We speak with Herminia (Ita) Saldana, parent coordinator at MS 328, a middle school in Washington Heights, Manhattan. Every public school in NYC has a parent coordinator. Virtually all of the MS 328 students are current English Language Learners or have tested out of ELL status. As parent coordinator, Ita encourages and facilitates parent engagement as both advocate and navigator. She also helps recent immigrant families to access all kinds of community services as they adapt to life in NYC.  

Overview

00:00-02:21 MS 328 demographics

02:21-03:39 Most important aspects of parent coordinator job

03:39-06:44 Job requirements, professional development, career status

06:44-10:01 Issues faced by new immigrant families

10:01-15:29 Tensions between immigrant parents and their children

15:29-19:52 How parent coordinator/school can help

19:52-23:06 Balancing power imbalances between families and the school

23:06-25:46 Culturally responsive support

25:46-29:46 Taking external circumstances into account when evaluating academics

29:46-32:10 Ethical questions

32:10-35:02 How the DOE can provide more support to parent coordinators

35:02-37:00 Outro

Transcript

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