Studies show that getting parents involved in their children’s education can help improve grades and attendance. At KPBS’s latest community conversation, education leaders in San Diego’s South Bay said language barriers and fears about federal immigration policies can make parents reluctant to participate.
Demystifying school jargon – like school site councils and Individualized Education Plans – can help, said Monica Griego, executive director of San Diego’s Parent Institute for Quality Education, or PIQE.
“Parents need to be empowered to say, ‘Can you tell me what that stands for? Can you explain what you meant by that?’” Griego said. “If they don't know the lingo, if they're not speaking that language, they can't participate in that conversation.”
PIQE offers workshops for parents on navigating the educational system and helping their kids with schoolwork.
Many of the parents they work with are English language learners and immigrants. Lately, it’s been harder to tell them about their programs. Griego said schools have become hesitant to share class rosters and parent contact information because of federal immigration policies.
“It's a challenge to even get to advertise and to promote our programs to parents because that information is now restricted,” she said.
Providing childcare and meals at evening events can help schools bring more parents in, said Vanessa Barrera, president of the Southwest Teachers Association.
“We are seeing more of this now due to the community school grants that a lot of our districts have received,” she said.
Another way South Bay districts can boost attendance and family engagement Barrera suggested is to reconsider their calendars.
“Our school year starts in July,” she said. “The traditional vacation time is during that July and August. So we see a lot of students who don't start the school year when we start.”
Barrera said there’s also a drop in attendance around Easter, because Catholic families often plan their vacations around the holiday, even if the school’s spring break doesn’t align.
“We’re not thinking about what our community needs,” she said.
Crossborder students face additional challenges. Isabella Barajas started crossing the border every day during her senior year of high school.
“That was the hardest year of my life,” she said.
Along with the physical exhaustion, she said, there were cultural differences to overcome.
It was up to her to explain her new school system to her parents, she said.
“As a student, to explain to them, it's so hard,” she said. “And then translate, translate everything to Spanish. It's all so, honestly, tiring.”
The Transfronterizo Institute helps students like Barajas apply for financial aid and prepare for college. She said they provided guidance she couldn’t find at her school. She’s now a student at San Diego Mesa College.
Griego, with PIQE, said school districts need to invest in parent engagement efforts, now more than ever.
“There are a lot of incredible organizations that are on the ground doing incredible things for students,” she said. “But if, like any tool, it's not being used, it's not that useful to the families.”
She said helping parents get involved is key to their kids’ success.
