Cultivating a College-Going Culture:

Identifying Barriers and Empowering Parents and

Families to Increase Hispanic Student Persistence and

CompletionMaricela Silva

Dynamics of LeadershipEDUD 6306-48F

South Texas College (STC), an institution of higher education offers certificate and degree programs, and serves the communities of Hidalgo and Starr Counties, along the Mexico border. It provides transformative educational opportunities to these counties and is compounded by a constant influx of immigrants, who do not speak English.

• English-speaking children• Spanish-speaking homes• Higher education instilled in school• Parents and families remain

unfamiliar with the concept of “college-going culture” due to a lack of materials/information in their native language.

This initiative is designed to provide information and resources to Spanish-speaking parents and families in an effort to empower them and cultivate a college-going culture in our communities. The program will:

• Provide access to information about programs, processes, and services in higher education

• Provide a clear college and career pathway for students.

• Impress on parents and families the importance and value of higher education.

In order to achieve these goals, a team from STC will engage the Spanish-speaking population by connecting with and going into the communities through existing portals, such as public schools, community centers, religious institutions, etc.

Many Spanish-speaking parents and families of grade-school students have a sense of intimidation when it comes to connecting to the college culture.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 85% of Hidalgo County households and 95.9% of Starr County households speak a language other than English.

STC provides extensive information in English, through printed material and Internet content; however, this information is unavailable in Spanish.

Therefore, Spanish-speaking parents and families remain uninformed about higher education and the

processes.

This will be accomplished by:1) Developing a simple, reproducible, bilingual

informational video guide and brochure which will include the following:

• The Value of an Education – El valor de la educación

• Admissions – Inscripciones• Advising – Consejos Académicos• Financial Aid – Recursos financieros• Continuing Education – Oportunidades

educativas para adultos• Specialized Programs – Programas

especializadas• Graduation – Graduación

2) Establishing strong collaborations and relationships with institutions, organizations, and individuals who can facilitate an engagement of parents, families, and communities through events such as ‘Noche de Familia’ (Family Night). Hosts may include, but are not limited to, the following:• Public Schools• Community Centers• Churches and other religious centers• Community leaders

3) Create a team comprised of STC faculty and staff who will implement this program and provide personal guidance and direction. The Team will include representatives from the following offices and departments from the College:• Admissions and Outreach• Financial Aid• Advising• Continuing Education• Academic areas – faculty representative(s)• Public Relations and Marketing• ADA and Veteran Services

To help facilitate this process, the Team will provide Spanish-speaking parents and families information, in their native language, about programs, processes, and services in higher education to provide clear college and career pathways for all students. Attendees would have to participate in the Program Progression (Figure 1) at every event. In addition, Teams will impress upon these families the importance and value of higher education.

Figure 1

The Initiative will address the ‘disconnect’ between the experiences of the public school students and their parents and families, address the language

barriers that prevent the transfer of information, and the lack of resources.

This initiative will provide information and resources to Spanish-speaking parents and families in order to

empower them and thereby cultivate a college-going culture

in our communities.

The team will provide families literature, in Spanish, about programs, processes, and services in higher

education and provide clear college and career pathways for students. This program will also

impress on these families the importance and value of a higher education.

Resources

Buhidar, W., Herrin, J., Sanchez III, R., Scott, G., and Silva, M.G. (2012). C3@STC: Cultivating a College

Going Culture/Cultivando una Cultura Universitaria. Ambassadors Leadership Academy, South Texas

College.

Migrant Health. (2014). Border Populations. Retrieved from http://mhpsalud.org/who-we-serve/border-

populations/.

South Texas College. (2014). Factbook. Retrieved from http://www2.southtexascollege.edu/

factbook/SiteAssets/1%20-%20Access/EnrollmentHeadCountbyInstrucMode_AY2013_E.pdf.

Texas Education Reports (TPEIR). (2014). High School Graduates' Longitudinal Analysis - by Education

Service Center Region. Retrieved from http://www.texaseducationinfo.org/ ViewReport.aspx.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2013). Quickfacts. Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov /qfd/states/48000.html.

University of Texas-Pan American. (2014). Graduation And Retention Rates For First-Time, Full-Time

Freshman Fall 1996 - Fall 2013. Retrieved from https://portal.utpa.edu/portal/page/

portal/utpa_main/pres_home/oire_home/files_data_and_reports/RetentionnGraduationRatesFall1996ToC

urrent.pdf.