Many parents can feel disconnected from the lives of their high school kids and are not sure how they can best support them. Woodside offers many resources for parents in both English and Spanish that attempt to address this issue.
Parents can access information on these resources at the Wildcat Parent Center near the front of Woodside. Parents also have access to many parent education events offered by the Parent Venture, which the Sequoia Union High School High School District recently renewed its contract with. These same events are also available in Spanish.
“I really want to give parents [a] voice, because especially when kids get to middle and high school, the schools want to push parents out,” Charlene Margot, Co-Founder and CEO of the Parent Venture said. “They try to keep them at arm’s length, and that’s good because we want our students to be independent, but parents still feel like they want to be informed.”
The Parent Venture’s Parent Education Series started about 19 years ago in 2006, and, according to their website, covers critical issues that impact the health and well-being of children and teens, such as mental health, digital media and substance use. Currently, they offer free events for parents on Zoom and a library of past events on YouTube. Margot said Woodside was among the first schools where the Parent Education Series was available alongside Menlo Atherton (M-A) and Carlmont, and the principals of these schools at the time would get involved.
“Having the principal from Woodside, from M-A, from Carlmont standing there on the stage, showing people that parent education mattered, that is, I think, what made the difference,” Margot said.
On campus, parents who only speak Spanish can find Maricela Lopez, the bilingual site parent liaison, in the Wildcat Parent Center.
“[We] work hard in order to bring parents, and we explain to them how important [it] is that they are involved,” Lopez said. “If you don’t speak English, you probably think [you] can’t help [your] students, but if you get all the information about where [to go] because you are in meetings, it’s easier to help your students.”
Parents learning English are able to attend English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC) meetings once a month and learn skills, like clearing absences and checking grades in Canvas. Lopez also teaches the Parent Project, a series of 10 classes for Spanish-speaking parents.
“The main purpose for [these] classes is how parents can have better communication with their students,” Lopez said. “I explain to them that in this country, how they discipline their students is different, and [I also teach] how they can talk to [their students] in order to have better communication.”
Lopez said in the past it was hard for her to bring in parents. However, she noticed a difference after Karen van Putten became principal at Woodside.
“Before [van Putten became principal], I remember parents saying, I don’t know the principal, why is she not here, why doesn’t she come in?” Lopez said. “I think [parents] didn’t have interest in coming to the school because they believed they [were not] welcomed. They didn’t feel welcome, and they didn’t feel like they were part of this community…[But] now, [for the Parent Project], I have a waiting list.”
Lopez said that van Putten’s communication with Spanish-speaking parents has increased interest in getting involved. Lopez said that out of last year’s seven ELAC meetings, van Putten was in four. The Parent Venture has always offered simultaneous Spanish interpretation for their events, but Margot said this isn’t the same as offering classes in Spanish natively.
“Over the last few years, especially since the pandemic, we really augmented our Spanish language programming,” Margot said.
Margot explained the various Spanish programming they now offer, including events and YouTube videos, and how they’ve really tried to ramp it up recently.
“It’s still not easy, and we keep trying to do better, but it is a goal,” Margot said.
Both Margot and Lopez are parents themselves and both have their own experiences with that.
“I can understand my community, and I really enjoy helping them,” Lopez said.
Even though these events are for parents, Margot said that at the end of the day, what they really care about is the kids.
“I learned that whatever we say to a parent or caregiver can make life better for that child,” Margot said. “It doesn’t matter if they’re 4 or 14 or 24 so that really, really is important for us.”
