Gil Mendoza urged a group of 10 sixth-graders gathered around him to think big for a moment. “If you were god of education in the Sumner School District, and you could have anything you wanted at Sumner Middle School … what would it be?” Mendoza asked.
The kids ticked off a dream list typical of any 11- or 12-year-old: a skate park, a school supply store, a movie theater, bigger lunches with more choices.
Yet the youngsters, all of Hispanic background, also told the school superintendent during their hourlong conversation about the differences that set them apart from their Sumner Middle School classmates.
Seven kids said they sometimes interpret for their Spanish-speaking parents. Four were born in Mexico. Several take English-language classes.
Sumner schools are stepping up efforts to ensure those differences are assets, not liabilities, for the district’s growing number of Hispanic students.
Mendoza is meeting with groups of Hispanic middle school students to hear their thoughts on the school and ideas on how the district can better serve them and their families.
The conversations have led to creation of a boys’ after-school soccer club at the school, an idea suggested by one of the groups.
The district also recently held its first-ever kindergarten registration events at Daffodil Valley and Maple Lawn elementary schools targeting Spanish-speaking families. Interpreters answered questions and helped a dozen families complete forms, which were translated into Spanish.
Mendoza, whose grandparents were born in Mexico, can identify with some of the cultural differences.
The Yakima native spoke only Spanish until he was 4 years old. When his family moved to Tacoma, his parents decided to speak only English at home, thinking it would help him and his 10 brothers and sisters become more fluent in English and assimilate into the majority community. Mendoza can understand most of the Spanish he hears, but says he speaks the language poorly.
He sees talking with kids at Sumner Middle School as an opportunity to help prevent Hispanic kids from getting snagged in the traditionally troubled transition from middle to high school.
“Our primary focus here is student learning for all kids … and we know this is our growing subgroup,” said Mendoza, now in his second year as Sumner superintendent.
A GROWING MINORITY GROUP
Hispanics are the suburban district’s largest minority, numbering close to 600 of Sumner’s 8,300 students. The district percentage has climbed from 3.9 percent in fall 1998 to 7.1 percent last fall.
The rise in Hispanic enrollment echoes even-more pronounced trends at the state and national level.
About one-quarter of the country’s kindergartners were Hispanic in 2007, more than triple their percentage in the 1970s, The Associated Press reported in a March 3 story based on U.S. Census data. The data also showed Hispanics make up about 20 percent of students nationwide in kindergarten through 12th grades.
In Sumner and in Pierce County schools as a whole, the percentages aren’t that large. But seven of the county’s 15 school districts now claim Hispanics as their largest minority group. Of those seven districts, Sumner has the second-highest percentage of Hispanics, trailing only Fife.
Sumner’s latest outreach projects build upon earlier efforts to serve Hispanic families. The district has offered a dual-language program for several years at Daffodil Valley school, where youngsters can learn both Spanish and English. Bilingual staff assist Hispanic families at the multi-agency Sumner Family Center housed at the campus.
Yet language and cultural differences also can make for bumpy interactions. Hispanic families sometimes register their kindergartners on the first day of school, using older siblings to interpret, district spokeswoman Ann Cook said. That means the older students miss class, staff are pulled from other duties on the busiest day of the year, and Spanish-speaking parents may not get all their questions answered.
But a recent Spanish-language kindergarten registration events provided a comfortable atmosphere and allowed families’ initial brush with the school to be positive, Cook said. “To be really honest, it’s a giant leap forward in moving away from where the first interaction is a disciplinary one,” she said.
STUDENTS SPEAK UP
During Mendoza’s recent session with sixth-graders, he asked how they’re doing in class, their perception of the school climate, whether they participate in activities, whether their parents come to events – all factors linked to student achievement.
The youngsters said classmates treat each other well for the most part, though some youngsters are occasionally called “nerds,” “geeks” or racist terms.
When the discussion turned to after-school activities, some said participation is difficult because they’re expected to watch younger siblings and do chores after school.
One girl said she once brought home a note about a homework club that she wanted to attend; her mother thought it was some kind of detention slip.
“If teachers invited me to go to homework enhancement it would like really help a lot,” Alyssa Aguilar-Verzola said.
Mendoza said he learned schools need to explicitly communicate with parents that participating in school-sponsored activities after class is a good thing. He’s repeated the message at principal meetings.
“We don’t want parents thinking – and this is a cultural thing – that (their son) wants to stay after school to hang out with friends, kick the soccer ball around and maybe get in trouble. They need to understand when we set up activities like this, they’re organized, they’re supervised. We do them for kids because it motivates kids to come to school that day.”
Sixth-graders said they enjoy the conversations.
“It’s fun. You get to see who’s the same as you,” Francisco Aragon said. “You get to meet with people that are actually your race.”
Several said they feel their speaking up will help the school.
“It will make a difference like in treating everyone with respect,” Alonso Salazar said.
Debby Abe: 253-597-8694
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