoring and coaching teachers and directors within early childhood programs
- Educational support services for early childhood staff in the areas of reading, writing, and math awareness
- Development and publication of documents to inform parents, communities, state agencies and policymakers regarding the importance of the qualifications of childcare professionals and program improvement
- Development and Implementation of a Family Engagement Plan
- Building strong connections among families, schools, and communities.
- Promoting collaboration in the education sector by providing information, guidance, and support to parents and caregivers to achieve their educational goals
- Providing innovative solutions to improve literacy
CONNECTED FAMILIES
The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic, or social condition.
The Healthy development of the child is of fundamental importance; the ability to live harmoniously in a changing total environment is essential to such development.
The extension to all peoples of the benefits of medical, psychological, and related knowledge is essential to the fullest attainment of health. Family support is one of the best and most powerful ways to help a family to overcome the challenges of raising and supporting a child with physical, emotional, mental, and behavioral needs.
The Parenting Connection is a program to inform, support, advocate, and aid the families of those struggling with mental health, to navigate through the system(s). Our goal is to make sure that family members understand all possible options and make informed decisions. We promote productive partnerships between parents and professionals, and we carefully match parents with one another for peer to peer support, enabling them to acknowledge that they are not alone in these difficulties.
Providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services is paramount. We are committed to inform and educate professionals about a families' heritage and culture and to promote the best practices to support families and children that are affected by neurodevelopmental, psychological, emotional, and behavioral related disorders and disabilities.
We advocate for the timely and appropriate delivery of services to children with mental health disorders. We also provide support in educating the community to remove the stigma and barriers associated with children's mental health disorders.
Supporting each aspect of a child’s development, from prenatal to age six.
* EARLY CHILD DEVELOPMENT
* PARENTING
AMINA ALLIANCE MINNESOTA NARIÑO
In this partnership, we are integrating the legacy of the ancestral wisdom of the Inca civilization into our modern world. A world with more sustainable, agricultural landscapes and systems that are socially connected. We are developing a new culture of coffee lovers with the devotion to cultivating the best coffee beans in the Andean mountains of Nariño, Colombia.
These impressive Pachamama mountain ranges are loaded with magic, traditions, knowledge, and secrets that have been transmitted orally from generation to generation.
Through this journey, we are conquering more than great flavors. We are sharing unique experiences of hope, resilience, love, and peace.
Each cup of our coffee is an invitation to be part of an exquisite adventure.
Women play a vital role in getting food to our table, and yet because of deep gender inequalities, many of those women aren’t able to realize their full potential, both as workers and as community members.
Women do most of the field and harvest work, from picking the ripe coffee cherries to sorting beans and processing them. Unfortunately, at the end of the whole journey, most of the earnings go to men.
Coffee is an essential and powerful driving force of Colombia's economy, but it's also a guarantee of social stability and PEACE.
Agriculture, the sale of coffee beans, and the establishment of art and craft micro-enterprises not only generate income and guarantee a sustainable future for the family, bring hope and peace to a community.
From markets to distributors and consumers, we all are an essential part of building powerful alliances to create a better future. The careful conservation of natural resources, such as water and soil, is a fundamental basis for sustainable farming and help to increase a farm’s resilience to climate change.
With practical actions and tools for improving social and environmental conditions, farmers can have access to safe drinking water, healthcare, and education.