ADVOCATES FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING EL MARINO (ALLEM) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that raises money to employ a native-speaking language provider, referred to as adjuncts, in every classroom at El Marino Language School.
Adjuncts are fluent in Spanish or Japanese and converse with students only in this language. This reduces the student-to-teacher ratio and allows the teacher to break the class up into smaller groups to provide special attention to those who need it, or to allow students to take on more interesting and complex projects.
ALLEM is a separate organization from the El Marino PTA. While the PTA funds things like field trips, technology and art, ALLEM solely pays for The Adjunct Program. Additionally, ALLEM offers an array of afterschool enrichment classes with a culture and/or language focus, and runs a Japan and Mexico Exchange Program every year.