Campus Programming
Puente fosters more than community... Puente becomes familia!
For more than 45 years, The Puente Project has been building bridges to higher education for students across California, and the journey starts wherever students are. Puente's campus programming spans middle schools, high schools, and community colleges, meeting students at every stage of their academic path with the same core commitment: rigorous academics, culturally affirming counseling, and community mentorship that reflects who students are and where they come from. Open to all students, Puente prepares scholars and develops leaders who return to their communities and lift others along the way.
This is the Puente difference
When students decide to join Puente, they are opting-in to a transformational experience. The Puente Project provides culturally responsive curriculum and teaching practices to support building confidence, strengthening student voices, and empowering them to be proud of their intersectional identities. The Pedagogy of Cariño used in the classroom leads from an asset-based philosophy. Our educators uplift students’ lived experience and they work collaboratively to set goals, overcome barriers, and build a plan toward academic success.
Puente English classrooms meet and exceed all standard learning objectives while integrating literature authored by diverse voices sharing stories and wisdom that our students can relate to first-hand. In turn, Puente students experience the importance of telling their own stories with confidence and clarity, strengthening their communication skills both written and verbal, and approach research from a place of curiosity and critical thinking.
We believe students thrive when they…
See themselves in the curriculum
Build their writing confidence
Learn how to navigate systems of higher education
Feel culturally and socially validated
Find their voice
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