No Holiday From Homework

It was only mid-December, but already teachers like Michael Wittlin were bidding some of their students a holiday farewell. Off they went, on extended family vacations south of the border.

But before they left Wittlin’s Ventura County classroom for rural Mexico, he gave them something to remember him by: homework.

Lots of it.

Eight-year-old Jasmin Martinez didn’t mind. The shy third-grader said she loves school and had already put a dent in some of her math assignments before packing up for the long journey.

She was excited about the trip and planned to finish most of the assignments during a 36-hour drive to her parents’ hometown of San Mora in the north Mexico farming state of Michoacan.

When she’s done with the math, she has some science and reading to do. Then she has to practice her cursive writing. Finally, every night, there is a journal assignment she must complete. For that, she must write about the places and people she’ll visit during her monthlong stay with Grandma and Grandpa.

“We’re doing what we can to keep these kids’ skills at a certain level,” explained Wittlin. “If the kids are gone for three weeks and don’t pick up a book the entire time, they’re just not as sharp when they get back. I’m trying to prevent that.”

Jasmin is one of the hundreds of Latino kids in Ventura County -- and thousands across California -- who return to their parents’ childhood homes for a traditional Christmas holiday. They leave for as few as 10 days or as long as two months.

No one knows for sure precisely how many students make this annual pilgrimage, since neither school districts nor state officials keep a tally, officials said. But the numbers are believed to be large.

“That is a major issue, because of ADA,” said Tom Mangione, head of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s pupil services office, referring to student attendance, which triggers state payments to districts.

Many districts receive full payment for students during the December trips by assigning them work through independent study programs.

Funds and Learning

Educators also try their best to ensure that the absences don’t compromise learning.

“We would prefer if they stayed, but we don’t try to dissuade them from going,” said Principal Barbara Ybarra of Rio Real Elementary School in Oxnard. This month, Rio Real teachers handed thick homework packets to Jasmin and about 30 other students to take on their trips.

“We understand that it’s a culturally significant time,” she said, “and that for some of these parents, it’s part of their family responsibility to return home.”

For many families, the holidays are the only opportunity to visit sick relatives, care for elderly parents and handle legal affairs.

“We went to Mexico because it was the only time my mother could help my grandparents with mortgages and documents. They were aging and she had to make sure they had what they needed for the upcoming year,” said Yolanda Benitez, superintendent of the Rio School District near Oxnard. “It’s a hard thing for parents to even consider leaving their children while they are away.”

For other families, the yearly journey to a place they once called home is as central to the holidays as Christmas trees and mistletoe are to much of the rest of America. It’s a time for families to be together and for children born in the United States to get a glimpse of their ancestry.

“This is when there’s all types of festivities in Michoacan,” said Jasmin’s mother, Marta Martinez. “We sing to the Virgin, we dance, we play all kinds of games. I want the children to experience all this.”

Martinez hasn’t been to Michoacan in 13 years. Her husband finally got the time off work, so the kids can finally meet their extended family.

“I’m going to miss my friends,” Jasmin said, “but I can’t wait to see my grandparents.”

The holiday trips are nothing new, educators say, but in this era of standardized testing, it’s more important than ever for parents to know about the short-term independent study programs that schools offer.

As state aid dwindles and daily attendance dollars become even more crucial, administrators such as Ivette Posada at Oxnard’s Hathaway Elementary School spend part of their days on the phone explaining the independent programs or trying to discourage trips.

Parents and teachers sign an agreement stating that the children will receive school credit for work completed during their vacations. The arrangement allows administrators to save slots for students while they are away. If the kids successfully complete their assignments, school districts collect state money for the absent students.

“We don’t want to scare the parents, but we want to make sure they come in and sign a contract, at least,” Posada said. “Sometimes there are some children who, academically speaking, really need to stay.”

The same is true at the high school level, where counselors such as Paul Johnson spend December explaining the process to parents.

“That’s really all I’ve been doing the past two weeks,” said Johnson recently.

By mid-December, he had approved about 90 independent study applications at Hueneme High School alone. Although Johnson is strict about certain requirements, he said he tries to keep the process informal so parents won’t be scared away.

“I try to be as flexible as possible,” Johnson said. Otherwise, “We’ll have families who’ll just leave without getting any work for the students.”

But educators stress that there is no replacement for actual time spent in the classroom.

“The state has set standards, and if you’re not in your seat, it’s not something that can be done by stuffing worksheets in a folder. We can’t underestimate the effect of even missing one day,” said Hathaway Principal Helen Cosgrove. “Our hope is that we start seeing less and less of these trips.”

Educational Experience

Fifth-grade teacher Gloria Valdez, who had four students leave for Mexico this year, sees things differently.

“I consider the trips a form of enrichment, such as music or art,” Valdez said. “These parents really value their children’s education, and they’re not just pulling them out of school.”

At Jasmine’s house before her trip, her mother read instructions the girl’s teacher had written in Spanish: She must make sure Jasmin writes in her journal. And she has a list of questions to ask after the little girl completes each reading assignment.

“I’m concerned about the classes they’ll be missing, but that’s why I’m making sure they complete all their homework,” Martinez said, as Jasmin and her brothers and sisters loaded the family’s white truck.

“She’s very excited,” the mother said, “but she hates missing school.”