Latino Families: Getting Involved in Your Children's Education

“My name is Lorena, and 10 years ago I came to the U.S.A. from Guatemala. Now I have a son in first grade and a daughter in third grade. Schools in this country want parents to get involved with the education of their children, but I'm not really sure what to do. Besides, we're so busy! School activities are often during the day when I'm working, and at night I need to stay home to take care of the kids. Even when I go to the school, it's hard to communicate because not many teachers speak Spanish.”

Many Latino parents feel just like Lorena. They have many questions. What is parent involvement? What can I do at home to help my child learn better? How am I supposed to work with the preschools and schools in this country? Can I trust them? These are hard questions, but they are important questions. Children are more successful when their families are involved in their education. One of your roles as a parent is to make sure that your child receives the best education possible. To do this, you need to be involved!

What Do Schools Want in This Country?
By schools we refer to childcare, preschool, Head Start, and kindergarten. If you grew up in Latin America, the schools might have been very different. Maybe parents expected schools to do all the teaching. In the United States, families and schools are supposed to be a team. The family is the biggest influence on a child's life, and the school is the next biggest influence. Schools expect parents to get involved, both at home and at school. Parents are supposed to ask questions. Your ideas and questions are important. The relationship between the family and the school makes a big difference in how much a child can benefit from school.

How Do I Help With My Child's Education at Home?

• Children learn better when they are healthy and well-rested. You need to make sure that your children are getting enough sleep, going to the doctor for immunizations, getting dental checkups, and eating a healthy diet. Your community clinic can give you more information about how to do these things.

• Children leam everywhere. At home, you can teach your children the names and uses of things, like the furniture, the refrigerator, and the telephone. In the community, you can talk to them about things like cars, streets, stores, and the weather. They will be learning important language skills no matter what language you're speaking, so you should do these activities in whatever language is most comfortable for you.

• Children need a good learning environment. This means that you should take your children to the library, read books with them, and talk with them whenever you can, even when they are very young. Limit their TV watching. It's best to watch educational TV shows like “Sesame Street” or “Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?” And if your children are old enough to have homework, they need a quiet place to study. All these things will help them do better in school.

• Children need a positive attitude toward school. Children leam attitudes from their parents. When you do all these things to get involved in your children's education, your children discover that you think learning is very important. Then they start to believe that learning is important too, and this has a powerful influence on how well they do in school.

• Share your high expectations. Perhaps you dream of your child finishing high school or attending college. Share this dream with your child often, starting at a very young age. Sharing your high expectations can help your child succeed.

How Do I Help With My Child's Education at School?