#37 - The Parental Involvement and K-12 Experiences of RISE students

Abstract

Most teachers across the United States self-identify as white American. The ethnic backgrounds of students and teachers is disproportionate due to the increasing diversity in the public school systems. Literature based on this topic has significantly increased in the past decade due to the mass migration of Latinos to the United States. For example, Soloranzo talks about the critical race theory in education and how it works towards the progression of teachers of color and eliminating racism in U.S. education (Soloranzo p.7). In order to address this problem, the UNG College of Education and Hall County School District have established the Realizing Inspiring Successful Educators program, which intends to increase the number of Latinx teachers. Within the RISE program, we are trying to solve how we can further benefit the education of Latinx students in Hall County Schools. Through qualitative data gathering, semistructured interviews and a survey consisting of multiple choice and short answer questions, the interviewers asked students of the RISE program about their experiences in their K-12 school systems and how their parents have been involved in their education. Through the survey, we found over half of the RISE parents had less than a high school diploma and spoke primarily Spanish. We believe these two factors limited the parents from helping RISE students with homework and furthering their education. When we asked the RISE students about what they feel they lacked from their schools, many answers consisted of “bilingual resources.” With this information, we hope to strengthen the support for Latinx students and parents in the Hall County School District and encourage more Latinx students to become educators.