DREAM ALLIES NETWORK & DREAM CENTERS

 The Dream Allies Network is an organic grassroots effort of Los Angeles and Alhambra public school teachers, union activists, students, parents and community members to transform public schools to be safe, supportive and healthy spaces for undocumented, immigrant and other marginalized groups.  We do this through the creation and maintenance of Dream Centers at high school campuses where students receive services and resources and engage in youth empowerment and advocacy programming to change community conditions.  We also sponsor student empowerment clubs where youth develop programs, services and advocacy campaigns in order to transform unhealthy school and community conditions.  We provide training to teachers to develop cultural competency and culturally responsive pedagogy for immigrant students and families. These teachers go on to create an ethos of reception on their school campuses by developing a school culture that recognizes the needs of the most vulnerable at schools and engages marginalized participants in a transformational process to find their voice to improve their schools and communities.  Dream Allies continues to evolve through a process of reflection and action whereby educators with students and parents reflect on school and community conditions and develop programs, services and advocacy campaigns to meet community conditions.   We share our work and resources with other educators through our union locals and conferences and convenings to help promote this model amongst educators and students.  The success of our model is shown through the continued demand for our programs in L.A. area schools.