Nuestro Mundo, Inc. holds the charter for Nuestro Mundo Community School, a Spanish-English dual-language immersion school within the Madison Metropolitan School District.

Where We Come From. Nuestro Mundo Community School was created through a grassroots effort involving teachers and members of the community who recognized the increasing number of Latino immigrants coming into our area around the turn of the millennium. The founders of the school envisioned a learning environment where one’s language and culture were not viewed as something to be overcome; rather, they advocated for an approach that would honor and strengthen the home language and culture of immigrants from Mexico and Latin America. Further, the founders of the school wanted to preserve the fundamentals of integration and inclusivity. The program they would create would bring children of all racial, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds together to learn with each other and from each other. The result of their hard work and vision is a school that implements a school-wide 90:10 dual language program, serving the needs of students and families in the Lake Edge and Rimrock/Moorland Rd communities.

Mission: Nuestro Mundo Community School will lay a strong foundation of knowledge and skills that develop young people with active, creative minds, a sense of understanding and compassion for others, courage to act on their beliefs, and who are ready to meet opportunities and challenges in a multilingual and multicultural world. 

Our values are best articulated through the Nuestro Mundo Pledge, which is heard every morning at the school: In Nuestro Mundo we value all people regardless of skin color, language, country of origin, gender, or ability.  We are all human beings deserving of dignity, security, and opportunities.

1. All students are capable of learning and acquiring multiple languages.
2. Strong Early Childhood programming increases the likelihood for success in school and the community.
3. Strong relationships among teachers, students, and families precedes learning, and are founded in trust.
4. Bilingualism and biliteracy hold social, economic, and cognitive benefits for all students.
5. We celebrate humanity in all its diverse forms. All are welcome, all bring value to our community.

Core Beliefs 

1. a) Academic Excellence for All Students
2. b) Bilingualism and Biliteracy for All Students
3. c) Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching
4. d) Meaningful Family and Community Engagement

Instructional Theory A dual language immersion framework, in English and Spanish, is the core of the NM@FA educational model. NM@FA provides initial literacy in the target language, Spanish, for all students. The amount of instruction in English increases incrementally throughout the grades, with the distribution reaching about 50:50 by fourth grade.  We selected the 90:10 framework as an “additive model”; compared to other models, the 90:10 centers the minority language, privileging language-minoritized students and intentionally designed to close opportunity and achievement gaps. Within this framework, each student is understood to be both a language model and a learner. Peer interaction is supported and encouraged to foster language development, peer and community relationships, self-esteem, cross-cultural understanding, and communication skills.