A webinar hosted by the California Department of Education (CDE) on Feb. 4 highlighted how some districts are working with community partners and families to create a culture of safety and belonging for immigrant students and families. “Including Immigrant Students and Families: Cultivating Community Partnership and Parent” featured panelists from the Oakland Unified School District, Oxnard USD, Los Angeles USD (LAUSD) and parent advocates from the Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE).
Part one of this blog series covered rapid response networks used by the Oakland and Oxnard unified school districts and how they partner with community organizations to provide support and services to immigrant students and families in need.
Importance of trusted messengers
LAUSD is focusing on district and community structures of support, according to Antonio Plascencia, senior director of engagement for the Division of Communications, Engagement and Collaboration. “There are valuable resources and trust that is already invested in our public school system,” he said.
After the election of President Donald Trump, LAUSD began to strengthen the infrastructure of its “We Are One” campaign. According to the campaign website, We Are One “formalizes and amplifies the district’s efforts to cultivate welcoming learning environments for all students.” It outlines recent policy updates that affirm district values, including:
- Standing in unity with all the students, families and staff in LAUSD school communities
- Implementing protocols for responding to immigration personnel requests for information
- Protecting and defending students, families and staff, and defending all students’ right to a public education
- Pledging that every district site will be a place of support and resources for all students and families, regardless of immigration status and any other protected groups in alignment with the district’s nondiscrimination policy
The campaign emphasizes safety and inclusion in schools, and provides families with vital resources including Know Your Rights workshops, family preparedness plan templates and other immigration-related services; health, wellness and food assistance connections; and a messaging toolkit for raising awareness of the initiative.
Plascencia said the district focused messaging to families over the winter break, and LAUSD saw higher first-day-back attendance rates compared to the year before, just after the election and credits proactive messaging with assisting in the outcome.
Plascencia also spoke about the importance of training staff at all levels to know the rights of schools and students should immigration enforcement show up on a campus. He also spoke about training staff in LAUSD’s parent and family centers, which about 97 percent of schools have. “We’re currently working with public counsel to train all of our family engagement supports at schools so they can guide families in understanding the importance of family safety plans, the importance of seeking legal assistance beforehand, so in an emergency, they’re able to take action.”
PIQE ambassador Myra Vera-Rizo emphasized the importance of the trusted messenger and that it takes time to build trusting relationships. She said immigration-related information must be shared in the native language of the audiences and it’s important that the translation is “naturally translated.”
“So, if it’s in Spanish, make sure it’s culturally relatable,” Vera-Rizo said. “We don’t want to use Google to translate. Make sure the messages are over-communicated, because we know that some of our parents are not familiar with technology and even though we’ve moved from paper messaging, make sure they get phone calls. Whatever the situation is, make sure it is over-communicated. And make sure information is clear and the right information.”
PIQE has partnered with schools and communities with a linguistically and culturally for 30 years to “engage, empower and transform families so they can actively participate in their children’s education and strengthen collaboration between families, schools and educators,” explained PIQE Community Engagement Manager Adolfo Lopez.
