The Puente Project

Puente was founded in 1981 by Felix Galaviz and Patricia McGrath at Chabot College in Hayward. The program was launched as a grassroots initiative to address the low rate of academic achievement among Mexican American and Latino students. In an effort to understand the possible causes of their high dropout rate, Galaviz and McGrath reviewed over 2,000 student transcripts. They discovered three key patterns among Latino students: students were avoiding academic counseling, students were not enrolling in college-level writing courses, and students were the first in their families to attend college. The Puente model that emerged in response to these patterns comprises three components: rigorous language arts instruction, sustained academic counseling, and community leadership development and mentoring.