KNDO/KNDU Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA | Migrant and Bilingual Parents Meet in Pasco

Migrant and Bilingual Parents Meet in Pasco

PASCO, Wash.-- Close to 200 migrant and bilingual parents gathered at Ochoa Middle School in Pasco looking to learn more about their kids' education.

70% of Pasco students are Hispanic and even though most of them are bilingual, it's a different story for their parents.

"My friends are helping me to learn the bilingual program, especially to help my two daughters," said Cynthia Gualagara, one of the mothers at the meeting.

The Pasco School District's Migrant and Bilingual Program puts together this yearly workshop all in Spanish. They say they want to get Hispanic parents as involved as they can.

"Their child is growing up in this world, it's an American world," said Chriselda Beraza with the Pasco School District. "It's a world of English and their world is different, where they come from it's in Spanish and so there are often times gaps between the two worlds," she said.  

The committee gives parents information on areas including testing, and the classroom environment. But also on how parents can better communicate with their kids through this language barrier.

"When I started getting involved in the bilingual program there were few parents that were involved, but now it's grown a lot and I feel very happy and very proud," said Cecilia Valladares, another mother at the meeting.