Program links Latino parents, PTA

By Jenny Huang : The Herald-Sun
chherald@heraldsun.com
Feb 9, 2004 : 7:00 pm ET

CARRBORO -- When eight year-old Jonathan Gaspar used to come home from school, he would plop himself in front of the TV and watch his favorite afternoon shows for hours. As an only child with no neighboring children to play with, the third-grader thrived on watching Nickelodeon or playing Nintendo.

According to his mother Sylvia Gaspar, Jonathan neglected his homework and reading for class became a chore.

"All he did, basically, is watch TV or play video games," said Gaspar, through a translator. "He wanted to go outside, but I don't think it's safe."

Since January, however, Jonathan's after-school afternoons have changed. Every Monday and Wednesday from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., Jonathan and 11 other Hispanic children from McDougle Elementary gather at El Centro Latino to read stories, play games, sing songs and of course, do their homework.

The children's parents, in turn, are required to join the PTA and become active volunteers in their child's classroom. El Centro is paying for the parents' PTA membership dues.

The after-school program and required parent PTA involvement comprise a new initiative from El Centro Latino that aims to develop literacy and social skills of local Latino youth and to increase Latino parent involvement in their children's academic life.

Launched in January, the two-pronged initiative intends to prove what studies have shown for years: increased parent involvement will improve their children's academic and social performance. In this case, El Centro Latino recognized a need for this type of program for the community's rapidly growing Hispanic population.

"There's a very obvious lack of Latino parent participation in the schools," said Emily Rodman, the center's volunteer coordinator. "The language barriers are probably the main thing ... but there's also a cultural barrier."

The language barrier appears to be the biggest problem for Gaspar, who said she's very interested in joining the McDougle Elementary PTA and getting involved in Jonathan's school life, but has trouble understanding administrators during large parent-teacher gatherings.

"The reunions are only in English, so I don't know what they're saying," Gaspar said. "I would like to help, but I feel excluded."

She added that expectations for parent involvement in Mexico are very different from the norm in the United States.

"Here, every week, I get a little report from the teacher, but in Mexico, that's just not the case," said Gaspar, who's originally from an area three hours south of Mexico City. "In Mexico, I only get a report card at the end of the year. Teachers only contact parents when there's a problem with the child."

Gaspar isn't alone in her frustration. Janet Davis-Castro, McDougle Elementary ESL teacher and liaison to El Centro Latino, said many of her students' parents confront language and cultural barriers with their children's school. Consequently, she says, the parents are less motivated to get involved or inquire about their child's schoolwork.

Program coordinators say they hope the minimal financial investment in PTA membership dues -- $6 per parent -- will result in huge dividends in the form of improved academic and social performance from the children.

Davis-Castro said the PTA component would encourage more Latino parent involvement by requiring them to volunteer 2-4 hours for one semester. Parents can volunteer in the school community through a variety of ways: reading a book to the class, joining a class for a field trip or sorting through clothing donations at the PTA Thrift shop.

"To have [Latino] parents come read a book or help out, it's a new idea to them," said Davis-Castro, whose husband serves on El Centro Latino's Board of Directors. "'But] I want them to feel like the school is actively trying to help them do what's best for the kids ... that their kids are just as important."

The after-school component of the initiative already has received rave reviews from the children and their parents.

Every Monday and Wednesday afternoon, El Centro Latino's main play area is crowded with Jonathan and the other 11 students clamoring for floor or table space to play and work. The area is divided into different stations in the afternoon, a table for homework, a table to play chess, an area to read Spanish books and a station to play with computers.

"It's very interesting to see how computer-savvy the kids are," said Michelle Gross, the volunteer head of the after-school program. "They'll just click and before you know it, they're on the Nickelodeon Web site."

Davis-Castro said the kids are already asking to attend the program every day, not surprising, she said, for Latino children who typically don't have the same extra-curricular opportunities as many other non-Hispanic students do.

"They don't go home and have enriching activities," Davis-Castro pointed out. "They generally don't have money to do lots of things. So learning chess or checkers is just a different way of thinking."

Gaspar said she already has noticed academic progress in Jonathan during the past few weeks. "Since he's come [to El Centro Latino], now he comes to me often with a book and says, 'C'mon, let's read,' " she said.

Combining fun and learning for children with involvement from their parents should enhance the students' academic and social experiences at school, program coordinators say.

Parent involvement "doesn't mean helping with their calculus homework," Davis-Castro said. "It just shows it's important and they're interested in what they're kids are doing."