We’re aware of Monday evening’s announcement regarding pauses in federal aid, and have received many inquiries regarding the status of vital programs that RPS provides to our families. At this time, our understanding is that the guidance only impacts certain discretionary grant and aid programs, not programs like Title I, the federal lunch program, or special-education funding. To the best of our knowledge at this time, none of our services or supports are affected. Additionally, programs that provide services to individuals, like SNAP and CHIP, are not impacted.
We’re monitoring the situation closely, as we know many of you are, and will share updates as we have them.
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“Ah! For me? ¡Qué lindo! Thank you for this, I will put it somewhere safe y donde pueda verlo.” Ms. Edilsa Guiterrez switches fluently from English to Spanish as she admires the brightly colored picture. Just moments before, the tiny scholar had burst through the main office door, bouncing on her toes and exclaiming, “It’s for you — ¡para ti!” Now, after a quick hug, she skips off to her first-grade class. Ms. Guiterrez, still admiring the photo, murmurs, “And we couldn’t even get her to come to school consistently a few months ago.” That’s the impact that RPS family liaisons have on many students across the Division.
A team member of the Miles Jones Elementary School community for 16 years — a former floating Spanish teacher — Ms. Guiterrez is now in her sixth year serving as the school’s bilingual family liaison. In her role, she primarily focuses on breaking down the barriers between school, students, and their families. Most often those efforts show up through her work with getting students to attend school — on time — each and every day. Daily, her words and her actions tell students and families that we love you here — and we want to see you every day.
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‘I really enjoy the opportunity to connect with the students and their parents on a regular basis. When parents are feeling nervous, I always explain to them that this is a safe place for their child. RPS makes sure that every child is safe’
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According to the U.S. Department of Education, students who are chronically absent in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade are less likely to read on grade level by the third grade. As children age, the risks add up: Eighth to twelfth graders who are chronically absent are estimated to be seven times less likely to graduate high school than their peers. Missing just two days of school each month (regardless of whether excused or unexcused), is enough to designate a student as chronically absent: It totals to 18 days in a school year, or 10 percent of class time.
Particularly since the pandemic disrupted families’ lives, districts across the country have struggled to re-engage families in school. In RPS, that’s where Ms. Guiterrez and her fellow family liaisons come in. “I really enjoy the opportunity to connect with the students and their parents on a regular basis. When parents are feeling nervous, I always explain to them that this is a safe place for their child. RPS makes sure that every child is safe.”
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Through phone calls and visits to the homes of students who are trending towards becoming chronically absent, Ms. Guiterrez (in English and in Spanish) works to get to know her families on a deep level. This way, parents feel comfortable coming to her with support requests and needs. RPS parents and caregivers do not keep their children home from school because they dislike or don’t value school, but usually because they face a specific hurdle: Lack of transportation, confusion about RPS policies, childcare concerns, questions about safety, or mistrust are just some of the barriers Ms. Guiterrez and her colleagues hear the most frequently. At Miles Jones, once a family mentions a challenge, Ms. Guiterrez jumps into action to find solutions, co-creating plans to surmount what may feel insurmountable — all with the end goal of increasing the student’s attendance. Since Ms. Gutierrez began focusing on attendance, Miles Jones has seen nearly a seven-percent drop in chronic absenteeism.
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Born in Honduras and raised in New York, she leans on her Afro-Latina heritage to build and bridge relationships across the many diverse populations that attend RPS. “Being bilingual helps with my job, because I see a lot of my Latino community struggling with language barriers, so I help clear up the policies of RPS and help them get genuinely comfortable contacting and communicating with the school and school leaders. They hear me, my language skills, my accent, and they relax.” That shared language and cultural background is key. Research shows that having a trusted adult who looks, sounds, or shares experiences similar to students in a school building increases their chances of academic success. A common background provides a model of what’s possible — but most crucially, it provides a sturdy foundation for trust to flourish.
“What I love most about my job is when students and families say they finally feel like ‘this is MY school,’ because they’re right. This is their school and we want to see them every day.”
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