Guadalupe, a parent at LAEP partner school Ford Elementary, shares her family’s experience in a community school.
In the last one and a half years, I have been able to participate in opportunities that the LAEP Community School Coordinator has started and brought into our school and the East LA community. My daughter also attends the school, and both of us have truly benefited from the opportunities that have been created.
I have seen an improvement in my daily life, for both me and my child as a result. For example, the reading club helped me to read more and encourage reading to my children – they know that reading is important and fun. We also had the opportunity to learn about finances with the financial talks in partnership with Chase bank that were provided to the school; it helped me to have better control with the money that comes into the house, to be organized with expenses, to be careful with fraud, and to know how to use credit cards and thus in the future be able to obtain a loan for a house.
In a conversation with [Community School Coordinator] Lily and the other parents, we asked for a CPR and first aid workshop, which led us to the LA CARE community resource center. It helped me a lot to learn CPR because I have two small children and I want to be prepared in case of an emergency and have the knowledge to help other people.
An event that impacted me personally was going to the Mayan exhibition on a field trip with the other parents from my school and the other LAEP partner schools, for two reasons. The first was that Ms. Lily gave us the opportunity to learn about the Mayan culture and talk to our friends about our roots. We had the opportunity to take photos and teach our children the importance of going to museums. The second was the chance to meet other moms and get out there and break from our daily routine and continue to keep learning a little bit more.
The next workshop was on nutrition. This workshop was dynamic, fun, and informative by providing us with recipes that we could make at home with our children and so they would have knowledge of how to eat healthy and improve our eating habits.
For me the best workshop or club is the Girls on the Run club because my daughter had the opportunity to participate for two seasons in her last year of elementary school. In the first season, it was a bit difficult for her because she is very shy and reserved, but thanks to her coaches, she had an improvement in speaking to others and being able to socialize with more people. A big part of that comes from one of her coaches being her 5th grade teacher because this program helped to strengthen that bond between student and teacher. In the second season, she was already more enthusiastic about her last 5K race in 5th grade. She spoke even more and socialized with the girls that it was their first time running. This program really helped my daughter to express her feelings and socialize with more people and help her be ready for middle school, so she is not so shy and can make more friends.
This LAEP program helped me so much in my daily life and personally, we formed a community of mothers in which we have the confidence to help each other, and not only be the mother of my son’s friend, but also a friend to trust.
Thank you, Ms. Lily, for providing us with these resources and being a part of our family.
LAEP’s community schools team weaves together the experience and resources of staff, students, parents, residents, and organizations to help transform schools into community resource hubs that address systemic inequities and enact liberatory practices. Family engagement is a critical piece of our community schools work, and we are so grateful to parents like Guadalupe who welcome us as partners.
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