Our Story

Longfellow Spanish Immersion Magnet School has been a vibrant place of learning since 1977, dedicated to nurturing responsible, cross-cultural world citizens. Its mission is to provide a nurturing environment of academic excellence that supports the development of cross-cultural understanding, and its vision is to improve student achievement in both Spanish and English through a strong community of learners. The school highly values both academic excellence and community.

For many years, Title I funding made this mission possible. It provided essential resources that strengthened classrooms, supported small-group academic interventions, enabled targeted tutoring, and gave educators the tools to meet the diverse learning needs of every student. With these resources, educators could innovate, differentiate, and give every student the focused support they needed to thrive.

In 2017, as demographics shifted, Longfellow lost its Title I status, along with over $100,000 in resources that had directly supported student learning. In the years that followed, other support funds gradually dwindled, yet educators continued to pour their passion, creativity, and expertise into every classroom. They worked hard to maintain the same high standards of instruction with far fewer resources, determined to ensure that students continued to learn, grow, and succeed.

Throughout all these changes, the school and its educators quietly carried the weight of shrinking resources, working tirelessly to meet the needs of every student. Even as much of this work went unseen, the community remained engaged and supportive, enriching student life and building the school community. These contributions were invaluable, and at the same time, they were not designed to address the growing gap in academic funding. This is why additional, focused support was needed to help every student reach their full potential.

From this need, the Amigos de Longfellow Foundation was born. Founded in July 2025 as an academically focused nonprofit, the foundation’s mission is to strengthen support for Longfellow Spanish Immersion Magnet School by providing targeted funding that empowers the school to improve student achievement, performance, and well-being, ensuring the school can continue to thrive academically.