Chatham County Schools Trip

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Chatham County Schools has experienced a
high influx of second language learners since the
mid 1990s, particularly in the Siler City area.
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A Search for Understanding

• With this population came a critical need for
  community policy makers, law enforcement officers
  and a member of the board of education to know
  more about the Latin American people who settle
  here.

• The NC Center for International Understanding, a
  public service program of The University of North
  Carolina, provided Chatham County policy makers
  the chance to visit Mexico in January of 2000.
  This trip spurred many opportunities for growth
  by the school system, educators, local

government agencies, students and families.
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After Chatham County Board of Education
Co-Chair E. H. Dark returned from the policy
makers trip, he initiated planning for an
eight-member team of Chatham County educators to
go to Mexico in the summer of 2001. The team
included a board member, the superintendent, the
director of federal programs, the lead ESL
teacher, an elementary principal, two teachers
and a migrant recruiter.


Chatham Countys Etta Foushee, Jimmy Brower,
Willia Thomp-son, Ernest Dark, Randy Johnson, Tom
Campbell, Larry Mabe, and Mary Lee Moore
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Destination
Mexico City
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Universidad Iberoamericana
After their arrival in Mexico, Chatham
Countys educators obtained a better
understanding of the second language students who
are currently being served. Lectures
offered by Dr. Nancy Westfall de Gurrola at the
Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City
provided significant information regarding the
many cultures of Mexico.
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Mexican and Mesoamerican Cultures

• We learned that Mexican and Mesoamerican cultures
  are interesting and that they have made
  tremendous contributions to our society.
• We need to help our students and teachers
  understand and value these contributions.

National Museum of Anthropology
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The world-famous Ballet Folklorica is presented
at the Palace of Fine Arts.
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Artists work outside the Basilica de Guadelupe.
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Throughout Mexico, religious influences
abound from the elaborate cathedral to the
personal shrine and the community church.
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While in Puebla and Atlixco, Mexico, we
visited in rural communities and in private
homes. Here we learned about the previous living
conditions of many of the students who come to
Chatham County Schools, in contrast to the
experiences we had in Mexico City.
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This familys laundry area was outdoors.
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The agricultural settings and farming
conditions were primitive. Donkeys pulled plows
and men used the most manual methods of farming.
We saw no tractors.
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These animals actually lived in the
courtyard of this familys home.
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From the fields the farmers took their
wares and produce to a market place called a
mercado.
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Families and visitors shop at mercados where
an old woman sold speckled turkey eggs
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and others sold cactus salads, a variety of
fruit and freshly slaughtered chickens to make
money for their families.
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The Value of Family
This is a proud and family-oriented
population. There is tremendous emphasis on
recognizing and treasuring their senior family
members.
Many of our experiences in Mexico allowed us
to understand these close family connections.
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In our home stays we met many extended
family members and observed how the elder
generations were treated with great respect. At
the Salinas family home, one of ten brothers and
sisters shared a home with his widowed mother.
On the Sunday night that we visited in this
home, all ten siblings gathered with their
families to welcome the Chatham County delegation.
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• The 2001 visit to Mexico emphasized the
  differences between the American and the Mexican
  educational systems.

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In each of the schools we visited, all
students wore uniforms, which are purchased by
the parents.
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All of the public and private schools had
computer labs. This surprised us. The
principals told us that about half of the
computers had been purchased by the state and the
rest of them had been purchased by money that had
been sent to them by family members who are now
living in United States.
Computer Technology DAmicis Private School
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In Mexico City, the schools we visited were
two-and-three story buildings. In the United
States we tend to have single-story facilities.
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The cafeteria staff at this school worked
under a covered shelter and dispensed drinks and
toastadas on papers.
It was interesting to observe students as
they ate and strolled around in courtyard areas
during their lunch breaks.
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In a private school we met a wonderful
bilingual kindergar- ten teacher. We later found
out that she was interested in having a teaching
experience in the United States.
Consequently, we got her in touch with the VIF
(Visiting International Faculty) program. This
teacher now teaches kindergarten for Chatham
County Schools Newcomer program.
DAmicis Private School
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Escuela Primaria Bilingue
Kindergarten and primary grade students
used rocks and tree leaves as manipulatives to
glue on their papers as they worked on arithmetic
facts. Parents were present at some
schools. They served as volunteers to patch
roofs or make school improvements. However, they
did not get involved in any advocacy relationship
for their children.
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Students kept extremely neat notebooks with
their notes from class. These notebooks
consisted of observations made in class and
information which teachers requested that the
students include. The use of notebooks reminded
us of teaching styles that were used regularly in
the 1950s and 1960s in the United States.
In many classes the students sat in straight
rows and took notes during our entire visit. The
student behavior was admirable.
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The elementary classes were quite large
(sometimes up to forty-five children). They had
only one teacher and no teacher assistants. Most
of the classrooms were sparsely decorated as
compared to classrooms in Chatham County.
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Many students took Mexican annual
achievement tests while we were visiting. These
tests were similar to the ones taken by students
in North Carolina.
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A retired teacher came to the bilingual
school while we were visiting. This man had
spent twenty-three years teaching in the school
however, he had reached the Mexican mandatory
retirement age, so he was forced out of
education. It was clear to us that he had a
tremendous love and respect for the school and
the students. He wanted us to know how pleased
he was that his school was being visited by
United States educators. In the Mexican public
education system, all teachers must retire at
sixty years of age. As we experience a teaching
shortage in North Carolina and in the United
States, we found this to be amazing.
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The last school that we visited was an unusual
bilingual school. The primary language of this
school was an indigenous language called Nahuatl,
and the secondary language was Spanish.
Much to our surprise, this school was doing a
good job with minimal resources. The children
had textbooks in both Nahuatl and Spanish, and
the teachers were dedicated and impressive.
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By visiting in this school, we realized several
misconceptions that we had regarding our Latino
population in Chatham County

• We automatically assume that students coming from
  Mexico speak Spanish
• We believe that students who do not speak Spanish
  must be illiterate in their own language
• We assume that if Latino children and their
  parents do not understand our Spanish-speaking
  interpreters then the entire family has no
  literacy

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Chatham Countys educators returned from the 2001
Mexico visit with a renewed commitment to

• ensure that our school system provides
  opportunities for teachers and students to
  celebrate cultural awareness activities
• purchase books and audio visuals for the media
  centers and classrooms which are both in Spanish
  and English
• develop more materials that recognizes
  Mesoamerican contributions to our society
• apply knowledge of Mexican transcripts, the
  ten-point grade system, and course offerings for
  better placement in high school settings

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If we previously assumed that the children coming
from Mexico and Central America were just like
children in our schools, we were wrong. All
these children have had valuable life
experiences, but they are far different from the
ones that students who have lived only in North
Carolina have known.
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If we can do anything to help our second
language families and students make an easier
transition If we can help them understand
the plumbing differences in our schools and of
those in Mexico If we can assist families
in learning to work with their children and learn
to speak English together If we can assist
them in linking with other agencies so that they
can adjust to their new community If in
any way we can help them realize that as new
Chatham County community members their roles are
appreciated
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Then our second language families will be
better equipped to assume their rightful position
in Chatham County communities.
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Our mission is to assist all children and
families in every way possible to help them
realize that they are valued members of our
Chatham County Schools community.
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We learned that it is essential for school
administrators, teachers, support staff and
paraprofessional personnel to understand these
issues. Consequently, during the spring of
2002, Chatham County Schools began offering
continuing education classes for professional
educators and support personnel.

• The first workshop, called Bridges Between
  Cultures Chatham County and Mesoamerica, is
  designed and offered by the Outreach Office of
  the Consortium in Latin American Studies at
  UNC-CH and Duke.
• Visiting Mexican educators and policy makers
  shared additional information and ideas during
  tours of Chatham County Schools and English
  language learners programs.

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Following the policy makers 2000 trip, the
Chatham Education Foundation provided funding to
bring two teachers from Atlixco, Mexico, to visit
the summer migrant program. These teachers
learned more about Chatham Countys school system
and summer programs. Plans are currently
being finalized to bring one of these teachers,
Jaime Salinas, back to Chatham County to teach in
the 2002 summer migrant program. Additionally,
another teacher and a principal may visit as well.
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Finally, we learned that it is our
responsibility as educators to help long-term
Chatham County residents find ways to celebrate
the similarities and differences that we share
with families who come here seeking a better way
of life. We realized that parents in
Mexico actually want their children to stay at
home. However, many do not have the chance to
make enough money to allow them to escape the
cycle of poverty. By moving to the United
States, most families are able to improve their
living conditions, extend educational
opportunities and send money back home to help
their families in Mexico.
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Most importantly, our group of educators realized
that we must accept the daily challenge to
develop strategies for removing barriers to
second language learners.