First step: Engagement. Second step: Change the world.
Earlier this month, a study from the University of Washington examined ways that immigrant parents could become engaged in their child’s school when traditional methods are barriers to their involvement.
That study resonated with League of Education Voters (LEV) Community Organizer Micaela Razo, who has done much of the work mentioned in the study—both as a parent and as an organizer—by engaging parents in migrant families in eastern Washington.
We asked Micaela to tell us about her experience engaging parents in their child’s school, and she told the story of creating the first Spanish-speaking PTA in Washington state, formed two-and-a-half years ago in Grandview, and how she got there.
I became an advocate for my child when he was very young. We were living in one of the wealthiest school districts in the area and the PTA lived up to the stereotypes you hear about—that it’s just bake sales and fundraising.
But I was finding that I had to navigate the maze of school bureaucracy and learn to advocate for my child all on my own, so I decided to infiltrate the bake sales. I was the first parent of color to join the PTA. Read More
It was the day that Jane was brought into the principal’s office to be scared by a police officer for threatening other kids that sent me over the edge. She was in the eighth grade, being bullied, and in a downward spiral of discipline without direction or objective. I walked into the principal’s office and told him if he ever did anything like that again without calling me first I was going to sue everyone in the district. “There is a long line of people who’ve let this kid down,” I said, “and you are one of them.”
It’s something of an understatement to say that the odds were against Linda Lozano from the very beginning. Born to a teenage mother, Linda essentially raised her younger sister after she was born—and Linda was just seven years old.
The College and Career Ready Diploma became law with the passage of SB 6552 this past legislative session. That was a huge win, and it took many of you to make it happen.
Andaiye Qaasim joined the League of Education Voters (LEV) in 2011 as a community organizer. Her last day at LEV is today. She is taking a position as Assistant Director of the South King County College Access Network.
Beth Richer first worked with the League of Education Voters (LEV) as a consultant with the Youth & Families Initiative. She returned full-time in 2010 after managing Rep. Marcie Maxwell’s (successful) re-election campaign to help LEV grow and build relationships with Washington legislators. While at LEV, Beth’s work focused primarily on issues that directly correlate with closing the opportunity and achievement gaps for Washington’s students.