Celebrating Heritage and Building Futures: The Juntos 4-H Initiative

Every year, Hispanic Heritage Month invites us to reflect and celebrate the vibrant contributions and rich cultural heritage of the Latino community. It is always important to showcase the richness of a community but also understand the disparities in education and youth development within our Latino communities in our state. This academic year, one of the initiatives of Indiana 4-H is to provide the 4-H experience to more Latino communities while tackling the disparity gap in Latino academics to ensure that Latino youth graduate high school. Through family engagement, Indiana 4-H provides knowledge and resources to help youth strive for all post-secondary options out there.

This work is done through an amazing program within Indiana 4-H, called Juntos 4-H! Juntos 4-H is a wraparound academic success program that engages 8^th – 12^th grade Latino youth and their families with knowledge, skills, and resources within their community to ensure their high school graduation and broaden their career and post-secondary options. This is done via four components, known as Family Engagement, Juntos 4-H Clubs, Success Coaching, and a 4-H Summer Experience. Since 2020, this program has seen substantial growth within counties in Indiana and currently is in nine counties and growing.

Through multiple funding sources, Juntos 4-H has successfully been implemented in new counties this year. Clinton County is one of the counties that will start their Juntos 4-H program at Frankfort Middle School in October. Through the support of the school system and work within the Clinton County Purdue Extension Office, two bilingual community members have been hired to facilitate this work. Oscar and Mar Lopez are two members in Clinton County that are actively looking forward to starting the Juntos 4-H program this year and have already started recruiting! “I feel motivated to being part of this program for Hispanic families and youth. I hope to impact families so they can see the dream of watching their children finish their education, and for the youth to complete their professional studies and serve their community,” shared Oscar Lopez, Clinton County Juntos 4-H Program Coordinator.

There have also been two new counties, Bartholomew and Hamilton County, that are actively starting their initiatives to engage their own communities to start the implementation of Juntos 4-H. Elisabeth Eaton, 4-H Youth Development Educator in Bartholomew County, and Katheleen Bohde, 4-H Youth Development Educator in Hamilton County, have started their initial outreach within their own community to bring this program forward. “By embracing Juntos 4-H in Hamilton County, we’re not just growing our programs—we’re cultivating a stronger, more diverse future where every young person feels seen, heard, and equipped to succeed. We are excited to partner with schools and local community in very intentional ways,” shared Katheleen Bohde, Hamilton County 4-H Educator.

Juntos 4-H is currently implemented in the following counties: Clinton, Daviess, Dubois, Elkhart, Jackson, Lake, Marion, St. Joseph, and Tipton County. With Bartholomew County and Hamilton County added soon, this will bring a high-quality, researched-based educational program to 11 counties. The interest from multiple counties has been shown all throughout the state and great work has been done in communities that have benefited multiple Latino youth and their families. By the end of this academic year, the students who began with the Juntos 4-H program in 8th grade back in 2020 will become the program’s first high school graduates.

As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month it is vital to honor the rich cultural contributions of our Latino communities throughout Indiana while understanding the gaps and challenges that our communities face. Through the Juntos 4-H program, Indiana 4-H is demonstrating its powerful commitment to bridge those educational gaps and support our Latino youth and families across the state. This is completed through comprehensive support of all four Juntos 4-H components, that are currently making a tangible difference for youth and parents that take part in this program. With this program being implemented and expanding to new counties, it is clear that Indiana 4-H is providing a much-needed program to support a growing need in our state. It is through the dedication of our local educators and community members, along with the robust framework of Juntos 4-H, that will ensure that more Latino youth will get the tools and resources needed to achieve their goals.