Understanding and Working with the New Latino Immigrant Community

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Understanding and Working with the New Latino
Immigrant Community

• MALDEF
• Isabel Sance
• Program Director
• 34 Peachtree St. Ste. 2500
• Atlanta, GA 30303
• Tel. [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• isance_at_maldef.org

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Who we are

• MALDEF is a national non-profit organization,
  whose primary objective is to promote, protect
  and defend the civil rights of Latinos through
  education, leadership development, and if
  necessary, legal action.

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Why is it important?

• WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF
  IMMIGRANT STUDENTS?
• According to the Urban Institute 25 of all youth
  are children of immigrants.
• The future of America and its economy will be
  related to how well these children do in school.
• Schools are first systematic contact with the new
  culture.
• Latino students have the highest dropout rate in
  the nation (approximately 50).
• Georgia is one of the worst state in graduating
  Latino students (40/-).

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The Latino Community in Georgia

• According to the census bureau, there are
  approximately 1 million Latinos living in
  Georgia.
• Most of the Latino population in Georgia come
  from Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras and
  El Salvador.
• Spanish is the primary language spoken in Latino
  households.
• Hall, Gwinnett, Cobb, Whitfield, Colquitt, Fulton
  and Dekalb counties have the largest
  concentration of Latinos.
• There are approximately 200,000 Latino students
  enrolled in Georgia schools and over 150,000
  students attend Title I schools (Georgia
  Department of Ed).

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Make up of the Hispanic Community

• According to the Census 2010 estimates, there are
  
• Approximate Hispanics
• Population 50,477,594
• Racial Make up
• White 26,735,713
• Black 1,243,471
• American Indian 685,150
• Asian 209,128
• NHPI 58,437 (Native Hawaiian Pacific
  Islander)
• Mestizo (some other race) 18,503,103
• Two or more races 3,042,592

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Hispanic Migration to Georgia

• Political reasons Cubans in the 1960s and 70s
  more recent immigrants are coming from El
  Salvador and Colombia
• Economic reasons most immigrants are from
  Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean
• Four metro counties with the highest Latino
  population Cobb, Gwinnett, Dekalb, Fulton

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Education in Mexico

• Many parents in Mexico, especially those who live
  in the rural areas, have not had an education.
• Many, but not all, students in rural communities
  are isolated and poor. They are often unable to
  attend school due to impossible roads, family
  responsibilities, or the need for children to
  work.
• Some families cannot afford to pay for travel,
  textbooks, uniforms and other costs after 6th
  grade. The same is true for poor urban students,
  although there are more school choices where they
  live.

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Parent Involvement in the Hispanic Community?

• Parent Involvement is not common in Latin America
• Parents may feel that no one in the school will
  listen to them if they cannot communicate in
  English.
• Their feelings of self-worth are diminished
  because they do not understand forms that are
  sent home.
• Hispanic Parents need to know what the school
  means by parental involvement and what the school
  expects from Hispanic Parents.
• Latino parents oftentimes do not know that they
  need to know

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Schools Perceptions

• Latino parents are responsible for the ills of
  low-performing schools.
• Declining student performance, as measured by
  state standardized test scores is due solely to
  the changing faces in the neighborhood.
• Low student performance is the result of an
  influx of uneducated families who are not
  supportive of an do not care about their
  childrens education (Quiocho Daoud, 2010).
• Schools often assume that parents know basic
  information pertaining to school.
• Schools often expect that parents are literate in
  their own language (Illiteracy or functional
  illiteracy in Mexico is approximately 30 in
  Guatemala is over 40).

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Why is there a lack of Latino parent
participation in schools?

• A commonly held misconception concerning Latino
  parents is that they do not value education and
  do not want to be involved in their children's
  education. The truth is, however, that many
  Latino parents tend to be hesitant about
  communicating with teachers and schools. The
  hesitance stems from
• Language barriers
• A lack of understanding of the U.S. educational
  system.
• The inability to help children at home with
  school work due to low level of education and
  English proficiency
• Feeling judged by the school and teachers.

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What is PSP?

• The Parent School Partnership Program (PSP) is a
  national program designed to train parents,
  school personnel and community-based
  organizations to lead in the educational
  attainment of children.
• The program offers
• National Parent School Partnership Training
  Manual and Curriculum
• National Education Policy Forums
• National Multimedia Awareness Educational
  Campaigns

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Objectives of the PSP Program

• Parents will
• Learn about their rights and responsibilities
  within the school system.
• Acquire knowledge about how the school system
  functions.
• Dialogue effectively with the administrators and
  teachers at the school.
• Develop analytical, organizing, and advocacy
  skills and use them to make sure their children
  receive a good education.
• Increase their knowledge about college
  opportunities.
• Develop leadership skills.

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Curriculum Themes

• Parents Rights Responsibilities
• The Parent Teacher Conference
• Structure Function of Schools
• Structure of the School District
• The Road to the University

• (Introduction to PTA)
• Principles of Leadership
• Understanding Group Process
• Politics of Education
• Accessing the Media
• Educational Forum
• Graduation

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How does the PSP Program work?

• This program works best by partnering with a
  local school. (Conducting the training at a
  school site.)
• The school is chosen using a criteria that
  determines the needs of the school.
• Using the curriculum and manual designed by
  MALDEF.
• Using a holistic approach that provides parents
  who want and need to learn more about why it
  is important to participate in their childrens
  education

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How to Implement PSP?

• Choose a school site and use the parent center,
  auditorium or classroom. You may also use a
  community center.
• Recruit approximately 25 to 30 parent
  participants for the 16-week training.
• Schedule an orientation time for all recruited
  parent participants.
• Establish a calendar that outlines all scheduled
  classes
• Total of 12 weeks / Each session is 2 hours long
• Parent participants choose the time and the day
  for the classes. This process is done by
  majority vote of those present during your
  orientation for the program.
• The Program is FREE!

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How does the PSP program help?

• The Parent School Partnership Program gives
  parents basic information about how the
  educational system works in the United States.
• The PSP program empowers parents to advocate for
  their children by giving them the tools to
• Help their children graduate from high school and
  go to college.
• Help administrators and teachers to aide in the
  success of their children.

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How does the PSP program help?

• Help organize and improve the school.
• Help their children when they are suspended or
  expelled from school.
• Ensure their children are at grade level and if
  they are not, how they can change that.

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The PSP Program in Georgia

• MALDEF has implemented the PSP program in the
  following Georgia counties
• Clayton, Clarke, Cobb / Marietta, Colquitt,
  Dekalb, Franklin, Fulton, Floyd, Gainesville
  City, Gwinnett, Houston, Hall, Muscogee, Peach,
  Rockdale, Sumter, Troup, and Whitfield.
• PSP Workshops and presentations have been held
  in Chatham, Appling, Tift, Echols, Toombs and
  Forsyth counties.

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Our Partners

• Catholic Charities
• YMCA
• Boys Girls Club
• Migrant Education Program
• Hispanic Scholarship Fund
• Celia Marcos Scholarship Fund
• Big Brothers Big Sisters
• Head Start
• Families First
• Parent to Parent

• UGA, CLASE
• Georgia PTA
• Gainesville Housing Department
• Gainesville State University
• GSU
• Kennesaw State University
• Latin American Association
• Colquitt , Franklin, Muscogee, Houston School
  Systems
• Nuevo Laredo Restaurant

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Parent Participation

• During the 12 years the PSP program has been
  implemented in Georgia, there have been over
  2,800 participants and 1,600 graduates of the
  program.

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Photo Gallery
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Conclusion

• Parents become involved in our parent leadership
  program for one simple reason their children.
• They love their children and want the very best
  for them.
• Foremost, our program gives parents the
  confidence needed to advocate for change, to face
  school administrators, and to monitor their
  childs progress in school.
• They learn to partner with the school to increase
  the educational achievement of their children.

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Resources

• www.manhattan-institute.org
• Quiocho A.M.L., Daoud, A., (2006) Dispelling
  myths about latino parent participation in
  schools. The Education Forum. Vol. 70. pp. 255
• Harvard Educational Review, Fall 2001
• Suarez-Orozco, Carola Suarez-Orozco, Marcelo
  Longitudinal Immigrant Student Adaptation Study
• www.cal.org
• MALDEF [phone]
• Mexican Center [phone]
• Latin American Association [phone]
• Census
• U.S. Department of Education through the Parent
  Information resource center

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• THE END
• Thank you very much!
• Muchas Gracias por su Atención!