By Laura Conroy | Board Member, Bienestar
A joyfully noisy classroom of 3rd grade students hums with conversations about the latest Harry Potter book, minecraft[1], and fractions. Smatterings of Spanish slip in and out as groups solve math problems collaboratively on an ipad. Some of the kids in the classroom are Latino with bright eyes and dark hair; other kids are Caucasian with blonde brown hair and hazel eyes, and red hair with blue eyes – with a freckle here and there.
At 3pm, backpacks are shrugged onto shoulders and quick steps clatter down the sidewalks. Emilio, is a 3rd grade Bienestar child, and he is headed home to greet his little brother, cousins, grandmother (abuelita) and aunt (tia) that look after him while his parents work. It’s been a good day. He was the first one in his group to solve the math equation, and he helped another kid understand the word “basilisk” [2]
Back at school, Emilio’s teacher sits contemplatively, grading homework and reviewing grade reports. When the school year began, the teacher was concerned about the class, because in Emilio’s school district, 54% of Hispanic/Migrant students fail to meet state standards for English and Math compared with 25% of White students.[3]
Emilio’s teacher knows that 3rd graders who struggle in Math and Reading in 3rd grade, will only face further discouragement as they advance through the grade levels. Many will never graduate, and will struggle to find living wage jobs to support their families. The teacher was particularly concerned for students, like Emilio, whose parents are monolingual Spanish speakers, with a 7th grade education, and earn less than $20,000 per year.[4] That concern persists for most of the teacher’s Hispanic/migrant students; but not for Emilio. Emilio’s reading and math comprehension is deepening every day, and his GPA has improved by .27 this year. In 2nd grade, Emilio struggled for a 2.0 GPA, a C average. This year his GPA has improved nearly a full GPA point, to a 3.0, thanks to his participation in MpowR.
Emilio’s future is bright. Emilio’s family lives in a Bienestar community, and Emilio is enrolled in Bienestar’s MPowR program. MPowR’s instructors are bi-lingual, allowing them to explain reading and math concepts in Spanish to build the student’s subject matter comprehension, while also coaching the student with their English proficiency. Instructors lead the MPowR groups twice a week, for 90 minutes, during the school year, in the community rooms of the Bienestar housing communities; 3 communities in Forest Grove and 2 in Hillsboro.
Providing academic support to the migrant/latino student community, at the housing community is critical to success. Other community programs struggle to recruit migrant/latino students because they have not built a relationship with the families, do not provide instruction in Spanish, and require students to be away from their family eg. on school sites or at club locations. Bienestar overcomes these traditional barriers to participation that these students and families have because our staff have built trusting relationships with the families at the affordable housing properties, the program is free and provided onsite at the affordable housing property community room, and instruction is bi-lingual.
The MPowR program measures increases in GPA and academic progress through quarterly student school report card data. During the 2013-14 school year, when serving 80 students, the attendance record was 83% and on average, students increased their GPA from term one to term four by .27 on a 4 point scale. Over a two-year period, students report a full point increase in GPA, meaning for example, from a 2.0 to a 3.0.
As a result of increased Math and Reading comprehension, students will have the academic skills and knowledge they need to progress successfully through school grades, graduate from high school, acquire living wage jobs and attain self-sufficiency. In other words, thanks to MPowR, Emilio and 119 kids in MPowR have a very bright future.
[1] Minecraft – a popular computer game for children requiring building, planning, and problem solving
[2] Basilisk – a legendary reptile reputed to be king of serpents and said to have the power to cause death with a single glance, and fought by Harry Potter in the Chamber of Secrets.
[3] Data from Forest Grove and Hillsboro school districts
[4] Data from 2008 survey of Bienestar families
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