The 2nd Annual Parent Education Summit
Saturday, July 29 2006

The 2nd Annual Parent Education Summit - July 29, 2006

The second annual Parent Education Summit occurred at Roosevelt High School, entitled "A Pathway to College: A Parent's Guide to Enduring Access and Accountability for Educational Justice," the event was held by the BHLC in partnership with Inner City Struggle (ICS), East Los Angeles Community Corporation (ELACC), Families in Schools (FIS) and LAUSD Local District 5.

The all day event commenced with a community dialogue about the astounding challenges and inequality that currently plague local schools in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. The summit focused on redefining parent participation in public education and empowering parents with knowledge that will create a united parent voice for Eastside schools. Luis Sanchez, Executive Director of Inner City Struggle, and Cecilia Quemada, Principal of Roosevelt High School, welcomed the 200 parents in attendance. The opening remarks were followed by a commentary regarding the current state of education in local public schools by Local Superintendent Carmen Schroeder and School Board Member Monica Garcia.

Two workshops offered to provide parents with the essential tools and knowledge necessary to navigate the educational system are: 1. Understanding English Language Learners (ELL) and Reclassification and 2. Mapping a Pathway to College.

The first workshop was an interactive session where facilitators explained the types of language instructional programs made available to a student as they enter elementary school and the reclassification process of English Learners. Reclassification criteria and the consequences a student must face if they are not reclassified out of English Language Development to "Reclassified Fluent English Proficient" (RFEP) by the time they reach middle school were stressed.

The second workshop provided parents with information about the 2005 A-G Resolution, regarding the access to A-G college preparatory classes for Roosevelt and Garfield High School. We discussed the discrepancy in college coursework access in the East Los Angeles area, for example, of all courses offered at Roosevelt and Garfield, only 65% and 66% (respectively) are A-G classes, while schools in other areas such as Calabasas and San Marino High School have percentages as high as 88% and 85% (California Department of Education/Dataquest). The goal was to emphasize the points of leverage for obtaining the A-G curriculum for all our high school students in order to have greater college opportunities by making them UC/CSU eligible.

The objective of both workshops was to communicate that the most effective vehicle for education reform is for parents to be informed and organized. In order to begin to achieve this, the final workshop was a parent strategy session where parents discussed what they can do in order to make change happen in local schools. In organizing their strategies, parents were directed by the following guiding questions:

* What can parents do collectively to make our schools better?
* How can parents become partners in the decision making process at our schools?
* What are some key ways to get parents involved?

At the conclusion of this session, each parent group identified priorities for parent engagement and school reform to be later introduced to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa and Los Angeles City Councilmember Jose Huizar.

At the closing of the event, both Mayor Villaraigosa and Councilmember Huizar listened to the strategy session report by parents. Both the Mayor and the Councilmember engaged in the strategy session report by parents and responded with their commentary and commitment to work with one another for educational equity, and the next steps we must embark to reform public education in East Los Angeles.

The summit also provided lunchtime entertainment by a Jarocho musical group and an Academic Service Providers and College Fair. The summit effectively facilitated collaboration between community agencies, and parents received strategies, resources, and a better understanding of the educational issues that affect their children.