Latino Parents Meet for Summit at Los Altos High

One plus one is two everywhere in the world but not every country's educational system is created equal.

To teach Hispanic parents of students in the district how to understand and navigate through the American system so that they in turn can help their kids progress in schools, a Latino Parent Summit was held on Saturday, Mar. 5 at .

During the workshops parents learned how to encourage their kids to develop strong study habits and the importance of daily school attendance; for themselves, the parents learned how to be more involved in their kids academics and their rights when advocating for their children at the schools.

"I think that the event went well," said Mayte Vallado, an attendance counselor at LAHS. "There were a lot of parents and good representation from the community. This is the first step."

The approximately 30 parents shared their hopes and frustrations with each other and the summit's facilitators. One mother said that when her kids were younger she could still help them with math.

"But now they are in high school and I can't help them with their schoolwork anymore," she said. "The majority of us, well, some people had the benefit of going to college but most of us didn't."

Another mother responded that though she hadn't been able to study herself, she tries to help her children in other ways.

"I look for tools to help them. I'll use the computer to find information on Youtube," she said. "Sometimes, we as parents, we'll close ourselves up and don't search for the tools."

For Hispanic parents, the difference between American and Hispanic cultures becomes of point of contention between them and their kids.

"In our culture it's not normal that kids have sex, but in this country it's normal at a certain age," one mother said to the group. However, a the facilitator explained to them that they "can't expect that you'll bring your children into this culture and they'll stay in this bubble. It's impossible."

Guidance Counselor and teacher at LAHS, Jabob Larin, who spoke to parents about their rights told Mountain View Patch that though there was a decent turnout of parents, "we always want more families to come out especially with the resources that we have available."

Larin explained that when he started at LAHS ten years ago about 4 to 5 percent of the student body. Now it's between 23 to 27 percent. 

"If the demographics in the community continue to change, there are estimates that it would get up to 50 percent," Larin said. For the majority, the Latino students at LAHS live in Mountain View, he added.

After the workshops, parents had an opportunity to walk through the LAHS patio and familiarize themselves with various regional services in the community such as mediation, NOVA—a job readiness program in Sunnyvale and health services. There was also entertainment in the form of folkloric dance groups and food.

Carlos Jalpa, a case worker and parent educator with the Community Health Awareness Council in Mountain View noted that it was a positive event.

"We've worked with LAHS for sometime and services for Latinos are very necessary," he said. "Sometimes there is no propaganda and Hispanics don't know that there are so many [services]."