Program offers another tool to families from other cultures

By Jazmine Knight

The St. Joseph School District has a new program to help parents from other cultures become leaders in their children’s education.

The Family Leadership Institute (FLI) is designed to help non-English-speaking families become advocates and involved in their student’s school.

“It benefits the students because they have their parents interested in what they’re working on and supporting them and helping them in all the ways that are possible,” said Michelle Schulze, English language development coordinator for the St. Joseph School District.

The curriculum focuses on equipping families with knowledge to help their children succeed. The program consists of a series of lectures, stories, discussions and activities.

“I believe that all parents really want to help their children,” Schulze said. “But I think they find it difficult because they may not understand the United States school systems.”

She said because some parents don’t speak English it creates a barrier that discourages them from getting involved and speaking up. FLI works to address that while embracing cultures and embracing different languages.

In years past, the district has utilized Spanish and Chuukese interpreters to help families with their needs. Now, there are more interpreters and a language line families can call to and connect as well.

“We can get someone within a few minutes to help them,” Schulze said.

Training for the Family Leadership Institute program just wrapped up a few days ago. Angie Hernandez, family involvement coordinator at Lafayette High School, said it was an unexpected learning experience for her.

“It was not at all what I had anticipated, but it was much better,” Hernandez said. “We kind of started to where we were not there as educators being taught the process. We were kind of going to be in a parental role.”

At Lafayette, FLI is still in the beginning stages. Hernandez said they are awaiting results from a survey that was sent out to ELD families and she is excited to move forward in the process once they receive the results.

“Part of what is going to be to help our families is to let them know that we value them as not only just their students, but we value them as a family as a whole,” Hernandez said.

She said a parent is a child’s first teacher, which is why it’s important to embrace parents’ cultures because it also means embracing the student’s culture.

During training, staff looked at what the process of bringing families in would look like while diving into emotions to help staff really connect with them.

“Our families bring the best that they can have to us every day. And this is just a way to showcase that,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez said she and others in the district welcome families from other cultures, and she hopes parents can see their passion for working with them and their students. For students, she believes this program shows that teachers and staff don’t just see them as just another kid walking into the building but instead as an individual.

“And that individual may be someone from a different culture,” she said. “When you are on the level to where you accept them as they are, I think that that really opens doors.”

Schulze is hopeful about the success of the institute. Currently, 26 trained staff members are working on FLI programs in their schools.

“Once that starts happening, parents will be trained and then they will be ready to help their children,” said Schulze.

Hosea Elementary will kick off its FLI program on Oct. 3, with Benton High School not far behind, beginning its project on Oct 15. Bode, Ellison, Coleman and Carden Park are still in the planning phase. Lafayette and Oak Grove are in the process of surveying parents to determine their needs.

For more information on the Family Leadership Institute, visit www.easleadership.com/fli.