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  1. #1
    Senior Member legalatina's Avatar
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    La RAZA pre-school courtesy of U.S. taxpayers

    Monday, July 7, 2008 - Page updated at 10:50 AM

    Permission to reprint or copy this article or photo, other than personal use, must be obtained from The Seattle Times. Call 206-464-3113 or e-mail resale@seattletimes.com with your request.

    MARK HARRISON / THE SEATTLE TIMES

    Cecilia Martinez and her son, Tomás Garcia, wait as her daughter, 4-year-old Victoria Garcia, gathers her things after class June 30 at the José MartÃ* Child Development Center in Seattle. The bilingual preschool is at El Centro de la Raza of Seattle, which recently was honored for helping Latinos.

    Child care at José MartÃ*
    For toddlers, preschoolers

    Ages 1-2: $970 monthly

    Ages 3-5: $850

    For ages 5-12

    After-school care: $441

    Before and after school: $483

    Full time during summer: $570

    What's provided

    Breakfast, lunch and snack

    Bilingual curriculum

    Financial-aid subsidies from the city of Seattle

    Open from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

    For more information: 206-957-4619

    Source: José MartÃ* Child Development Center
    Bilingual child-development center serves Latino families

    By Arla Shephard

    Seattle Times staff reporter

    Four-year-old Victoria Garcia likes learning English and is not looking forward to leaving her preschool.

    "I want to stay here; I don't want to go to kindergarten," she said. "I like to listen, and I like to stay here. I like to read more."

    Victoria attends José MartÃ* Child Development Center, a bilingual Spanish and English preschool at El Centro de la Raza of Seattle on Beacon Hill.

    El Centro, which offers support services to Latino families, was recently named winner of the 2008 National Council of La Raza/Annie E. Casey Foundation Family Strengthening Award for the positive impact the José MartÃ* center has had on Latino families.

    "It's been a big help," Victoria's mother, Cecilia Martinez, said in Spanish through a translator. She was one of four parents who provided testimonials about the day-care center to the National Council of La Raza, the largest Hispanic civil-rights group in the United States.

    Martinez and her husband moved here in 1997 from Mexico, where their friends and extended family live. When they began looking for a preschool for their son, Victoria's older brother, Tomás, they found what they needed at José MartÃ*.

    "For myself, for people who come from other countries, we can find it all here, from immigration to lawyers, all the information I need," Martinez said.

    When Martinez was pregnant with Victoria, she turned to El Centro again for resources and information. Now she is more engaged with her community; she participates in immigration rallies and visits legislators in Olympia. She credits her increased involvement to El Centro.

    José MartÃ*, the first accredited bilingual early-learning program on the West Coast, according to El Centro, serves 68 preschool students, whose progress is tested regularly as they prepare for kindergarten.

    Hilda Magaña, director of José MartÃ*, has been working at El Centro for 23 years.

    Children from all backgrounds attend the center, she said, and some come in with little knowledge of English or Spanish.

    Because children learn languages at their own pace, one challenge for the center is meeting the expectations of parents, some of whom "want the children to learn English quickly because it's a survival skill," she said.

    When the center first started, lessons were taught only in Spanish. When students began to fall behind in kindergarten, Magaña said, the center re-evaluated its goals and now emphasizes dual-language learning and maintaining a cultural heritage.

    "Every family is unique," she said. "Sometimes the children carry on messages of their culture, and some don't. Hopefully we've given the tools to the children to learn from their culture, but we cannot control them."

    The award comes with $16,500, which Magaña said will be used to enhance several programs and for materials and toys.

    Eight-year-old Tomás Garcia says he is better at speaking English but likes speaking Spanish.

    "When I talk Spanish to my grandma, she gives me money to buy Popsicles," he said.

    Tomás misses the preschool but enjoys the after-school programs available at El Centro for 5- to 12-year-olds. "I want to come here until I die," the soon-to-be fourth-grader said. "It's really a good place. They take care of you."

    Arla Shephard: 206-515-5632 or ashephard@seattletimes.com

  2. #2
    Senior Member tencz57's Avatar
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    Everyday i just seem to Hate Juan , Dubya and Congress a little more !
    Everything bout this place from it's very name to it's prices seems to upset me . guess i'm not cut out for Dubya's new world. I like my old one, worked better with more freedoms and it was Soverign .
    Nam vet 1967/1970 Skull & Bones can KMA .Bless our Brothers that gave their all ..It also gives me the right to Vote for Chuck Baldwin 2008 POTUS . NOW or never*
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    Eight-year-old Tomás Garcia says he is better at speaking English but likes speaking Spanish.
    No doubt because he doesn't hear one word of English at home. His mother has been here for 11 years and still needs a translator for basic English! Is that assimilation?

    The problem lies ahead in the children's education. Sure, they'll be better off knowing English. But who will help them with their homework? Who will go over their math questions and essays? How can the parents set a good example for their kids when they refuse to become involved themselves?

    Now, I'm not necessarily against this project. I think legal immigrants should be afforded resources to help the assimilation process. But this article makes no mention of who qualifies. If they're not legal, taxpayers shouldn't have to fund it. It's that simple.

  4. #4
    Senior Member azwreath's Avatar
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    Every family is unique," she said. "Sometimes the children carry on messages of their culture, and some don't. Hopefully we've given the tools to the children to learn from their culture, but we cannot control them."


    This statement doesn't sit well with me for some reason.

    I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's almost as if the Director is going out of her way to make a point that they are not teaching the kids to be little La Raza reconquistas.
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  5. #5
    Senior Member miguelina's Avatar
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    As long as they are PAYING for it and the school teaches ENGLISH also, I have no problem with it. They should not be receiving any federal money, as it is an ethnic centered school.

    Children don't want to be different, they want to be like their peers. This school is trying too hard to force Spanish on the kids and it will backfire. If the parents are illiterate and have no desire to help their kids succeed, those kids will fail.
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)
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