Latino Parent Leaders

In the past 14 years working as parent liaison, I have learned many valuable lessons from the Waltham District's Latino parents.  I have learned about the power of strong community.  In order for any community to prosper, there is a need for vigilant leaders.  Thus, the idea of creating the Latino Parent Leader Committee came about. Though many of the Latino parents do not speak English, it is crucial for them to be part of their child's life. I truly believe that 75% of a student's success comes from the support of their parents, and their environment. The other 25% comes from the responsibility of us, the educators.

The Latino Parent Leader Committee bridges the gap between parents and students. Cultural differences present themselves as adversities, but committees such as these help resolve those types of adversities. As a parent liaison, my job is to assist in solving problems such as these.  After several years of planning, and having conversations with numerous amounts of parents, this idea of mine started to become a reality. Many of the parents I spoke with shared the same goal as I did for our students. I took on this goal, head on. I wanted to create a group that was comprised of parents with different paths of life. The 8 members of our committee have just that! Together we want to educate our students to have the most amount of success in this country.  

We decided to celebrate the Cinco de Mayo, and make it our first official event as a committee. The Cinco de Mayo is a significant day for our community. It was not only a success for the parents but also the students. We were able to encompass different cultures, and celebrate them with the rest of the Whittemore School. The event was comprised of mariachis singing, piñatas, and great food! To see student's show pride of their parent's native country was beautiful.

I am so grateful to the parents of the committee to allow me to be part of this revolutionary journey. We are truly paving a new way for our students, and future students to come. I only hope for the next upcoming years, we have even more success. 

Thank you parent leaders!! 

- Paula Mendoza