Why schools should learn from newly arrived parents in El Salvador

Ingrid Colón wrote for Univision about what schools can learn from newly arrived parents from El Salvador.

I asked my mother if some of my teachers or school administrators at my high school ever worried about knowing what I thought about the education I was receiving at school when we arrived in the United States.

"No, they never asked me anything," my mom replied.

My parents, like many new immigrant parents, were confident that my teachers and school administrators would give me a good education.

I was born and raised in El Salvador and came to the United States when I was a teenager. My experiences as an immigrant and as a student of English have profoundly influenced my research on improving services for families and newcomers to the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS).

This work is relevant and essential, now more than ever.

The number of immigrants from El Salvador is growing nationally. In Washington DC and in the metropolitan area, Salvadorans represent the largest community of Latinos. In addition, Latino students represent 20% of the students who attend public schools in the District of Columbia.