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PLAN Program
The PLAN (Programa: Latinos Adelantarán de Nuevo) Program, a successful college preparation program for Hispanic high school students, was part of a bilingual education program in a metropolitan area in the northeastern United States (Abi-Nader, 1990). "Its focus was on effective communication through a three-year sequence of courses in reading for sophomores, writing for juniors, and public speaking for seniors....[Students] met in their respective groups for 45 minutes each morning and spent the rest of the school day in bilingual ed classes or in the traditional English monolingual program" (Abi-Nader, 1990, p. 46). PLAN was successful because of specific teacher strategies that helped students (1) create a vision for the future, (2) develop a positive self image, and (3) build a supportive community (Abi-Nader, 1990).
Creating a vision for the future
To help students create a concrete vision of a future in college, the PLAN teacher implemented a mentor program in which Hispanic college students and professionals (including PLAN graduates) made presentations to seniors about what college was like (Abi-Nader, 1990). The teacher reinforced the presentations by recounting PLAN's history and explicitly inviting students to become part of that tradition, and by positive future-oriented classroom talk (e.g., he talked about when students would attend college, not if they would attend college).
Developing a positive self image
The PLAN teacher set high standards for his students academically and encouraged them to pursue opportunities for service and leadership in the school community (Abi-Nader, 1990). He regularly promoted a sense of pride in the Hispanic heritage, and talked about his appreciation of Hispanic culture based on his Peace Corps experience in Honduras. To increase students' confidence in their public speaking the teacher modeled language production but did not interrupt students to correct their pronunciation or grammar. He also used and videotaped role playing activities, using the tapes to provide models and to show students their progress.
Building a supportive community
Building on the importance of familia in Hispanic culture, the PLAN teacher developed accepting and supportive relationships with his students, coached them to develop the same kinds of relationships with each other, and encouraged students to help younger members as counselors or tutors (Abi-Nader, 1990). However, familia did not end with PLAN. The PLAN teacher also stressed students' responsibility to build and extend community through leadership and service.
Relevant CIP Cultural Questions
