Parent Mentor Program Welcomes New Graduates

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Local News

By: Ashmar Mandou

Nearly 700 parent mentors walked across the stage of Steinmetz College Prep on Friday, June 2nd to celebrate another successful year of graduates. Parent mentors pledged to continue fighting for equality in Chicago Public Schools, despite the state’s current fiscal crisis. “I am committed to fight so that every school can have a Parent Mentor Program,” says Gabriela Barajas, Logan Square Neighborhood Association parent coordinator. “We are the leaders we need right now to build a strong, united community, starting with our schools.”

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Local News

Parent mentors tutor children daily in classrooms in 72 low-income schools in Illinois, providing support to over 600 teachers and over 15,000 early childhood students. Parent mentors, mainly Latina and Black mothers, help fill persistent equity gaps in their children’s schools by tutoring students in classrooms 2 hours/day. From this immersive classroom experience — supported by weekly training on instructional practices and community organizing — the Parent Mentor Program cultivates a strong cohort of leaders at each partner school. “This program has been a blessing in my life,” said Nancy Payan from Hispanic American Community and Education Services in Zion, IL. “Now I can communicate better, I can help my children the way I wanted to and I found my passion and the strength that I needed to be more involved in my community.”

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Local News

Despite the program’s demonstrated success, state funding for next year hangs in the balance yet again. While ISBE recommended an increase to $2M for FY18, the funding recommendation was “$0” in the Governor’s education budget. But parent mentors and their supporters in the legislature remain determined to sustain and grow the program, no matter what. Originally developed by the Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA) in 1995, this nationally recognized parent engagement model has grown from a single school to 72 schools working with 14 community-based organizations across Illinois in 2017. The 14 Parent Mentor Partner Organizations are: Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Enlace Chicago, Family Focus Aurora, Hispanic American Community & Education Services, Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, Logan Square Neighborhood Association, Mujeres Latinas en Acción, Niles Township ELL Parent Center, Northwest Side Housing Center, The Resurrection Project, Southwest Organizing Project, Southwest Suburban Immigrant Project, Westside Health Authority, and Woodlawn Children’s Promise Community.

Comments are closed.