Conexiones, an organization that promotes academic achievement among Hispanic students in Howard County, will receive a $5,000 grant in January from the Columbia Foundation to help with operating expenses.
“The Columbia Foundation is one of the organizations that really understands the activities and objectives that we have, and we appreciate their support,” said Murray Simon, president of the organization.
The foundation has supported the organization since its inception in 2002. To date, Conexiones has received more than $36,000 from the foundation to fund its programs, which include after-school tutoring, field trips and an annual event to celebrate Hispanic students graduating from high school.
“We think they?re doing good work with the school system by encouraging academic success of Latino students,” said Candace Dodson Reed, associate director of the foundation.
In October, Conexiones received a $1,500 grant from the foundation to hire a consultant to oversee the development of the organization?s board of directors and other goals.
About 20 people serve on the board, including the Rev. Walter Rodriguez, senior Spanish pastor of the First Church of the Nazarene in Ellicott City.
“[The grants] mean a lot because we?re not operating on a big budget; every dollar means a lot, as well as the support from the community,” Rodriguez said.
Hispanic students are among the fastest-growing student groups in the school system. They make up about 4 percent of the nearly 48,000 students.
Although Hispanic students have made some recent gains on the reading portion of the Maryland School Assessments, they continue to score at the bottom of most state standardized tests.
Conexiones is trying to change the trend.
“We want to help Hispanic students improve their academic achievement and reduce the high school dropout rate,” said Simon.
