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Issue date: April 21, 2000 Notes: Nicky Trasvina (tilda over "n"), Lorena Sanchez Castaneda (dash like the "e" in "cafe" over "a" in Sanchez, tilda over "n" in Castaneda) Also, there are twin brothers, Adrian and Jesus Castillo. Adrian is just Castillo on second reference, Jesus is Jesus Castillo on second ref. Also, the hard brackets indicate text added, not italics.
Thanks!
For Latino middle schoolers, a glimpse at college
For Latino middle schoolers, a glimpse at college
(April 21, 2000)
by Leah Bowr
Nicky Trasvina, a Poder program counselor, guided discussion during an English composition class that included Graham Middle School students at Foothill College on Tuesday.
Johnny "Gi-tar" Guitierrez performed for the visiting middle schoolers during lunch.
Adrian Castillo, a sixth grader at Graham Middle School in Mountain View, is already planning his college career--he wants to study medicine at Stanford University.
Proyecto CHAC, an offshoot of the Community Health Awareness Council, gave Castillo and 43 other Latino students from Graham a chance to meet successful college students and tour Foothill College Tuesday.
Eleven-year-old Castillo met Rafael Vargas, a second-year medical student at Stanford.
"He told me when I get to be his age I can go to a hospital to see how he treats people for a day," Castillo said.
Vargas, who spoke at the end of the visit to Foothill, told students that as a baby, he was an illegal alien when his family came to the United States one green card short.
"Now I'm a Stanford medical student," Vargas said. "We're from the same background. If I'm at Stanford, you can be there or at any other college."
Proyecto CHAC, which serves 100 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students at Graham Middle School, is using the week-long spring break to take youth to University of California, California State University, community college and private university campuses.
"We are sending messages to the kids that they can do it," said Lucero Arellano, a coordinator with Proyecto CHAC. "They can be tomorrow's Latino professionals."
The students toured San Jose State University Monday and were scheduled to visit UC Santa Cruz and Stanford later in the week.
"It is both fun and educational," said 11-year-old Julio Aguilar. "We can get ideas about where we want to go to college."
The Graham students became "official" Foothill College students for the day as Poder Program connection coordinator Donne Davis waved a fuzzy purple magic wand over them. The Poder Program at Foothill serves students interested in Latino culture who are planning to continue their education at a four-year university.
English professor Tess Hansen, who teaches classes through Poder, conducted a class analyzing Ines Hernandez-Avila's poem "Para Teresa."
"I liked that it the poem was in Spanish and English," said Iajady Paz, an 11-year-old who is considering attending Foothill College to become a teacher or doctor.
The poem, which alternates between Spanish and English words and phrases, explored how the author dealt with being harassed in elementary school for doing well in classes. Yesenia Lopez, also a sixth grader who wants to attend Foothill, was pleased the poem addressed issues she could relate to.
"I liked that the girl wanted to learn and she took school seriously," Lopez said. "I'd like teaching other youth."
After the English class, the Graham students toured the campus and then were serenaded by Johnny "Gi-tar" Gutierrez.
Gutierrez, who is scheduled to perform at a march on Cesar Chavez Day in San Francisco on April 28, sang songs ranging from "De Colores" ("The Colors") and "Celito Lindo" ("Beautiful Sky") to the pop tune "La Bamba." Maracas and tambourines were handed out to students, who shook, jingled and clapped along.
The visit to Foothill finished with a discussion, alternating between Spanish and English, on what it takes to be a good student. Ines Pardo, an Extended Opportunity Program and Services outreach coordinator at Foothill, told the students in Spanish that all people were stones. To turn a stone into an important stone like a diamond, you have to polish it--and education is polish.
"It makes a difference to have an education," Pardo said. "We can all become a diamond if we really want to."
Proyecto CHAC, according to director Lorena Sanchez Castaneda, is trying to polish the students early in their educational careers. "There was a large Latino population in Mountain View that was not using the resources and services in the area," Sanchez Castaneda said. "These are families living with a lot of social stressors."
Proyecto CHAC, funded through June by a grant from the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, provides after-school homework help and activities for Graham Middle School students who qualify for free or low-cost lunches; helps parents get involved in their children's education; and works with school-based early intervention services. The program also offers a summer session covering academics, study skills, recreation and computer technology that runs six hours Monday through Thursday and eight hours on Friday.
The goal of Proyecto CHAC, according to Sanchez Castaneda, is to look at all aspects of students' lives and develop a support system to help them succeed.
"You get help a lot," said Castillo. "All the mentors are from college, so they can help you."
The program has five staff members and eight mentors, all of whom must be enrolled at a community college or university.
Castillo's twin brother Jesus Castillo, who is planning to attend San Jose State University to become a fireman, said the program not only helps with his homework, but also lets him be creative.
"I think it is fun to be in," Jesus Castillo said. "After homework, you get to do activities."
The success of Proyecto CHAC, Sanchez Castaneda said, has been remarkable. "The longer the youth are with us, the greater the change. The more involvement from the parents, the greater the change. The more teacher input, the greater the change," she said.
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