Dear familia,

Recently, a class at Lehman College hosted a panel discussion with American Dream students. The theme of the class was cultural integration and each of the three students had each arrived in the U.S. within the last three years: two from Honduras and one from Peru.

The professor asked our students many questions about culture shock, anticipating stories of exclusion and self-doubt, but came up short. Our students reported that, aside from the snow and tall buildings, the transition had been relatively easy owing to the fact that they could continue to speak Spanish while learning English as part of a great high school experience.

Please read on to meet a faculty member who has dedicated her career to inclusion and helps coordinate that experience, the student who memorized 152 digits of Pi, and our latest college acceptance list.


Warmly,

Melissa Melkonian
Founder and Executive Director
Photo of the Month: College Isn't an Illusion...but this is
Faculty Spotlight: Kayla Benton
Middle and High School English Language Learner Coordinator
How does someone from a monolingual community in Minnesota grow to become the bilingual English Language Learners Coordinator of The American Dream School in the south Bronx? Kayla Benton’s journey began with a love of theatre. 

“Teaching is performative, but it also allows you to connect with people,” says Benton, who grew up acting and added a passion for learning to speak Spanish in ninth grade. She continued studying Spanish at college in Minnesota but her strive for fluency led her abroad. In the span of just three undergraduate years, Benton lived and studied in Argentina, Spain and Mexico.

In Mexico, Benton’s host mother was extremely patient with her language development and became a model for how Benton would later teach. “She would say, ‘It’s okay to make mistakes, just keep trying.”

Benton graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism and a minor in Spanish then spent a year living and working abroad in Mexico City, Dubai and Milan. She eventually joined her twin sister in New York City, where she worked as a telemarketer and then receptionist. Benton discovered her career while voluntarily teaching English-as-a-Second-Language classes at a center catering to native Spanish speakers in Times Square.

“I strive in my life to be inclusive and ensure no one feels left out,” says Benton. In teaching English Language Learners, “my goal is to make everyone who arrives in this country feel as included as possible.” Benton earned a graduate degree in Teaching English To Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at New York University and began her career at The American Dream School.

“The students are sweet to one another in a way I haven’t seen at other schools,” she says. “When an English Language Learner comes to this country and to our school, the other students sit next to them in class and help them with their work, and sit with them at lunch.”

Benton also leads the drama club, engaging her passion for acting. Her drama students co-wrote and workshopped a script over Zoom during the pandemic and Benton is currently seeking a community theatre to host its debut. She says, “Working here balances everything I wanted in a career.”
Alfred U.***
Cazenovia College
College of Mount Saint Vincent
CUNY Baruch College******
CUNY Borough of Manhattan CC***************
CUNY Bronx CC***************************
CUNY Brooklyn College*******
CUNY City College************************
CUNY College of Staten Island*************
CUNY Hostos CC*****************
CUNY Hunter College****
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice***********
CUNY Kingsborough CC*******
CUNY LaGuardia CC***********
CUNY Lehman College*********************
CUNY Medgar Evers College*********
CUNY New York City College of Technology*******************
CUNY Queens College********
CUNY Queensborough CC****
CUNY York College********
Drake University
Drexel University
Farmingdale State College*
Fordham University***
Hofstra University***
Iona College
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Le Moyne College
Lincoln University
Long Island University (Brooklyn Campus)
Manhattan College**
Manhattanville College
Marymount Manhattan College****
Medaille College
Mercy College***************
New York Institute of Technology**
Niagara University
Pace University (NYC)*********
Pennsylvania State University*
Quinnipiac University
Rochester Institute of Technology
Siena College
SUNY Albany**********
SUNY Alfred State College of Technology********
SUNY Binghamton
SUNY Brockport
SUNY Buffalo State College***************
SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
SUNY College of Technology at Canton**
SUNY College of Technology at Delhi******
SUNY Cortland**
SUNY Geneseo**
SUNY Morrisville********
SUNY New Paltz****
SUNY Old Westbury*
SUNY Oneonta**
SUNY Oswego******
SUNY Plattsburgh***
SUNY Polytechnic Institute*
SUNY Potsdam****************
SUNY Purchase College*
SUNY University at Buffalo****
Southern Connecticut State University
Southern New Hampshire University
St. Francis College
St. John’s University*****
St. Thomas Aquinas College
Stonybrook University*
Syracuse University
Trinity College
University of Connecticut
University of Hartford
University of Montana
University of New Haven
University of Pittsburgh*
University of Scranton
Western Connecticut State University
Our Mission: The American Dream School develops academic excellence in both Spanish and English for grades 6-12, preparing students to excel in college and become leaders in their communities.