Migrant Parents- Our Strongest Leaders Emerging

Over the past two weeks, I have had that amazing opportunity to visit a number of school districts in Western Washington to deliver a training that is called "Parents as Leaders". The curriculum was adapted by Dalia Candanoza (my counterpart in the MERO 105 office) from the Student Leadership Program that is offered annually by Secondary Educuation For Migrant Youth. These experiences working with the fabulously motivated and capable migrant parents were both emotional and envigorating.

Working with superstar Migrant Home Visitors like Ruth Valley and Celeste Peralta of Sedro Woolley and Sylvia Mendoza from Nooksack helped to make these trainings truly successful in their purpose. The parents reported feeling more confident in their abilities, more self-aware and ready to tackle their long and short-term goals one step at a time.

I truly appreciate the valuable time that they shared with me and the wonderful wisdom that seemed to bounce around the room during our stirring discussions. I can't wait to work more with these leaders during Project FIT this winter and the Parent Regional Conference this Spring!

The Lastest and Greatest from Washington's Migrant Education Program State Advisory Committee

I was back in Sunnyside, Washington last weekend for the State Advisory Committee's Member's Training Session. Once again, I was so impressed with the quality and dedicated nature of the members present and the work being accomplished. Because I represent the Western region of Washington state, I'm going to indulge myself for a moment to brag about a couple of the SAC members from our region: Cecelia Rodriguez of Hoquiam and Miguel Alaniz from Mount Vernon.

While this was my first time meeting Miguel, I have had the good fortune to get to know Cecelia a bit over the last few months and have been completely taken with her poise, her dedication to migrant families and students and her willingness to speak up about the issues that she feels are important. At this last meeting though, I also learned that she is capable of much more than critical thinking and talk. I learned that, when there is real work to be done, she's ready to get her hands dirty with that work until it's accomplished.

Miguel is a Mount Vernon High School Student and, I am so happy to say, is wise, brave and insightful far beyond his years. He shared many original ideas about what schools could do to better support students and improve academic achievement, with the sincerity and ease of someone with extensive experience in this setting. I am so excited to be working with him to bring these ideas to fruition and help our schools become more supportive of students like Miguel. I expect great things from this young man, and I know that I'm not alone in that.

Our next State Advisory Committee meeting is Saturday, November 6th in Wenatchee, Washington. These meetings are open to the public with opportunities for comments from the audience. If you want to see these superstars in action, join us! For more information, you can contact Elizabeth Ramos of Migrant Students Data and Recruitment at 800-274-6084.

Home Visitors in Skagit and Whatcom United for Families

This week, I had the wonderful experience of working with a group of enthusiastic, fun and no-nonsense Home Visitors and Parent Liaisons from Skagit County. We were united in a common purpose- to help create a conference for and by migrant families in which parents will create stronger connections with other parents and connect with meaningful resources, support and services that will empower them to use their voices, understand their rights and responsibilities and support their own education for their families to succeed.

With such a group of bright, experienced professionals who both understand and genuinely care about migrant families and students, I am very enthusiastic about what the product of our work will be.

Please feel free to share any ideas, experiences or advice that will help us in this project. And save the date!!! Saturday, April 30th at Burlington High School. We'd love to have your help!

Brave Young Migrant Students Choosing thier Own Models

Earlier this month, I had the amazing opportunity to meet some truly incredible young men from Toppenish High School. Not only were these migrant high school students kind, well-mannered and very well put-together, but they were also gracious about sharing thier experiences (both possitive and completely gut-wrenching) at Toppenish High.

These boys are participating in a program that was started by Jeane Williamson, Toppenish High's Migrant Graduation Specialist (also a member of the State Advisory Committee for Migrant Education- aren't we lucky!!!). The program is called Hospitality Court, and was created as a way for parents and others to feel comfortable and welcome at the high school. The outcome of this program, as evidenced by the boys' confidence and professionalism, has far exceeded its initial goal.

Jeane is clearly very proud of her boys, and she should be! Each of the young men, in turn, introduced himself to the State Advisory Committee, talked a bit about his experience in Hospitality Court and what his life had been like before he began. From thier stories, a consistent picture was painted of the difficult choice that had been their reality until recently: join a gang, or live in fear. Also consistent in each story was the positive impact made by the single choice to dress up for Hospitality Court. Jeane says that she didn't have the expectation that the boys would have any particular uniform for their work, but that one of the students, on his own, decided to start wearing a suit. Upon feeling the difference in the way that people looked at him and treated him, he continued to do so, and now, slowly, the other young men have joined him.

When asked if they have felt any static from the other kids in the high school over their participation in the Court (they have to greet students and visitors alike with a smile and handshake), or their choice of dress, they said that they hadn't. Somehow, the respect that they are showing others in their role, is mirrored back at them. Many of the boys talked about the possibilities that they now see for their future that just weren't clear to them before this experience. Jeane is taking their act on the road and exposing her stars to as many different professional settings as possible. If you ask, she just might bring them to your program...

This is a perfect illustration of the power of a Migrant Graduation Specialist and a few brave men!

Profile of A Fearless Leader- Kevin DeVere

This past Friday morning, I grudgingly woke up at 5:00 a.m. in order to get to a training in Olympia about the fantastic, but sometimes elusive CONEVyT- the Mexican Government's program for continuing education for it's citizens, at home and abroad. I attended this training because I wanted to be able to offer support to the migrant districts in Western Washington who would like to implement access to this program for their families. Realizing that it took place during the last week of school for many districts, I didn't expect to see many familiar faces at the training... Boy was I in for a surprise....

Of course, there were the intrepid super stars from Burlington- Jill Peterson and Luis Lopez- both very excited to get CONEVyT started in their already-developed Family Resource Center with computers, internet access and childcare available every week to migrant families. I was excited to see them and very impressed that they found time in the end-of-school year mayhem to get to Olympia on a Friday. Then I looked around the room some more and spotted the FPD from Nooksack Valley- Kevin DeVere, poised to gather information and undeterred by the knowledge that the training was to take place in Spanish.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Nooksack Valley- it's way up north. Kevin was most likely leaving his house at 5:00am (when I was just waking up) in order to get to this training on time. Not only did he come from far away, but he had to leave his Elementary School (and by HIS, I do mean that he is the principal of the school). He also expected to have to miss his former elementary students' graduation from high school that evening (hopefully he made it since the training ended earlier than expected...) and he knew that he'd have to figure out how to understand the information that was to be presented in a language that he doesn't have a full handle on. Kevin makes things happen though, and this was important to him. So he got to the training, asked me to interpret for him and got to work.

The reason that I'm sharing all of this with you is that I feel like we all make sacrifices to do what's best for our migrant students and families and I think that Kevin DeVere is a great example of that spirit. During a break, I had the chance to ask Kevin what keeps him so motivated and dedicated to working with the Migrant Education Program with all of its requirements, Service Delivery Plans and grant processes. He explained to me that when he really looks into the eyes of the migrant students in his district, he needs to know that he is doing all that he can to make quality education possible for them.

I'm not going to pretend that Kevin is always easy to work with- sometimes he has us jumping around right and left to get him what he needs and he makes no apologies for demanding information- by a certain time, in English AND Spanish and in parent-friendly terms. And really, why should he apologize for asking for what our students and families need in order to improve migrant student acheivement? He makes us all work harder and better and for that I thank him (and so should you)! I just hope that Sylvia Mendoza (the equally incredible and dedicated home-visitor for Nooksack Valley) never leaves her position. They are a fabulous team!

Migrant Education Program Superstar- Jill

Yesterday, I had the amazing opportunity to spend some time with a super-intelligent, dynamic and dedicated Migrant Home Visitor named Jill Peterson. Jill works in the Burlington Edison School District and wears many hats within the schools there serving students and families alike. She has served on the Parent Advisory Council for the Office of the Education Ombudsman which put together "The Missing Voices: What families Say about Family Involvement in Education." You can read the report by following this link: http://www.governor.wa.gov/oeo/reports/family_involvement_report.pdf. She also had a blog of her own that I have been reading to guide some really interesting conversations with my husband and children. It's at: http://powerofpartnership.wordpress.com/

To be completely honest, I really don't know how to support Jill with her work in the Burlington-Edison School District, because I feel like I am the only one who learns anything from our interactions. During our meeting, I filled several pages with notes that I took from her suggestions about everything from alternatives to traditional PAC models to using green, and technologically savvy ways of contacting parents that will actually reach them, to the latest in family involvement research and ideas that I will use while parenting my own children.

Since I'm sure that I'm not Jill's only fan (I get the impression that she has knocked her share of socks off), I hope that she doesn't mind that I'm sharing with all of you the impression that she's made on me. I am so happy for our program to have Jill working so hard for our migrant students and families and I can't wait to get to know all of the other super stars of the migrant education program better.

Thanks!

Ending the Year with a Bang- How to Get Parents to Your Events

Many of us who work with parents have trouble getting them to show up to the events that we have painstakingly prepared for- resulting in frustration and disinterest in planning for the next event. If you've had this experience, take heart! I am about to share with you some nuggets of wisdom that I recently gleaned from a very well-attended Migrant/Bilingual family night in Mount Vernon. Some of the strategies that were used to draw in the parents were:
1) Kindergarten students from the dual language program at Madison Elementary school performed a couple of culturally appropriate numbers (who's going to miss a chance to see their own little darling skipping around the stage in a duck costume?).
2) Selected migrant students were awarded certificates for academic excellence (you'd better believe those students' parents were there!).
3) Selected migrant parents were given certificates for volunteering throughout the year and for supporting their students at home with their school work (how often do we get recognized for the effort that we put in as parents?).
4) Prizes were raffled off throughout the evening to the families in attendence.
5) There was an activity table for kids to keep them engaged throughout the program.
6) Posole, made by the Parent Advisory Committee parents, was served at the end of the evening and, during dinner, the jazz band played for the families (I have a feeling those parents were there too!).

In all, it was a fun family event that I'm sure the parents will look forward to attending again next year. Well done, Mount Vernon!

Now it's your turn...What has worked for your district to increase parent attendance at events?

A Mis Padres... To My Parents

This is a very moving letter of thanks from Valeria, a graduating college senior, to her parents. Her family has been involved in the Migrant Education Program for many years. Her mother, Pompy Lozano is a member of the Migrant Education State Advisory Committee. If you cannot read Spanish, please go to www.translate.google.com and input www.migrantfamilyinvolvement.blogspot.com into the box for the URL and ask it to translate from Spanish to English:

A mis padres por su incansable dedicación y compresión todos estos años:

Porque desde niña se me forjo que la educación es el arma más importante que uno debe tener. Porque desde el principio se me dijo que cerrará mis ojos y lo que imaginara, lo que quisiera en esta vida ser, lo podía lograr. Porque nunca he escuchado palabras que no demuestren cariño, aprecio, respaldo o motivación.
Porque en esas situaciones cuando el camino se veía estrecho, siempre contaba con su respaldo para seguir en la lucha. Porque que siempre se me ha inculcado perseverancia, y porque con su ejemplo me han ensenado a no rendirme y luchar por un futuro mejor. Porque siempre se me dijo que “yo soy el arquitecto de mi propio futuro”.
Porque me enseñaron lo esencial de la vida, a distinguir entre lo bueno y lo malo, y a poner en práctica los valores familiares. Porque se me infundio que en esta vida no hay premios ni castigos solo consecuencias. Porque aunque mis decisiones no sean las mejores, me han dado la libertad de tomarlas. Y porque aun así, después de tomarlas, sea cual sea la consecuencia, he tenido su compañía e apoyo incondicional. Porque ustedes son mi base, mis cimientos.
Y es por eso que aunque no lo diga demasiado:
Quiero que sepan que este logro es de nosotros, que estoy parada aquí, junto a ustedes, recibiendo este diploma en unidad, porque sin ustedes no lo hubiera logrado. Que los amo, los aprecio, los adoro y este amor que les tengo, no se podría pagar ni con todo el oro del mundo. No los cambiaría por nada y ante esta audiencia, quiero que sepan que estoy orgullosa de ustedes, de lo que son y de lo que me han forjado a ser. Soy lo que soy, gracias a ustedes.
Y con eso, quiero agradecerles con todo mi corazón, el que estén en mi vida “dándome lata”, los amo y no me canso de decir que estoy orgullosa de tenerlos como padres.
Su negra, su burbujita,
Valeria

In Celebration of Mothers

When we talk about Family Engagement and Home-School Connections, we sometimes focus on ways in which parents can help the school through volunteering their time or services in the classroom or by serving on committees that help steer the work of the school district. For many of our migrant families though, there may be barriers to these types of involvement including inflexible work schedules, childcare, transportation and inadequate time in the evenings to take care of homework, dinner and any extracurricular activities that the kids may be involved in. Taking all of these potential barriers into account, I'd like to share with you my account of a successful event for migrant families that took place in Sedro Woolley:

This week I had the opportunity to visit the Mother's Day Celebration that was held for Migrant and Bilingual families at Evergreen Elementary School in Sedro Woolley. The event took place from 6:30-8:30 to accommodate most parents' work schedules. The atmosphere welcoming, the food was incredible (posole and other dishes made by the Parent Advisory Committee's parents eliminated the need to feed the family dinner at home), and the children were engaged in activities to celebrate their mothers (eliminating the child care question).

There was a table set up for kids to work on cards for their mothers and each child came to the front of the cafeteria to get a rose and bring it to their mother. It was a very sweet and poignant gesture of appreciation for all that mothers do to support their children in school and at home.

By acknowledging and accommodating the needs of these families in their planning of this event, school district personnel and teachers had the opportunity to share an evening, a meal and a moment of appreciation with a very large group of families who are now better informed about the programs that are being offered to their children (an update was given in English and Spanish before the meal started), more comfortable at the school and more connected with each other.

Nicely done, Sedro Woolley!!!

Please feel free to comment and add information about your successful events!