2018 Survey of Families with Children in the Minneapolis Public School District

Parent Engagement, Support, and Training

2018 Survey of Families with Children in the Minneapolis Public School District

December 15, 2018

What is the Latino Youth Development Collaborative (LYDC)

The Latino Youth Development Collaborative (LYDC) educates, informs, motivates, and engages the Latino Community in Hennepin County. LYDC provides leadership opportunities for Latino families and Latino youth in order to create a standing relationship between the school system and students and their families in Hennepin County. LYDC provides spaces for Latino students and their families to learn how the education system works and ways they can participate and effectively advocate for the improvement of our education system. LYDC has advanced community engagement activities by supporting families to successfully influence their children’s education. LYDC has established a leadership model to facilitate the development of effective leaders within the Latino community.

Survey Background

For over 10 years, LYDC has enjoyed strong support by Latino families in Hennepin County. Each years, more than 1000 Latino families receive the services that LYDC provides. This year, LYDC’s families came together to reflect upon the educational achievement of their children and to learn more about the real experiences that Latino parents have during the educational journey of their children. Latino parents have continuously manifested concerns about many issues that directly affect the fair and equitable educational services that educational programs and institutions provide. Some of the main issues include the quality of communication that Latino parents receive; the limited access to professional interpreters; and the untimely delivery of academic performance reports and recommendations on steps that facilitate an increase of academic performance and graduation of Latino youth.

LYDC work centers on the foundational practice of families advocating, families learning, families proposing initiatives, and families doing the work needed to be successful. This year, the families of LYDC worked diligently to develop a survey to be able to learn more about the real experiences that Latino families have with educational programs and institutions. This survey provides a forum for many Latino families that, for many years, have not received the opportunity by educational programs and institutions to share effectively their experiences while receiving educational and community services.

Survey Process

During this year, Latino families of LYDC met five times to receive professional training on how to conduct surveys. Latino families received information and training on many topics including

identification and description of main questions and concerns; develop of surveys; information management; ethical conduct during the administration of surveys; and how to maintain the integrity of the survey process. Equipped with this knowledge, LYDC families develop a 22- question survey that was submitted to and approved by the LYDC Families Coordinating Association. LYDC families conducted the survey during the period between November 1, 2018 and December 11, 2018. Interviews of LYDC parents were conducted in person and took place at variety of public locations that were most convenient for them. At the end of the interview period, 393 surveys were completed and data was submitted to an independent evaluator. Interview data was entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file and percentages were calculated using basic pivot tables statistical analysis (see appendix)

Schools Represented in Survey

The following schools were represented in the survey:

Findings and Recommendations

The following recommendations are based on the analysis of the collected data through the survey conducted in the Latino community during the period between November 1, 2018 and December 11, 2018. The participants were Latino parents (N=393) living in Hennepin County. The following findings and recommendations start to address the needs of the Latino community while accessing the public school system in Hennepin County and provide possible resolutions to possible violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

1. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires that organizations receiving federal funding such as public schools in Hennepin County provide meaningful access and appropriate cultural means to information and services to individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) regardless of the funding source of the program administered by the organization. Individuals with LEP include and are not limited to parents, children, and others.
2. The findings from the survey highly suggest that the following items are possible violations of Title Vi:
   1. 84% of parents responded that the school has NOT informed them how to file a formal complaint when the school does not provide meaningful access to the parents. (possible violation).
   2. 71% of parents responded that they do NOT understand how the portal works.
   3. 69% of parents reported that the school does NOT inform them about their right

to an interpreter on a timely manner and free of charge. (possible violation).

1. 59% of parents indicated that they CANNOT communicate effectively with the

transportation services of their children. (possible violation).

1. 40% of parents indicated that when they attend the conferences with teachers,

the school DOES NOT provide adequate and timely interpreting services.

(possible violation).

1. 58% of parents reported that when they work with interpreters in the school

system, the parents realize that the interpreters are not well prepared and are

not professional.

1. 40% of parents reported that the information provided by the school is NOT

culturally appropriate and meaningful. (possible violation).

1. A formal compliant can be filed by anyone on behave of other person without legal

standing, or by the person whose civil rights are violated. It only takes 1 violation:
a. To file a formal complaint with different regulatory agencies (federal and state)

that will put at risk of losing the federal funding, AND b. To establish a civil lawsuit in a court of law

1. 99% of parents speak Spanish, and 95% of them read in Spanish (literacy level).
2. 24% of parents speak English, and 17% of them write in English (literacy level).

Next Steps:

Organizations, schools in the districts, must have a Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Plan or its equivalent in place.

1. The plan must be reviewed and updated every year and accordingly record any changes.
2. LEP Plan must be available to all employees, volunteers, contractors, and others who are

involved with the school and public.

1. Part of the plan and as required by the federal statute, all employees, volunteers, contractors, and other must be trained about Title VI once a year. Records of training must be kept for at least 5 years and be readily available upon request from regulatory agencies.
2. Part of the contingency must include work with the community to determine how to provide meaningful access and services that are culturally appropriate and meaningful to reduce the risk of lawsuits and to be in compliance with federal and state laws and regulations.
3. Part of the contingency must include work with the community to determine how to provide meaningful access and services that are culturally appropriate and meaningful to help reduce the educational disparity gap in the Latino community.
4. Schools are to provide meaningful access with professionally and appropriately trained interpreters and translators that abide to ethical codes and standards of practice as language access professionals.
5. Utilization of other technologies to provide meaningful access to parents such as daily recordings of assignments, dates of conferences, etc.
6. Inform parents about their right to file a formal complaint with the different agencies including the school. However, the school CANNOT be the only or first source to file a formal complaint for possible violations of Title VI.

LYDC has embraced the daunting task of empowering Latino families by providing them with the tools necessary to take full advantage of the available educational resources and to become effective partners in the education of our children and the improvement of educational programs and institutions.

On behalf of the LYDC Families Coordinating Association, we would like to reiterate our sincere appreciation and support to school leaders that have indicated their commitment to facilitate higher education achievement of our children.

Latino parents demand that educational leaders must demonstrate their commitment to a fair and equitable education of Latino children and provide a swift and effective response to the critical issues presented in this survey. LYDC is committed to be an active partner with Latino families and strongly advocates for changes needed in the Minneapolis School District. We are eager to hear back from you.

Respectfully.

Latino Youth Development Collaborative (LYDC) Dr. Edgar Alfonzo
Board Chair
lydcminneapolis@gmail.com

Appendix