Serving Our Communities Since 1995
Opportunities for a Unique Population…
For the migrant workers and their kids living in lush Homestead, Florida, there’s no vacation wonderland they can escape to. At the Southernmost tip of Florida is Homestead, an agricultural community. Acres of lush farmland and raw wilderness stretch as far as the eye can see, with rough roads that school buses can’t travel on easily and without streetlights to break through the darkness when the sun sinks into the Atlantic.
ASAS serves two schools in Homestead and the unincorporated areas around it: Mandarin Lakes K-8 Academy and Redlands Middle School. The students are the children of migrant agricultural workers, many of whom are undocumented. Like most of Miami, Spanish is the unofficial “official” language. Most students speak English and help translate for their parents and grandparents. Along with these language barriers, it’s somewhat challenging to recruit students to the afterschool program.
Despite the hesitation to enroll their children, the lure of free transportation, homework help and meals the program offers often wins parents over. Most parents take the bus to pick up their students, and most have already endured a grueling 3-hour round-trip commute to jobs in northern Miami Dade, so not having to pick up their student makes life a bit easier.
Academic support is typically at the top of the wish list for principals when ASAS comes into Homestead schools, and with 90% of ASAS staff being certified teachers from the core day, ASAS excels in this area. There is also a focus on fueling students’ imagination and creativity through our enrichment programs. We are here to serve and provide opportunities to all.