Grant Partners
Our Approach
The MEL Community Foundation’s development and growth center on building and strengthening relationships with school districts and nonprofits that support English learners. Our program design and effectiveness assessment work deepens our impact community by community. We embrace the opportunities and challenges before us as we make an impact through literacy, mentorship, and college access supports for English learners in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and nationally.
Leap for Education
Dream MORE, which stands for “Marshall Opportunities for Resilience and Education,” is LEAP for Education’s free afterschool and summer program at Thurgood Marshall Middle School in Lynn. Operated in partnership with Lynn Public Schools, Dream MORE is designed to support middle school students during a critical developmental and academic transition period, with multilingual learners as a priority target group.
Students participate in project-based and deeper learning experiences, academic enrichment, activity stations, career connections, field trips, community-building, and social-emotional supports. Each day includes time for students to decompress, build relationships, and engage in hands-on learning connected to their interests and future goals.
The MEL Community Foundation funding helps sustain and strengthen Dream MORE’s support for Lynn multilingual learners by funding staffing, enrichment materials, project-based learning supplies, field trips, family engagement, and targeted academic and social-emotional supports.
Mujeres Unidas Avanzando
Mujeres Unidas Avanzando’s (MUA) HiSET Pathways Program supports English learner and immigrant young adults ages 18 to 24. The program helps participants make progress toward a Massachusetts High School Equivalency credential while building the academic, English language, digital literacy, and career readiness skills needed to pursue postsecondary education, workforce training, and employment. Many participants face significant barriers to educational attainment, including interrupted formal education, limited English proficiency, poverty, housing instability, and family responsibilities.
Through a combination of HiSET instruction, educational advising, career coaching, and supportive services, MUA helps young adults overcome these barriers and continue their educational journeys. The program will serve approximately 30 English learner and immigrant young adults during the grant period. Participants will receive HiSET preparation in Spanish, access to ESOL classes, digital literacy instruction, transition planning, and referrals to community resources. MUA’s integrated approach recognizes that progress toward a high school equivalency credential is often the first step in a longer pathway toward economic mobility and lifelong learning.
Fitchburg Public Schools
Fitchburg Public Schools is preparing to launch a Dual Language Bilingual Education program beginning in the 2027–2028 school year. This initiative is a critical step in expanding our multilingual programming and strengthening college and career readiness for all students. Currently, of our 5,438 students, 1,639 identify Spanish as their first language. Through the MEL Community Foundation grant support, this program will not only provide native English speakers with the opportunity to learn Spanish but will also affirm and elevate the linguistic assets of our Spanish-speaking students. In doing so, it promotes a more inclusive school community and supports stronger academic outcomes than traditional ESL models alone.
This project addresses the need to build educator capacity by providing teachers with the pedagogical foundation and specialized training required to design and implement a high-quality Dual Language program. Our goal is to create an academically rigorous, culturally and linguistically responsive learning environment that meets the needs of all learners.
Everett Public Schools
Following the successful launch of Everett Public Schools’ Dual Language Immersion Steering Committee, supported in part by The MEL Community Foundation, the Everett Public Schools will expand this work during the next phase of program implementation.
The Steering Committee has played a critical role in supporting the planning year of the district’s Dual Language Immersion Programs by strengthening family engagement, facilitating collaboration among educators and administrators, and building broader community understanding of dual language education. Through regular meetings, family outreach, and collaborative planning, the committee established important systems and relationships that have contributed to the successful preparation for the kindergarten program launch in August 2026.
The project will directly serve students enrolled in the Dual Language Immersion Programs, their families, dual language educators, and the broader school community. By continuing the Steering Committee’s work, Everett Public Schools aims to strengthen program sustainability, deepen stakeholder engagement, and ensure continuous improvement as the Dual Language Immersion Program grows. The MEL Community Foundation’s continued investment will help establish long-term structures for collaboration and family partnership that will remain in place as the district expands dual language programming in future years.