La Escuelita continues to be the only Hispanic led organization that focuses its offering entirely in youth at risk and their families in Minneapolis. Our programs are developed and implemented with a strong research based support and is continually assessed to reflect the emerging best practices in the still under researched field of out of school time. The agency has a track record of effectively addressing the issues of differentiated performance in math and science, dropout rate and the academic achievement gap. Copious research shows the importance of an after-school program that is culturally competent, long-term and based on principles of support and education. A key to the la Escuelita’s success exist in our programs being embedded with high academic standards and an inherent alignment with Minneapolis Public Schools District criteria. Our programs are designed to encourage and further skill-building mentorship’s, foster academically oriented tutoring in and out-of-school setting that favor academically motivated peer groups. The Pew Research Center stated “Children who participate in quality after-school programs are much less likely to use drugs and alcohol, to have sex, or to be involved in criminal activity than their peers”. La Escuelita has been recognized in the Minneapolis community for over 18 years as the leader in after school academic and leadership programming for Hispanic students.