Richard Garcia still can’t erase from his mind something he saw more than 30 years ago.
He was observing Latino elementary school students who did not yet speak English. For most of the day, they sat quietly, unable to understand what the teacher and their classmates were saying.
“The only way I can explain it is, they were deaf and mute because they couldn’t participate,” Garcia said. Once a day, a specialist who spoke Spanish would pull them from the classroom, to help them learn English.
“It was the difference between day and night, like someone opened a faucet,” Garcia said. “That was pretty heartbreaking.”
Garcia went on to found The Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition – a nonprofit organization committed to closing the achievement gap between Latino and Anglo students through parent engagement. He was elected to the Boulder Valley School Board in 2015.
Garcia said that poverty and having to learn a second language are the main drivers of the achievement gaps amongst students in Boulder County.
Today, BVSD has two dual language immersion schools, plus a bilingual transitional program at a third school. Other schools have specialists who pull out English language learners and use such programs as Reading Recovery and Leveled Literacy.
Yet, huge achievement gaps persist.
“These programs work, but I think they’re limited,” Garcia said. “Until we do something different, I’m not sure we’re going to make a whole lot of gains in terms of the achievement gap.”
To make progress, he said, the district needs to start asking these questions: “Where are the gap kids? Who are they? What are the interventions? Are they really making a dent on the achievement gap?”
The achievement gap can be closed by keeping kids interested in the classroom, said Ron Cabrera, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction and Equity. Cabrera, who was the only Latino person in the superintendent’s cabinet, retired in June 2017.
“In the classroom, if they sense they belong, students are going to be more receptive to learning,” Cabrera said. “Students who’ve beaten the odds have always encountered a teacher or several teachers who really spoke to them about what their talent was or what their capability was.”
He cited an example of work being done at Centaurus High School in Lafayette and at Boulder High School to interest students of color in the field of education.
“Almost to a person, they talked about how a teacher had pushed them, given them hope,” he said.
Cabrera pointed to several efforts underway in Boulder Valley that he thinks could help close the gap. They include emphases on equitable instructional practice, oracy and early childhood education.
BVSD leaders recognize parents matter, too.
“It’s really about drawing out that power that families have,” said Madeleine Case, BVSD’s Director of Parent Family Partnerships.
During the 2016-2017 school year, the district offered “Know your rights” and family preparedness presentations for Latino families. It offered teachers professional development opportunities to learn more about family
engagement and poverty. It helped launch a Latino parent leadership program called PARITY. It piloted family-educator teams at high poverty schools.
“Ultimately we’re all here for the same reason,” Case said. “I think much more can be accomplished in terms of academic success if both educators and families have that relationship.”
by Chris Barge
