EP 40 - Belonging in Schools: The Story of El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice

Who Belongs?

In this episode we speak with Frances Lucerna. Frances is the founding principal of El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice. El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice is a public school located in the Southside community of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York City. El Puente is Spanish for ‘the bridge’ - which is exactly what the school is doing: creating bridges between the school and students, parents and the community. Frances shares how she and other community leaders created and designed a school environment that fosters a true sense of belonging among all students and their families. This episode of Who Belongs? is part of a new series of podcasts focused on telling bridging stories. Throughout the series we’ll talk to leaders implementing bridging work and individuals who have experienced the bridging transformation. This project is led by OBI’s Blueprint for Belonging project (B4B), and hosted by program researcher Miriam Magaña Lopez. This project is funded by The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Inc. Visit our website at https://belonging.berkeley.edu/bridging-belonging-case-series to explore all of the case studies in the Bridging to Belonging series.