Speak to Succeed

Speak to Succeed is GLP's main project. It is a structured, after-school curriculum teaching critical-needs languages to children in underserved public schools. The primary goal of the after-school language program is to make the students completely fluent in the target language.

Public schools must first apply to become Partner Schools in order to implement the Speak to Succeed program. Once a school becomes a Partner School, it can only allow students in certain elementary grades to apply for participation. Students whose applications are accepted must commit to learning one language offered through the program until their fifth- or eighth-grade year. The program currently offers Spanish, Mandarin or Arabic. Speak to Succeed meets for instruction during and after school, three times per week, for 90 minutes each session. The program is offered free to select under-served schools and follows the school-year calendar. Speak to Succeed has just launched at Federal Hill House, a community learning center for pre-school, pre-k, and pre-kindergarten students, in Providence, Rhode Island. By 2015, we hope this program reaches 6,500 students.

Speak to Succeed's curriculum combines the academic subject content that students are learning in their grade, together with instruction by certified language teachers to best introduce and develop language proficiency of students. Graduates of Speak to Succeed will benefit from a structured language curriculum.

With increased language skills, Speak to Succeed graduates will also have increased future opportunities in higher education and the multilingual global marketplace.