AACPS Serves over 10,000 International Families. This collection of posts highlights the services and opportunities provided to International Families as well as stories from the International Community.
AACPS School Social Workers: Guiding Latino Students through Character Development
“As the School Social Worker at Annapolis Middle School, one initiative that I am excited to be involved with is the new El Joven Nobel program that Maria Baez (school social worker from Mary Moss at J. Albert Adams Academy) and I launched. El Joven Noble (The Noble Young Man) is a youth leadership and character development program for male students in grades 6 and 7 at Annapolis Middle School that supports and guides Latino youth through a “rites of passage” process. Developed by Jerry Tello in 1988, the program utilizes a 12-session curriculum focusing on the prevention of substance abuse, teen pregnancy, relationship violence, gang involvement, and school failure.”—Lisa Keough
Bilingual Facilitators: The Lighthouse in the Middle of the Sea
Beyond a traditional interpreter or translator, Bilingual Facilitators are responsible for helping language-minority/international families become involved in their children’s education. Anne Arundel Count Public School's 17 Bilingual Facilitators stretch their time across 125 schools and special centers to serve over 6,000 families.
Facilitadores bilingües: el faro en medio de la mar
(To read this story in English, click here).
Es martes por la mañana y Sandra Acevedo-Harper camina por los pasillos de la escuela Annapolis High. Al igual que el resto de personal, saluda a los estudiantes que corren a abrazarla, ayuda a una estudiante de noveno grado a encontrar su aula y para a un estudiante de último año cuando ya ha sonado el último timbre para darle un pase por llegar tarde. Lo que hace que las interacciones de Sandra sean diferentes de las de los demás a su alrededor es que casi todas las conversaciones son en español. Sandra es una de las Facilitadoras Bilingües de Familias y Relaciones Comunitarias (facilitadora bilingüe) en la escuela Annapolis High, enlace entre la escuela y las familias internacionales.
Superar la creciente brecha idiomática en el condado de Anne Arundel
Más allá del papel de intérprete o de traductor, la responsabilidad de los facilitadores bilingües es ayudar a que las familias que hablan lenguas minoritarias/internacionales se involucren en la educación de sus niños/as. Además de simultáneamente servir a estudiantes, familias y escuelas, los facilitadores bilingües se encuentran disponibles en cada escuela del condado de Anne Arundel para comunicar información entre maestros y estudiantes, compartir con los padres los recursos tanto de la escuela como de la comunidad y ofrecerse a las familia como aliados dentro de la escuela.
Sandra regresa a su oficina justo para contestar una llamada telefónica: “Buenos días, le habla la señora Acevedo-Harper ¿en qué le puedo ayudar?. Ella mueve la cabeza asintiendo mientras la persona que llama le cuenta que su hija, una estudiante con la que Sandra ya ha trabajado antes, está lista para regresar a la escuela después de estar en el hospital. Sandra […]
AACPS Wins National Laurie Horne Family Engagement Award
Congratulations to the Office of School and Family Partnerships for receiving first prize in the National Laurie Horne Family Engagement Award contest for its innovative International Parent and Community Leadership Academy (IPCLA). The award was presented at the recent National Family Engagement Summit in Lynchburg, VA. Chosen from more than 35 entries around the country, the award recognizes innovative and creative programs that support meaningful and collaborative family, community, and school connections. Now in its fifth year, IPCLA was developed to educate international families about how AACPS is structured and how it functions. The goal is to improve communication with international families and to diversify the pool of leaders in order to support the academic achievement of international students. In receiving the award, Senior Manager Teresa Tudor said, “It is such an honor to be recognized nationally for our program. Besides validating our hard work, it gives other school districts around the country the information about our program. I am hopeful that it will be copied in other districts and have the same wonderful success that we have had in growing leaders within our international community.”