P-12 outreach initiatives for the Center for Latin American Studies focus on teacher training and support, the absolute priority for Title VI National Resource Centers. Principles guiding this plan include focusing activities on the Working Group themes and regions (Poverty and Inequality, Migration and Transnationalism, Postcolonialism and the Lusophone World, and Changing Climate, Landscapes, and Prospects for Justice), thus articulating outreach to academic programs; priority targeting of teachers at Columbus City Schools international schools; developing teaching materials as the end product of most activities; disseminating program results at professional conferences; and sharing state-of-the-art teaching materials via the CLAS website. The program is needs driven, with in-service teachers participating in advisory and summer institute planning committees, and master teacher workshops.
Postsecondary outreach focuses on improving Latin American Studies teaching and research in Ohio and the region by continuing co-sponsorship of the Ohio Latin Americanist Conference and by undertaking mutually beneficial resource-sharing with Ohio University, the only other postsecondary institution in the state with a graduate program in Latin American Studies. CLAS will also take advantage of its long and positive working relationships with a variety of campus and community organizations to educate the wider audience about Latin America and influence community attitudes toward the region and its inhabitants.