About the Nonprofit
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The mission of PUENTE Learning Center is People United to Enrich the Neighborhood Trough Education. PUENTE is also the Spanish word for "bridge" and our educational services are building bridges to learning and opportunity in Boyle Heights and beyond. As an established nonprofit presence in the underserved East Los Angeles community since 1985, PUENTE has empowered over 120,000 individuals to realize their achievement goals by accessing our tuition-free resources, leading to self-sufficiency for themselves and their families. PUENTE's record of high-performing educational outcomes and targeted wrap-around services matches the vibrant and culturally rich community we serve. Founded by Sister Jennie Lechtenberg as a tutoring program for elementary school students who needed remedial support to succeed at grade leve, PUENTE rapidly expanded when parents requested English as a Second Language classes to better empower themselves as their childs first teacher.PUENTE implemented family literacy activities right from the start and promoted a family-centered education through development its programming. As this dialogue with the community continued, PUENTE developed comprehensive education and wrap around services for children, youth and adults.
