DENTON (UNT), Texas — An interdisciplinary project led by faculty at the University of North Texas has received recognition and awards across the state.

The Juntxs, or “Together,” project — also known as the Bilingual Homework Hotline — was the recipient of the 2024 Nueva Direcciones Award from the Association of Latina/o and Latinx Anthropologists, as well as the 2024 Robert A. and Beverly Hackenberg Prize from the Society for Applied Anthropology (SAA). Since 2020, the project has offered homework assistance and academic support to K-12 students in Denton Independent School District (DISD) and beyond.

Faculty from the UNT Departments of Anthropology and Teacher Education and Administration, as well as Texas Woman’s University (TWU), originally created the hotline to support students and school teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mariela Nuñez-Janes, UNT professor of applied anthropology and project lead for Juntxs, said the project grew from lengthy discussions with DISD’s bilingual education program.

“Everything pointed to the creation of a hotline,” Nuñez-Janes said. “At the time, it was especially urgent because the district had lost touch with many students and their parents.”

The hotline is hosted on Zoom and is open Monday through Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. Students call and share their grade, language preference and needs with an operator. The operator then connects the student with two university student volunteers from UNT or TWU, known as “helpers,” in a breakout room. Helpers assist with homework assignments on all subjects, read books or simply chat. While many callers are dual-language speakers, any K-12 student is welcome to use the service.

UNT helpers are typically recruited from the anthropology and education programs, as well as the Department of Spanish. However, any UNT student can volunteer, and there is no language requirement. Volunteers can gain experience in teaching, research and foreign language practice.

“The hotline allows our student volunteers to see the direct meaning and application of the academic work they do,” Nuñez-Janes said.

Zachary Prater, a second-year master’s student in applied anthropology, began volunteering with Juntxs in Fall 2024. In addition to presenting at the SAA conference, where the project won an award, he is using the hotline as an opportunity for ethnographic research — studying cultural interactions and behaviors through interviews and survey data from his fellow volunteers about their experiences.

“With applied anthropology, you can use your skills to study almost anything people do or create,” Prater said. “The Bilingual Homework Hotline has taught me so much.”

Originally a pandemic tool, the hotline has grown in popularity, doubling from 1,000 to nearly 2,000 calls per semester to assist students outside of DISD. Its success has inspired school districts like San Antonio ISD to consider their own versions.

Jenn Castillo, a fourth-year doctoral candidate in curriculum and instruction, joined Juntxs in Spring 2021. She coordinates UNT volunteer shifts, leads orientation sessions and attends organizer meetings.

“There’s a diverse group of volunteers tutoring every day, every hour,” Castillo said.

She occasionally hosts the hotline’s book club, with meetings in different languages to support language learning skills and satisfy Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills requirements for state standardized tests. Castillo said that the hotline fosters community in addition to providing academic help. 

“Sometimes we have students who call just to talk or read together. It goes beyond homework — it fosters relationships and connections,” Castillo said.

DISD employees report that the hotline has boosted students’ school performace and confidence. Martha Mendoza, parent liaison for DISD’s bilingual/ESL department and the hotline’s operator, said Juntxs has inspired many student callers to pursue higher education.

“We have parents telling us their children now want to go to college and learn how to help others,” Mendoza said.

Rebeca Olvera-Alfaro, a secondary facilitator for dual-language/ESL at DISD, manages volunteer logistics for the hotline and shared Mendoza’s sentiment.

“One of our students wrote their college application essay about how the Bilingual Homework Hotline inspired them. I think about that all the time, how powerful that was,” Olvera-Alfaro said. “That’s our motivation.”