“A better future for our kids”

One of our annual activities is a “Reverse Back-to-School Night” with Marco Forster teachers and administration. Because of linguistic and transportation barriers, many parents are not able to participate in Back-to-School Night so we bring the program to them. This year more Marco staff came than neighborhood parents :( Was it the weather? Conflicting meetings? Too early in the evening? We’re still looking into it, but the event was still a success because of Pablo.

Pablo said to me, “Don’t get discouraged, Señorita Maritza, all that matters is you are doing it from the heart. And now we get to know the teachers of our kids 1 on 1!”

Pablo was brave enough to practice his English, teaching the teachers about the situation of our community. He explained that many residents are working right now because we have to be in survival mode, choosing whether to pay the rent or come to the meeting. He said, “We DO care and want a better future for our kids.” Many of the Marco staff were brought to tears when Pablo started speaking with his beginner English as he communicated his thoughts and gratitude for the teachers and staff that were here 😭

While our Reverse-Back-to-School Night accidentally turned into a Parent Panel (another of our events, where parents teach school staff about the community), it ended up being an unexpected success.

-Maritza Rebollar