Juntos

Juntos Means “Together”

In North Carolina, high school dropouts cost the economy an estimated $1.37 million per student over his or her lifetime, with Latino youth being especially at risk.

The Juntos Program helps Latino students have more success in middle and high school. The program uses family engagement, 4-H clubs, success coaching and mentoring, and a summer Juntos Academy to help Latino students and their families gain the knowledge and resources they need to reach their academic goals of graduating from high school and continuing on to post-secondary education.

Funding from government and foundations make Juntos possible in eight North Carolina sites, serving 676 Latino youth and their families. These families have attended the Juntos Family Nights, where they have learned more about how to help their youth be successful in school. Students in the program receive monthly one-on-one coaching by a trained Success Coach to improve academic success.

Juntos is a national model and is providing technical assistance as other states implement this program. Professionals from Alabama, Wisconsin, Florida, Illinois and Texas have been trained to carry out the Juntos Program. We have also developed new evaluation tools for youth and parents that are being used not only in North Carolina, but also in various states where the Juntos Program is growing.

Faculty and Staff:

Andrew Behnke, Ph.D.
919-515-9156
aobehnke@ncsu.edu

Cintia Aguilar, MS
919-513-0311
cintia_aguilar@ncsu.edu

Diana Urieta, MSW
919-515-8479
dmurieta@ncsu.edu

Juana Hernandez
jhernan4@ncsu.edu