Grant will help Hispanic children succeed, break cycle of poverty
By Annette Fuller
Published: May 04, 2011
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If Hispanic families in the Winston-Salem area could reach middle-class status by the second generation, "then the cycle of poverty will be broken," said Mary Bolton, executive director of El Buen Pastor Latino Community Services.

The program operates near Old Town Elementary School, where the majority of children are Hispanic.

"We are today working with the first generation," Bolton said. "We need to break the cycle of poverty before it starts. If we don't, we'll still be addressing problems many years from now."

Judith Davis, who works as a liaison between the school and parents at Old Town, agrees. "Your perspective changes when you move from one class status to the other. Expectations are higher."

Hispanics in the Old Town area have strong family values, but many parents think their children's education doesn't begin until their first day of school, Bolton said.

The center, which has been providing after-school tutoring for Hispanic children since 2003, just received a $50,000 grant to begin a program for Hispanic parents of young children, to make "the parent the first teacher, and the home the first classroom," Bolton said.

Four Hispanic services agencies throughout the country received the grant from AVANCE's Unlocking America's Potential Project. Derived from the Spanish word meaning "to advance," AVANCE (pronounced a-vahn-ceh) is a group committed to strengthening families in at-risk communities through effective parent education and support programs.

The money came from a $12.6 million grant from the Kellogg Foundation to expand AVANCE's Parent-Child Education Program to 15 sites across the United States over the next five years.

The Parent-Child Education Program teaches parents of children from birth to age 3 parenting skills and behaviors, child brain development, motor skills, safety, nutrition, child psychology, school readiness and school involvement, said Magdalena Santos, project manager for AVANCE.

The program helps parents learn to "interact with their children in a playful way," Bolton said.

The program is established in several cities in Texas, New Mexico and California, but the Kellogg grant will expand the program throughout the United States. Some 51 nonprofits applied, from 21 states and Puerto Rico, and only four – including El Buen Pastor – received grants.

The staff at El Bueno Pastor will be trained in the program in June, and the nine-month program will run from September to May. The program includes transportation for the parents to and from the sessions, as well as meals.

"We will eliminate reasons why they can't come," Bolton said.

El Buen Pastor has eight part-time employees. The AVANCE program will be taught in the mornings, in addition to the after-school tutoring already going on.

"The parents don't have the background, the education or the experience to help their young children prepare for school," Bolton said. "It's not from lack of wanting to help."

At the center, parents don't have to apologize for their broken English.

"They are welcome here, and they are treated in a respectful manner, with dignity, even from the driver of the van," Bolton said.

Many families are on the waiting list for their children to get tutoring help.

Most of the families live within a couple of miles of the church, at 4637 Tim Road, just off Reynolda Road, behind Old Town Shopping Center. The building is the former site of Old Town Presbyterian Church, which closed in 2003. The Presbyterian denomination gave El Buen Pastor the use of its building, at first for free. Now they pay $5,000 a year to rent the space. El Buen Pastor Presbyterian Church also operates out of the building.

Families pay $2 per child per month for tutoring services. The parents must volunteer one hour a week at the center, as well.

The success is measured by the child's report cards.

"We reinforce their lessons in school," said Debra Delois, elementary tutoring director.

The majority of the children arrive by school bus at 2:30 p.m., just minutes after being let out of school at nearby Old Town Elementary. They eat a snack and play for a while, then tutoring begins at 3:45 p.m. They must be picked up by 6 p.m.

The tutoring has made a huge impact on children and the parents, Davis said.

"That extra support for the kids in terms of learning is just incalculable," she said. "The impact is amazing."

Brini Delgado, 11, has been coming to El Buen Pastor for after-school tutoring for three years.

"They helped me learn how to read, by sounding out each word," said the fifth-grader.

At the center, she also learned about eating better. She said she used to eat full bags

of hot Cheetos. Afterwards, "I felt fat," she said.

"I've been eating more salads, and the girls have been telling me that I am looking thinner," Brini said, adding that she has been enjoying running around the playground at the center.

Because of the tutoring she received at El Buen Pastor, 10-year-old Yairis Noyola's math grade went from a D to a B.

Several students got help with their science fair projects, and Karina Higareda, 11, said she learned to study even when she doesn't have homework.

Simona Chavez, mother of two daughters who are tutored at El Buen Pastor, said her daughters have learned how to show respect to others.

"They behave better," Chavez said.

Nick Boyd, 17, a senior at Forsyth Country Day school, has been tutoring one afternoon a week at El Buen Pastor for the past three years. He helps the children read, learn math and learn English.

"I have learned a lot about teaching," Boyd said. "And I have come to appreciate the Hispanic community. I have worked with a few who barely knew English, and have great conversations with them now. It's been a pleasure seeing the kids grow up."


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