Mi Casa Es Su Casa

Established in 2016, Mi Casa Es Su Casa was designed to meet the needs of a growing Hispanic student population at Lone Star College. From Fall 2012 to Fall 2016, Hispanic enrollment rose 15%; comprising 50% of all enrolled students.

Mi Casa provides 12 intervening activities across the following 3 initiatives:

1. iMALLs (Information Technology Enhanced Multidisciplinary Academic Learning Lounges) is a collection of collaborative and active learning environments that increase student engagement while enhancing students' academic, cognitive, and non-cognitive soft skills. iMALLs includes the following activities: A) Multimedia Studio iMall - educates students in TV studio production. B) Career Lab iMall - features "ready to work" stations (e.g. computer, web camera, and career software) where students can research the career and education path that is right for them, practice interviewing, perfect their resumes, and build soft-skills for the 21st-century workplace. C) Library 2.0 iMall – features emerging technologies to allow students to design, experiment, and create prototypes of their own creations. D) Hispanic Parent Academy - ensures success of Hispanic students by educating parents on the importance of higher education; helping Hispanic students feel at home in a college atmosphere; and reaching out to parents so that they may better help their child navigate the complex college process.

2. CAST (Center for Academic Success and Transition) provides tutoring, career counseling, and transfer/graduation support services.

3. MATCH (Meaningfully Aligned Targeted Courses for Hispanic Students) helps ensure students are receiving best-fit instruction based on proven methods and needs. MATCH includes the following activities: A) Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) - faculty collaborate with certified writing tutors in history and government classrooms to support students’ primary research and writing about their family’s local history and relationships with local government. B) PUENTE Program - helps Hispanic students adjust to college life and prepare to transfer to a four-year university. The Puente Program is a nationally recognized program co-sponsored by the University of California at Berkeley. C) English/Spanish Interpreter Certificate Program - Provides professional training for students who wish to undertake careers as bilingual interpreters. D)Summer Math Bridge Program - Prepares graduating high school seniors the summer immediately following high school graduation for math courses required to meet their academic and career goals at Lone Star College-North Harris. E) Professional development opportunities for campus faculty – includes Teaching Squares, Adjunct Boot Camp, the Adjunct Mentoring Program, 21st Century Faculty Institute, and the True North Chair Academy.