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Fourth-Annual Latino Parent Summit Scheduled for October 26

It’s a sobering statistic: When Latino children in Boulder County enter kindergarten, many of them are already two years behind their peers.
Lisa Truesdale - Longmont Observer
elpaso movement
Photo from ELPASO facebook

This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

It’s a sobering statistic: When Latino children in Boulder County enter kindergarten, many of them are already two years behind their peers. The educational achievement gap then continues to grow as the children get older, resulting in high dropout rates and other problems such as drug use, gang membership, and teen pregnancy.

To help close the gap, a grassroots organization called ELPASO (Engaged Latino Parents Advancing Student Outcomes) was formed in Boulder County. The group’s goal is to give Latino parents the resources they need to help make sure their children arrive in public schools ready to learn, and that they stay at grade level until graduation. ELPASO has School Readiness Coordinators who work with Latino parents, training them to serve as parent leaders who then connect other Latino parents with the resources they need.

ELPASO also hosts an annual Latino Parent Summit, called Cúspide, now in its fourth year. This year’s event is Saturday, October 26, at Manhattan Middle School in Boulder. It features Spanish-language workshops and community conversations on important topics like bullying and school safety, plus a resource fair during lunch. All Latino parents with children of any age are invited to attend. Tickets to the event are just $10, and they include breakfast, lunch, and childcare. Transportation is also available from both Longmont and Lafayette.

Tere Garcia, ELPASO’s executive director, explained that this is the only Spanish-language conference exclusively for Spanish-speaking Latino parents.

“This is our fourth conference with Latino parents and area agencies coming together to get to know each other better,” Garcia said. “We are excited that Spanish-speaking parents are interested in learning about bullying, gun safety and special education policies of the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley school districts.”

For more information and to sign up, visit the Facebook event page “4a Conferencia para Padres Latinos” and click on the tickets link. To learn more about ELPASO, visit www.elpasomovement.org.