SAN FERNANDO : School Program Puts Families on FAST Track

Eight weeks ago, Maria Arteaga felt frustrated and isolated. She was concerned that her oldest son was having trouble paying attention in his second-grade class at Morningside Elementary School, and she was unsure about what to do.

But Wednesday evening, as Arteaga, her husband and three children, and nine other San Fernando families walked down the aisle of the Morningside auditorium to celebrate the completion of a program called Families and Schools Together (FAST), she felt that something had changed.

“It’s helped me understand my son,” Arteaga said. “When I tell him to do something now he’ll do it right away. Before I had to tell him three times.”

The program was designed to reach 5- to 9-year-old children who have behavior problems in class by bringing their families to school once a week for communication exercises and group activities.

The eight-week program was created in 1988 in Wisconsin. Since then, it has expanded to 175 sites in 13 states, including Morningside and Fenton Avenue Elementary in Lake View Terrace and Cerritos Elementary School in Glendale.

The program at Morningside, which costs about $43,000 for two eight-week sessions a year, is funded by the United Way and private donations.

The program is funded through the spring, administrators said, but funding sources for next year’s program have not been found.

“Before, I thought I was the only one,” said Arteaga, who works answering phones for a car-pool hot line and travels nearly two hours to and from her Mid-Wilshire area job every day.

“It’s so joyful knowing there are other people in the same situation,” she said.

The focus of the program is to improve student achievement in school by encouraging parents to spend 15 minutes of uninterrupted time with their child every day. During that period, parents are encouraged to watch their child play and offer encouragement.

“What every child really wants is parent attention,” said Linda Wheeler, one of the program’s directors, who added that the curriculum is based on years of research.

Lisette Bustos, a sixth-grader, said the atmosphere in her house changed after her family began attending the FAST meetings.

“We’re more together as a family,” Lisette said.

“We get all together and talk more often.”