LJL Evolution

LJL started out as MI STEM Education in 2020 with a focus on STEM education for underprivileged kids. We looked at data which showed that STEM education was a key pathway to economic success in current society. As we started partnering with refugee organizations and providing after-school STEM programs we realized that more than half the kids couldn’t take advantage of the STEM programs due to their lack of language skills. This observation triggered a deep introspection about our purpose and we delved into some of the root causes of poor STEM performance among kids. Language barriers among immigrant and refugee kids came out to be among the top root causes. For too long, our education systems have treated English language learners as a problem to be managed and minimized. Research shows that children who have a strong foundation in their home language more easily learn a second language. We felt that there weren’t too many organizations that were focusing on addressing the language barrier at scale. This led us to rethink the mission and purpose of our organization and the Linguistics Justice League was born as a result.