Teaching Latino parents how to help their children in school

by David Safier

There's a wonderful article from Cronkite News about the American Dream Academy, put together by ASU and school districts in the Phoenix area. Along with helping children directly, it offers a "10-week course in which volunteers teach parents about the U.S. education system and try to involve them in preparing their children for college."

At the end of the course for parents, they're given an actual graduation, complete with "Pomp and Circumstance" and caps and gowns, with their children and family members in the audience.

A lot of these parents have never graduated from anything,” Di Santos says. “I love it when the school provides gowns because they take it much more seriously.”

Parents are called to the stage to receive diplomas and medals. Many share hugs and tears.

The ceremony’s speakers include the school’s principal, the facilitator who taught the parents, and – as is customary – one of the parents, Felix Arambula.

Arambula speaks in Spanish as Di Santos translates.

“We learned so much about education in this country and how to plan the steps for high school graduation,” Arambula says. “Thank you very much for supporting our attendance at this wonderful American Dream Academy.”

Too many people place the entire burden of children's educations on the shoulders of teachers and schools. That's wrong. Too many who believe, as I do, that the homes and families are crucial ingredients of children's educational success blame parents for not doing more. That's wrong too. When parents who love their children don't give them the boost they need to be good students, there are reasons, and the more we know about the reasons, the more we can do to help parents help their children succeed in school. The American Dream Academy is a step in that direction.