The Provost’s Initiative on Engaging the Community underwrote the Spanish and Community-Based Learning (CBL) project in September 2012. The two-night series began on the evening of September 17 at the Kroc Center with a bilingual information night, Preparing for College, followed by bilingual college visits at various South Bend campuses the next week. The target audience was Spanish-speaking Latino families in South Bend. Total participation was 166 at the information night and 95 for the college visits. The participants included parents, students, community partners, and Spanish CBL students. The first evening, parents and students heard information from panelists representing various local higher education institutions. Topics included information about parent involvement (tracking in high school, choosing courses, identifying and supporting their children’s vocations), and an overview of college topics such as requirements for admission and financial aid.

After the panel, Notre Dame community based learning students from ROSP 20810, other students from Holy Cross College and IUSB, and Latino Task Force for Education (LTFE) members led roundtable discussions with the parents and students, addressing further questions and sharing their experiences as college students; these included why one should go to college, how parents help prepare their children for college, how the student needs to prepare for college, as well as walking parents through a handout on important dates and planning for such things as SAT, college applications, etc. 

The next week, parents and their children had an opportunity to make college visits to local colleges and universities. LTFE arranged with Notre Dame, Holy Cross, Saint Mary’s, IUSB, Bethel, Goshen, and Ivy Tech to provide Spanish language tours and information sessions for the families.

The event was received very well both by LTFE members and the families who participated. LTFE members were extremely pleased with the turn out and response of the families who attended, and were also very appreciative of the support provided by Notre Dame. The panelists from the various colleges were very glad to have been a part of this collaboration. Benny Salazar, the panelist from La Casa, worked with a number of Notre Dame students in the Latino Honor Society with a follow-up series of meetings to assist senior high Latino students in working through the college application process. These connections were facilitated by having had the September events.

Data was collected from parents and students. The results supported what is known about many recent immigrant parents, in particular from lower SES families: parents are often unfamiliar with the educational system in the United States and need greater support and opportunities for learning about expectations in order to better support their children’s educational process. This is why LTFE has chosen to focus on parent engagement as a key pillar in raising the educational outcomes for the Latino youth of South Bend.

The Preparing for College event and subsequent college visits were very helpful and informative for the families who participated. LTFE is continuing to work with these families and others in supporting their children’s educational success.

The support of the Provost for this event was essential in making the workshop and campus visits happen. The work done for this workshop will serve as a foundation for a workshop that Prof. Maria Coloma’s RSOP 20810 students will do with La Casa de Amistad in fall 2016. The collaboration of the various local colleges was important for the Latino community to see that their youth is being sought after and will be encouraged and supported by the local colleges and universities. Since Latinos are the fastest growing demographic, both in terms of sheer numbers and in terms of increasing college enrollments, it is important that we at Notre Dame support our local Latino community and help equip them with the necessary skills to continue their education. The enhanced well-being of the local Latino community enhances the overall well-being of our South Bend-Notre Dame community.