As tutor-to-teacher pipeline flows in Immokalee, schools look within for next generation of leaders
The Floridant/10281189

NAPLES, Fla. - Floridant -- Jeanette Fuentes knows how overwhelming it can feel when you layer first-day-of-school jitters on top of a new home in a foreign land where your teachers speak an unfamiliar language.

The Pinecrest Elementary School pre-kindergarten teacher, a child of migrant farmworkers turned first-generation college graduate, was once in their shoes.

And it's what drove her to return home after college to share the transformative power of education with the next generation. Fuentes is among 19 graduates of Guadalupe Center's college-preparatory Tutor Corps program who now teach in Immokalee.

Throughout high school, Tutor Corps members earn a wage for working with K-2 students in Guadalupe Center's After-school Tutoring & Summer Enrichment Program, augmented by college scholarships. In Fuentes' case, that led to a full-ride at Florida Gulf Coast University and a commitment to give back to the tight-knit community where her journey took flight.

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Through a collaboration with Collier County Public Schools and FGCU, a cohort of Tutor Corps grads turned Immokalee teachers (including Fuentes and her younger sister) will soon begin graduate school at the university to pursue a master's degree in educational leadership.

"The cohort preparing to study at FGCU represents the next generation of educational leaders in the Immokalee community," said CCPS Superintendent Leslie Ricciardelli, who led the collaboration.

Since 2004, every Tutor Corps student has completed high school and been accepted to college, with more than 250 (94%) ultimately earning a college degree.

The 31 Tutor Corps graduates in the Class of 2024 collectively earned $4.3 million in scholarship and grant offers to attend institutions such as FGCU, the University of Florida, Columbia, Northeastern, Stanford and more; one graduate is enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Erika Arvizu, 29, followed her older sister, Fuentes, as a Tutor Corps graduate, earning a full scholarship and then a bachelor's degree from Augustana College in Illinois.

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The Village Oaks Elementary School resource teacher initially planned to become a speech pathologist after college. Instead, she also was drawn by the lure of the classroom as a place of comfort, a sanctuary to learn, grow and build connections.

Once in college, Tutor Corps alumni continue to receive guidance and support from back home, including from volunteer mentors in the greater Southwest Florida community.

It's that sort of sustained support that Guadalupe Center leaders and tutors-turned-teachers alike say is critical to breaking the cycle of poverty and disinvestment in Immokalee, a community of 25,000 where 36% of children live in poverty, fewer than 8% of residents have a bachelor's degree and nearly 80% of students come from homes where English isn't spoken.