“Imagine arriving in a new country and not knowing the language, customs, and the school system. Imagine wanting to communicate with your child’s teacher but you can’t because of language and/or technology barriers. How would you feel? Frustrated? Anxious? Sad? Angry?
I have had the privilege of working for Weld Re-8 School District for 4 months now as the Family & Community Specialist and I have been a resource to many of our families in this situation. Let me share a story with you.
One of our families arrived from another country at the beginning of the year and she was new to everything; technology, phones, and our school system. When I connected with her over the phone, she expressed a concern to me, that she was missing important information from the school because she did not know how to download an application on her phone. We met at the school, I showed her how to download the application and she has now started using it to communicate with her student’s teacher and receiving updates from the teacher.
When we went to remote learning, Mom did not know how to help her student because she did not know much about technology. I met with her and showed her the basics of using the computer. Now, she knows how to join a Google Meet, turn on/off the video camera and microphone, and is able to better support her student remotely. It is very important to keep our families engaged, especially during these times. Through my short time with the district, I have been able to connect and help many families.”
The story above was shared by Gaby Rivera, Family and Community Specialist for Fort Lupton School District Weld RE-8. Gaby’s position exists as a result of a grant from The Weld Trust.
