Por el Pasillo Mentorship Literacy Project: A Case Study of Supporting Multilingual Learners in Rural Schools

Abstract

This was a qualitative case study that outlined the integration of a learner-centered bilingual literacy mentorship program by positioning secondary multilingual participants as mentor leaders for elementary multilingual peers in one rural U.S. school. It highlighted place-based, multimodal methodologies rooted in train-the-trainer models that have been successfully implemented through humanitarian organizations such as the Wisconsin / Nicaragua Partners of the Americas program. This study found that an alternative model positively impacted multilingual learners’ social-emotional development, language acquisition, and academic support through an increased sense of community, confidence, and belonging.