This article originally appeared in the May-June 2000 issue of the Children's Advocate newsmagazine, published by Action Alliance for Children. ¡Este artículo también en español!. Spanish-language articles are a new occasional feature in the Children's Advocate.
Use the Children's Advocate in your work! Feel free to reprint this article, as a handout or in your own publication -- just credit us (see above) and be sure to send us a copy.
Parent leadership training programs help immigrant parents become leaders in their children's schools | Extra resources from the Children’s Advocate bulletin (updated 6-07)
When officials at John Muir Middle School in Los Angeles signed a budget plan this March, they earmarked money for new highlighters, projectors, and classroom TVs.
But a group of mostly immigrant parents said, "Not so fast!"
The school, where half the teachers had less than a year of experience, was plagued by a lack of discipline. John Muir, the parents determined, needed more teacher training, improved student-reading levels, and more parent-teacher interaction—not more VCRs.
"They wanted the budget to train teachers to interact with kids and parents," said Alex Caputo-Pearl, a teacher at John Muir in South Central Los Angeles. "They lobbied the administration to do that and got it."
The move was a major coup for the parents, many of whom had long been intimidated by a complicated school system in a foreign land.
Comprised mostly of Spanish-speaking immigrants from Mexico, the John Muir parent group is part of Parents for Unity, a leadership education program for parents who want to be activists to improve their kids' schools.
"We get the community involved and aware of their role in public education," explains Gabriel Medel, a Parents for Unity organizer and trainer who volunteers with the program. "It involves much more than just knowing your kid is not doing his homework," he adds.
Frustrated with high dropout rates and scarce resources for Spanish-speaking students in Los Angeles-area schools, Parents for Unity launched its program in 1996 to foster school reform through community involvement. Funded by the Edward W. Hazen Foundation and the Liberty Hill Foundation, classes are held weekly in local public libraries and city halls.
The program teaches immigrant parents that their empowerment is essential to transforming schools. Since parents are the people who know and love their kids most and understand their kids' cultures, their input is crucial to developing an educational program that really works for students. Classes introduce them to the workings of the school system. The program also bolsters critical thinking and advocacy skills.
"It was hard for me to participate and express opinions about my child's education," admits Esperanza Cárdenas, 46, a native of Mexico. "We come from countries where we believe that schools teach our kids everything, and there is not much participation from parents."
"There's been a building of confidence in [the immigrant parents], so they walk around the school like they own it," says Caputo-Pearl.
In other L.A. schools, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) has been giving parents a similar training course in its Parent Leadership Program since 1989.
The MALDEF program lasts 18 weeks and is divided in two parts. "In the first phase parents go through a leadership training course where they learn about school structure," says MALDEF program trainer Claudia Monterrosa. "In the second phase the parents learn to work in groups, access media, and write press releases."
The strength of the program, says Monterrosa, is the deep personal development the parents go through. "The classes have taught me how to stop being scared when I speak to teachers and school officials," says Margarita Bautista, who attends MALDEF's Parent Leadership Program.
"It's resulted in a wonderful empowerment among our Hispanic parents," attests Principal Rita Flynn of Norwood Elementary School, also in South Central, where parents have taken MALDEF's course.
Despite overwhelming evidence that parental involvement improves students' academic achievement, programs like Parents for Unity and MALDEF's Parent Leadership Program are the exceptions. Many parents still find schools unwelcoming, especially where there are cultural differences between parents and school staff. Most programs aimed at boosting parent participation concentrate on teaching parents how to help their own children succeed in school.
Parents for Unity and MALDEF are unusual because they teach parents how to advocate for and win changes in the whole school, as well as improvements in their own children's performance. Parents learn "that they have the right—the obligation—to seek out the best for their children," as researcher Deborah Johnson put it in a 1999 evaluation of the MALDEF program.
Parents who have been through these training programs often meet regularly with principals and teachers; some direct parent centers in the schools. At Norwood School, MALDEF-trained parents are working on three projects: developing a new discipline policy, taking a survey of teachers on how they teach math and reading, and developing a strategy for involving more parents. Many parent-leadership graduates also take a more proactive role in their own children's education.
For many parents, the benefits of the parent leadership programs have transcended their children's schools. Some parents are now members of the board of education at Los Nietos City Schools in Los Angeles County. Others have attained their GEDs, gone to college, and have taken their new-found leadership skills to other parts of the community.
"It has helped me as a mother, human being, with my husband," affirms Mexico native Monserrat Galván of Parents for Unity. "You learn to communicate. Now I'm teaching other parents the same."
Another parent who graduated from the program is doing community outreach for the Coalition for Educational Justice, which is pressuring the Los Angeles Unified School District to stop using high-stakes standardized tests to determine student promotion or retention.
"I became more aware of what's happening in my community," says Cárdenas. "Now I'm part of a community group which meets monthly with our local police department."
Norwood school plans to publish a book featuring immigrant parents who have used school resources to transform their lives, says Flynn. "I'm in awe of what they've given us, once given the opportunity."
In leadership training programs run by Parents for Unity and MALDEF in Los Angeles, parents learn:
Extra resources from the Children’s Advocate bulletin (updated 6-07)
Children in Immigrant Families, from Kids Count, finds that 47% of California children live in immigrant families. Includes data and resources. Online at http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/sld/snapshot_immigrant.pdf
- Involving Refugee Parents in their Children's Education, from Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services, discusses parent involvement in schools and offers recommendations for working with refugee parents. Online at http://www.brycs.org/brycs_spotspring2007.htm
- Pathways to Parent Leadership, from Action Alliance for Children, profiles nine successful California programs that are training parents to be leaders in schools, communities, and the political process. In English and Spanish. Online at http://www.4children.org/parents.htm#path
- Ready for school in the US, also from Action Alliance for Children, discusses issues affecting immigrant families, preschool, and school readiness. In English and Spanish. Online at http://www.4children.org/chcare.htm#rfs
To stay informed about new and upcoming Children’s Advocate articles, related resources, and advocacy opportunities, sign up for our Children’s Advocate bulletin
Home | About
Us | Children's Advocate
| Defensor de los Niños
| Resources
| Get Involved
Children's Advocates Roundtable |
How to Help |
Search
Action Alliance for Children
e-mail aac@4children.org
1201
Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 444-7136