Student populations are becoming more diverse and schools need to begin to foster an educational environment that is culturally aware enough to include all ethnic backgrounds in the classroom. Becoming more cognizant of the many cultures and ethnic groups that make up the student body will not only encourage children to seek out and learn about people and places that are foreign to them, but create an inviting and inclusive learning experience in which every child may participate to the best of his or her ability. This includes maintaining a focus on parental engagement as well, schools can go one step further in their effort towards culturally responsive teaching by developing a method for parental involvement, particularly with children who hail from families that are underserved in the community. Studies have shown that a growing percentage of Hispanic students are part of families where the parents completed only a portion of their own education. In addition, many Hispanic parents have a difficulty with access to teachers due to cultural and language difficulties that may exist. Some of them may also be wary of initiating or continuing any contact with the school due to their legal status.

Cultural awareness isn’t only about tolerance of other cultures in the classroom it also requires a knowledge of the specific backgrounds and barriers of the families of minority students. Hispanic parents decline to keep communication with teachers and school staffs for a variety of reasons and teachers should be trained in how to properly navigate these issues. A number of these families don’t feel welcome at the school, they are uncomfortable in social interactions with teachers, or believe that the school does not hold the same values as they do for the well being of their child. There’s a perception among some families that the school treats their children differently than others because they come from low-income backgrounds or live in public housing. Proper cultural awareness requires that teachers are equipped to navigate these matters successfully in order to steer the children towards positive and meaningful academic outcomes. The value of training teachers in cultural awareness is found in the effect it can have on the student body from all walks of life.

Many schools and programs offer bilingual support from teachers who have learned the language of the majority of English Language Learners in the classroom and they make a concerted effort to engage with the parents of these children in their native tongue. It’s a way to acknowledge the sensitivity of the family while also attempting to bring them into the learning process of the student in order for that child to achieve his or her goals in class.

The Latino Family Literacy Project can help your school with being more culturally aware. This award-winning program has years of experience working with teachers and culturally diverse students and parents. If you’re interested in finding more information about this program schedule a training meeting. They offer both online webinar training and in person workshops.

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The program was more ongoing and gave the parents a lot of feedback on how to help their children.

Now that Parent Involvement is such a strong national focus, it is important to provide teachers with a whole new framework for Hispanic Parent Programs, if we want parents and kids to become life long readers.

Harris County Department of Education formed the Cooperative for After-School Enrichment, or CASE, in 1999 to mobilize the community to work together to ensure that every child in Harris County has access to an after-school program.

CASE develops and implements a variety of programs to serve students, families, schools and communities:

• 21st Century Community Learning Centers
• Partnership Project
• After-School Initiative
• CASE AmeriCorps
• ENRICH After-School

This testimonial video was filmed at Westwood Elementary school to demonstrate that Spanish-speaking parents benefit greatly from participating in The Latino Family Literacy Project at their child’s school site.

Harris County Office of Education, with CASE and 21st Century programs collaborated to provide Parent Involvement Programs at Spring Branch.

Parents may not have strong reading skills in their own background, but once they are taught the importance of reading, along with strategies for sharing books, and are provided with books that they love, parents are so excited to read with their children. A big part of our program outcomes is that parents are provided life-changing skills and training for becoming life long readers. That’s why bilingual books are so important in our literacy programs, because it’s one way to help Spanish speaking parents read with their children, while developing English together as a family.

Teachers who come to our workshops learn the difference between hosting a one-time workshop at their school for parents, versus an ongoing approach to family reading and literacy development. Another big reason for attending a workshop is to understand the parents in a whole new way. Teachers leave our workshops with a new framework for family reading with bilingual families.

The post A New Framework for Hispanic Parent Programs appeared first on The Latino Family Literacy Project.