We speak with Herminia (Ita) Saldana, parent coordinator at MS 328, a middle school in Washington Heights, Manhattan. Every public school in NYC has a parent coordinator. Virtually all of the MS 328 students are current English Language Learners or have tested out of ELL status. As parent coordinator, Ita encourages and facilitates parent engagement as both advocate and navigator. She also helps recent immigrant families to access all kinds of community services as they adapt to life in NYC.
Overview
00:00-02:21 MS 328 demographics
02:21-03:39 Most important aspects of parent coordinator job
03:39-06:44 Job requirements, professional development, career status
06:44-10:01 Issues faced by new immigrant families
10:01-15:29 Tensions between immigrant parents and their children
15:29-19:52 How parent coordinator/school can help
19:52-23:06 Balancing power imbalances between families and the school
23:06-25:46 Culturally responsive support
25:46-29:46 Taking external circumstances into account when evaluating academics
29:46-32:10 Ethical questions
32:10-35:02 How the DOE can provide more support to parent coordinators
35:02-37:00 Outro
Transcript
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