Diploma Dreams

Although approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from US high schools every year, studies show that among immigrant youth between the ages of 18-24 – 40% have less than a high school education compared to 8% of US-born students. 

As many of these students are granted temporary citizenship while they attend school, most Hispanic children immigrating to the US are often doing it completely alone and without their families by their side. So, when thrown into a public school system where they need to quickly adapt to a new culture, language and way of life, many decide to dropout as the challenges they face daily become overwhelming. 

Diploma Dreams is a documentary project featuring Anderson School District Five's English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students and faculty from a high school in Chattanooga. The story highlights the adversities that immigrant students face in order to graduate, and the role that their ESOL teachers and school faculty play in helping them achieve their academic success.

An award-winning documentary, Diploma Dreams goes beyond just telling stories, it serves as a resource for immigrant youth advocacy that gives educators the tools to teach underserved individuals, students the motivation to attend school regularly and complete high school and universities the background to further understand how they can support the immigrant community in their enrollment in higher education. 

If you’re looking to support immigrant youth or have a story of your own to share, or would like to host a viewing of this story be sure to reach out to Pablo at Pablo@resilientstory.org