Bringing Mom to School Helps the Transition

You will have to excuse Tomasa Galeana if she sticks out among her classmates at Anaheim’s Thomas Edison Elementary School. After all, she’s 39 years old.

The Mexican native has been attending class with her 11-year-old son, Mario, a fourth-grader, for a good part of this semester in a new program that officials hope will prove a model of integration for recently arrived immigrant students.

Parents in the program, called the English Academy, come voluntarily as their schedules allow, either for the whole school day or just part of it.

An average of eight parents are in the classroom on any given day along with 20 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders, teacher Rhonda Oglevie said. The parents act as security blankets for children who feel intimidated by an unfamiliar culture and school.

“It creates a home atmosphere,” she said. “The kids become a lot more engaging.”

Oglevie’s class is devoted to students who have been in the country typically for a year or less. They meet in a separate classroom, and the curriculum stresses English learning.

But it is not only the children who are getting an education.

“It is nice to start school over,” a smiling Galeana said recently while helping her son with a class project on Native Americans. “I don’t know any English,” she said in Spanish. “So I learn English and help my son with his homework.”

According to the California Department of Education, more than 200,000 public school students statewide have been in the country for three years or less.

For those who have arrived most recently, school can be a daunting place, educators say. Students must contend not only with language barriers but with the cultural gap between them and schoolmates who have lived in the country longer.

Many districts offer special curricula, often in separate classrooms, for such students. But the program at Edison Elementary takes the concept one step further by adding parents to the classroom. State education officials said they are not aware of other schools with this type of parental involvement.

By increasing parent participation in the classroom, Edison school officials hope to improve children’s learning at home as well.

“The more English you have going on at home,” said Principal Debbie Schroeder, “the progress of the students will be enhanced too.”

The pilot program began this semester and will be expanded next year if it proves successful.

“It is difficult to learn a whole new culture and system when you don’t have the support,” said Ana Nogales, a Santa Ana psychologist and author who serves Spanish-speaking immigrants in Orange and Los Angeles counties.

Having parents in the classroom, Nogales said, gives the children confidence to engage the unfamiliar school environment.

“When [immigrant] parents attend [adult] English classes and take their children along they serve as role models,” Nogales said. “They see their parents are making an effort too. Now, can you imagine if they can bring their parents to their class? The benefits are multiplied.”

Since Proposition 227 effectively ended bilingual education in the state three years ago, most students who are not fluent in English have been mainstreamed into regular classrooms in what are called language immersion programs.

But for recently arrived immigrants who lack the most basic English skills and are struggling with cultural adjustments, that may seem like a sink-or-swim proposition.

“These kids weren’t swimming,” Oglevie said of her students. “They need a strong foundation before they can move on.”

Galeana’s son was one of those sinking. The shy boy was struggling with his studies even before moving to Anaheim two years ago from Las Tapas in the Mexican state of Guerrero, his mother said.

This semester he made a major breakthrough. He’s learned how to read in English, Oglevie said. “His mom being here made a huge difference.”

For Galeana the program has been a godsend too, she said. “I’ve learned some simple words I can use when I go to the market,” the Anaheim housewife said. “Like turkey sandwich.”

During class one recent morning, Galeana sat in front of a computer with Mario as they put together a report on California’s first Native American tribes.

“This is where you put what they ate,” Galeana said, tapping the computer screen. She then carefully typed A-C-O-R-N. “What else?” she asked him. “P-I-N-E,” Mario spelled for his mother, referring to pine nuts.

Galeana has attended most days, often staying until school lets out. On this particular day, she was the only parent in the class, but Oglevie said parent attendance varies from day to day.

After the computer workshop, Galeana and her little classmates moved to another classroom for reading lessons.

Sitting on a tiny chair in the back, the mother mouthed the sounds of her new language; “flooor, dooo, heeelp, willllll....”

Meanwhile, her 3-year-old son, Brian, who came along, wandered around the room picking up chalk bits and otherwise keeping himself busy.

“We were a little worried at first that it might be disruptive,” Oglevie said about allowing parents to bring their toddlers. “But it actually creates a family environment. It is really comfortable.”

That comfort has increased the level of participation from the students, Oglevie said. Once-withdrawn children are a lot more likely to participate in class.

Hands shot up when Oglevie asked for volunteers to tackle a new sound or spell a word. Students vied for her attention and walked confidently when called to the drawing board.

That confidence builds in Mario as each day goes by, his mother and teacher said. When asked what he liked best about having his mother in the classroom, the boy displayed a hint of timidity and then said proudly, “I help her with things she doesn’t know.”