The other detail that I’ve heard lately that I’m very excited about is working with parents, bringing them into the school and speaking to them in their native language, and talking about how to be a support to your child, and saying to them in their native language, “You don’t have to speak English to help your child succeed. So, let’s talk about some strategies.”
What usually happens is those parents do get excited about learning. They get to feel comfortable in the school. Pretty soon, they want English language classes. You know, people like to learn. People are curious when their fears have been diminished.
In my hometown of El Paso, we had a program called the Mother-Daughter Program. Initially, it was targeted at sixth-grade girls, to help them think about the university as a reasonable option. What happened as we worked with those moms is those moms would say, “Well, I want to go on with my education.”
So, there are so many advantages to a community in involving all parents, rather than in assuming that, “Well, those parents don’t care,” or because they don’t speak English, they can’t be part of the library family, or they can’t be part of the school family.
