LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Analía Wells was nominated by a member of the community, Melody Zoch.

As the curriculum coach for the only dual language program in the city, Ms. Wells extends her support to teachers, students, and their families. Adopting a family engagement approach is at the heart of her work in the elementary school. Ms. Wells takes time to develop relationships with families, and it is not uncommon for her to hear from past students who have gone on to graduate from high school or college.

One yearly commitment she makes includes working with a local church to support a summer enrichment program for children and their families at a neighborhood apartment complex. This program includes lunches, a mobile library, and visiting speakers presenting on mental health and fire and home safety. During this time, Ms. Wells also works with children and their parents to model reading aloud from books and engaging children in conversation about the books.

Her family engagement also extends to digital realms, where she has collaborated with a local university to create parent videos on college access and information about the benefits of DL and bilingualism. Ms. Wells has cultivated a partnership with the Teacher Education department at a local university, which has allowed her to expand on opportunities available for families in the DL program. One example is when she helped organize a family literacy day at the university in which students and their families participated in various activities, including visiting a bookstore and choosing books paid for by the university. She has also helped organize events for families, such as a "Know-Your-Neighbor" event that brought together immigrant and non-immigrant families to learn more about immigration and different perspectives on community concerns. This event also allowed families to learn about local nonprofit organizations that offer services for families.

Another event Ms. Wells helped organize was a free health clinic on Saturdays at the school that allowed families to receive health care services, learn about Obamacare enrollment, and receive health screens. Her connections with other organizations highlight her community-engaged educational approach to support her school and the families. As previously mentioned, Ms. Wells has partnered with a local university to increase opportunities for families and with a church to provide the summer programming described above. Additionally, Ms. Wells has partnered with a nonprofit supporting immigrant and refugee families. In her volunteer work with this organization, Ms. Wells has served as an English-to-Spanish translator and has helped families complete paperwork to receive services.

Another example of her nonprofit partnerships is her work with the Reading Connections literacy program. This program went to her school to provide moms with English classes and bilingual books to take home. Ms. Wells is not only a passionate advocate for the DL program but for the parents as well. For Ms. Wells, families who do not speak English mustn't be discriminated against. Despite language barriers, she wants to ensure that parents can advocate for their children to have opportunities to access different programming based on their abilities and interests, such as being identified for Academically Gifted services, Special Education Services, or being able to attend Early College programs. Ms. Wells has also been instrumental in providing information sessions/workshops on various topics such as available community resources, immigration law, housing rights for renters, and meeting with police officers to assuage families' fears of law enforcement.

Additionally, Ms. Wells has helped individual families locate mental health services and make COVID-19 vaccination appointments. Her work far exceeds the regular working hours of a school day. She embodies what it means to be community-engaged and committed to the community she serves. It is easy to see how her influence expands beyond the school walls. She tries to get to know the families, and they trust her.

Ms. Wells is a tireless advocate for them and their children. She continually seeks innovative ways to support them, such as creating the videos above that families can access from anywhere. While her official role in the school is to help the teachers and students in the DL program, which Ms. Wells does wholeheartedly and expertly, she believes in the importance of home-school connections and thus extends her reach to the families. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, a local nonprofit provided adult literacy classes with childcare. When the school closed due to the pandemic, Ms. Wells used her connections with a local church to move the classes there.

Also, before the pandemic, Ms. Wells planned to participate in fundraising to convert an annex building at the school into a community center that would include a place for parents to check out books and attend classes. While this was not brought to fruition with the pandemic, it was part of her vision for expanding community services.