Alhambra High School Yearbook, sponsored by the AHS Dream Center VISA Club. (Courtesy AHS Dream Center, www.ahsdreamcenter.org)

The Alhambra High School Dream Center was founded in 2017 to provide academic, social, and emotional support to immigrant students. A small group of dedicated educators formed the center to give these students a safe space to call their own.

The Dream Center serves approximately fifty students per day at lunch and after school. Between 2018 and 2020, the center served over 10,000 students. Some of the activities include artivism (art + activism), legal clinics, leadership training workshops on issues facing immigrant students, and homework help. The center is also home to a food and hygiene pantry.

The community shares in what is called an Ally luncheon a couple times during the year that brings together friends and supporters. It also participates in the Out of the Shadows Week, a week devoted to the students’ migrant stories.

The students are also involved in community projects—for example, the creation of a community Día de los Muertos altar that currently is on display at the Alhambra City Hall lobby. The nonprofit, aptly named Voice of Immigrant Students of Alhambra (VISA) provides funds for scholarships, keeps the pantry full, and supports field trips. The goal is to expand to the other high schools within the Alhambra Unified School District.

The Dream Center relies financially on support from grants by private donors, the National Education Association, and others.

—Adele Andrade Stadler, Immigration Committee

Adele Stadler is the Executive Director of Voices of Immigrant Students of Alhambra (VISA), www.visaalhambra.org.