Latino English Language Learners: Bridging Achievement and Cultural Gaps Between Schools and Families (original) (raw)

Dispelling Myths about Latino Parent Participation in Schools

The Educational Forum, 2006

This qualitative study was conducted to discuss and dispel commonly held myths about Latino parents' involvement in their children's education. Differences between teacher perceptions of Latino parent involvement and parents' understanding of their roles in supporting their children's education-including the learning and use of the English language-were explored. Results indicated that some teachers held negative perceptions of Latino parents. The study also revealed that Latino parents had high expectations of their children's academic achievement and wanted to be more involved in their education, but felt excluded from the school community. Having high expectations for all students to perform well academically is an indicator of a successful school. On the other hand, if a school does not have high expectations for all students, subgroups of students may not be academically successful. Diaz (2001, 47) noted: Culturally diverse communities have been told through overt and covert avenues that they are not as good as White students and will not do as well because of their background. They overhear teachers say things like, 'Well, you can't expect anything from these children. Their parents don't care and they come from transient families.' This inquiry examined two schools in large unified school disitricts in southern California where teachers, administrators, and school staff members had low expectations of Latino children and their parents. The contradictions between the expectations, opinions, and perceptions that schools have developed about Latino parents, and the stark reality of what Latino parents want and do to support the academic development

Fostering Latino Parent Involvement in the Schools: Practices and Partnerships

Issues in Children’s and Families’ Lives

Remember the days of class "room mother"? Long before there was research on parent involvement, I was convinced that learning was a family and school partnership. Both of my parents spoke limited English and neither had formal schooling in Mexico. But that didn't stop my mother from showing up with armloads of cupcakes for our classroom on Fridays when she was "room mother". Although she didn't speak much English when we immigrated, she was a strong and visible influence both in my school and home life. It mattered to me that my mother held high expectations for my sisters and me to succeed in school because I knew that I had to try my best. She got involved in whatever way she could and she wanted to hear good reports about me from my teachers. Later when I became a teacher, the notion of involving parents in the school made even more sense. I met my students in their homes with their families, two weeks before school began. I knew that if I enlisted parental support for the educational program and included them in the classroom as much as possible, the children would understand that the teacher and parents worked together for their benefit. As a school principal, I made the community coordinator a key person in the school's operation. Our effort was to make the school the center of the community. It was a difficult partnership to build, but as the graffiti and vandalism decreased significantly after only one year, we knew the effort was worth it. Parent involvement is a rich resource, a tool, much like a book that informs us and moves children forward in their schooling (Delgado-Gaitan, 2004: 15). Educators that work collaboratively with Latino parents find that students perform better academically. Regardless of family size, socioeconomic level, or parental level of education, parents are capable of learning how to participate in their children's education. It is important that schools reach out to Latino parents.

Parent-School Relationships as an Educational Resource

2017

Elementary schools across the country implement programs intended to encourage parents to take action to facilitate their children’s learning. This brief discusses new ways of understanding how parents interact with the school community and the factors that influence those interactions. Most educators and researchers believe that the greatest benefits to a child’s education occur when parents proactively engage with school practices. The limited research on Spanish-speaking immigrant communities suggests that they are somewhat isolated and face barriers to full participation in the school system. We offer a multidimensional view of parental participation based on a study of public school parents – many of whom are Spanish speakers – in Lawrence, Massachusetts. We found that parents interacted with the school community along three distinct dimensions: they responded to requests for school involvement, proactively pursued school engagement, and formed a sense of community with other c...

A Report on the Status of Hispanics in Education: Overcoming a History of Neglect

2006

It is a rich, complex, and dynamic history. Hispanics are not one nationality or one culture or one race. They are a very diverse group. Some Hispanics are recent immigrants, but many others have lived here for generations. As one Texas educator has said, "I am a fifth generation Texan, but I'm still called a Mexican by everybody who knows me. I like to say I didn't cross the boundary. Several boundaries crossed me." (Shorris 1992) Even the word "Hispanic" is confusing since, originally, it was an English word meaning "pertaining to ancient Spain." The U.S. Census uses "Hispanic," but many Hispanics prefer Latino or Latino/Latina or Chicano. And certainly, few Hispanics think of themselves first and foremost as Hispanic, but rather as a Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Salvadorian, etc., or as a Mexican American, Cuban American, etc., or simply as an American. But certain common threads stand out in the mosaic of people that we call Hispanic. First, Hispanics are making a dramatic impact on American life and culture. Hispanic influences in language, cuisine, music, art, literature, and mass media are profound. Hispanics are enriching American culture and life in many ways. They are transforming America as Collective action that focuses like a laser beam on education as the number one issue is required. There is an old saying among organizers: "An individual can resist injustice, but only a community can do justice." It is our task as activists to draw people out of their private pain, out of their passivity and disappointments, and get them connected with other people in collective action on behalf of their kids and their schools.

Latino Students and Secondary School Education

Gaining Ground Newsletter, 2001

While the demand for a highly skilled workforce has increased, several reports have highlighted the poor performance of high school students in reading, math, and science. Moreover, the achievement gap between white and minority students is widening. Latino students have one of the highest dropout rates and they perform less well than their peers on several indices of academic achievement. Moreover, the Latino population is growing rapidly. Factors that influence the achievement of Latino students at the high school .level, and over which policymakers have some control, are type of school, quality of teaching, teacher expectations, and English language proficiency. Several interventions hold promise for increasing learning opportunities for Hispanic students. A program that focuses on literacy development across the curriculum is described. Special in-service awareness sessions that include all members of the school community and focus on the needs and characteristics of secondary Latino students have had success in increasing Latino high school completion and college attendance rates. A high school on the Mexico-California border uses teaching strategies that reinforce students• strengths, affirm cultural background, and emphasize native language development. A program developed by the Intercultural Development Research Association that uses cross-age tutoring , role modeling, and student recognition is based on valuing at-risk students and sustaining their efforts with effective coordinated strategies. (TD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the ori ina] document.