Hispanic Nashville Notebook

"You will not be educated in our state unless you are also cross-culturally competent"
"Our unity ... may come from our willingness to get off our agenda and serve each other"
100 public officials, teachers, parents, school administrators, community and business leaders in attendance

On April 30, 2009 Lipscomb University hosted Abriendo Puertas (Opening Doors), the school's first Hispanic Forum. The event brought together more than 100 Middle Tennessee public officials, teachers, parents, school administrators, community and business leaders (photos and speech excerpts here) and featured group discussions with the goal of improving access to important resources for underserved Hispanic populations through interactive discussion sessions.

In his keynote address, Lipscomb President L. Randolph Lowry called on the state legislature to support cross-cultural competency, and he urged participants to build unity through service:

I’d love to see a bill from our legislature that said we are funding today the Davidson Group in every county in Tennessee. Wouldn’t that be an interesting piece of legislation? To say, “We anticipate this year there will be thousands of people who simply have lunch with people who look and act a little different.”

What if they passed a piece of legislation that says, “We are not sure that those among us in the legislature who are biased and prejudiced, those who reflect values we don’t really have as a people, ought to get to do that just completely unfettered.” So what we will do is think about how we reflect values that are more appropriate.

Or, maybe pass a piece of legislation that says, “What we want to do is recognize that one of the most precious things we have in Tennessee is the possibility of cross-cultural competence, so we are going to pass a piece of legislation that funds for every school in the state a brand new curriculum — curriculum that says we are going to teach you how to read, and how to write, and how to do arithmetic, but you will not be educated in our state unless you are also cross-culturally competent.”

Well, there are a lot of other possibilities, but the point is simply are we going to try to resolve this politically or are we going to resolve this as people? I think there is no hope at all if we think unity is uniformity. We will never be enough alike so that likeness allows us to live and work together.

What might happen, though, is for us to recognize that our unity does not come from being alike, does not come from thinking alike, or looking alike, or dressing alike, or speaking alike. Our unity comes from something much stronger, and much deeper, and much more profound.

Our unity, in fact, may come from our willingness to get off our agenda and serve each other. What is the Hispanic community in Nashville doing to serve the rest of the Nashville community? What is the African-American community doing to serve the rest of the community? What is the Anglo or White community in Nashville doing to serve? There is something that happens in service to each other that will never happen in a piece of legislation. It bonds you differently.

Let me close with the story of Larry.

I went to law school for three very long years in Minneapolis. We went to a little church in Minneapolis. It was a small church, about 100 people. Rhonda and I had gone to a Christian college, so we were kind of enthusiastic about being of service at this church.

So I would lead worship on Sunday morning, and there was a guy by the name of Larry who would come up to me and tell me how I didn’t do it very well. You may have someone like this in your life. I would work Saturday nights getting ready to lead the musical part of worship, and he’d come up to me afterwards on Sundays and say, “Well Randy, that was okay, but it wasn’t near as good as it could be.” The next week, I’d teach a Bible class and he’d come up and say, “Well you know, you have some good thoughts there but they really weren’t the right focus coming out of that scripture.” So here I am, just a young kid, trying to get through law school, work full-time, go to church and be of some service, and every single time I went, whatever I did, Larry comes to speak with me.

Then Rhonda became pregnant with John, and John was not real cooperative. It was a hard, hard pregnancy. One Monday afternoon I had home from work and was tired. I’ve got to study all night and go to class the next day. And there is a knock on the door. Guess who it was … It was Larry! He’s now making house calls! But he’s standing there holding a big tray. His wife is standing behind him. On the big tray were pots and pans.

Larry said words that I’ll never forget, “Randy, I know you kids are having a tough time. I know it’s hard to get the baby here, and you’re working awfully hard. I didn’t have to work today, so I stayed home and cooked dinner for you. I wonder if we could come in and share it with you.”

In that moment our relationship forever changed. Not because Larry and I would agree on anything. Uniformity is not unity. Its not going to happen that way. There has to be something deeper and more profound, and I think one piece of it is our willingness to serve each other.

Labels: education, events

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Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Local Colombian artists Jorge Yances and Jairo Prado team with Glendale's elementary students

The Tennessean reports here that Glendale Spanish Immersion Elementary School recently brought some of their students together to work with local Colombia-born artists Jorge Yances and Jairo Prado. The first grade class made a collage of South America with Yances, and the second grade class worked with wood sculptures with Prado.

Read the entire article and see the first grade/Yances collage here.

Jairo Prado
Prado, who immigrated to the U.S. from Colombia in 1984, has bios at the web sites of SouthernArtistry.org, the Nashville Airport, and the Metro Arts Commission. He was described by the Nashville City Paper as an "artistic heavyweight" in 2001.

Jorge Yances
Yances immigrated to Nashville with his family when he was 13 and has a bio at the web site of the Metro Arts Commission here. He was profiled by the Nashville City Paper here in 2006. According to that profile, "[t]he Brentwood resident has sold more than 100,000 of his original works, received a commission from Walt Disney World, swept award shows by capturing first place awards and headlined major art shows in Las Vegas and Washington D.C." Yances and his wife Pilar Arrieta are the former owners of the Palette Gallery and Café in Hillsboro Village.

Labels: arts, colombia, education, immigrants

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Middle-school blogger SuperMousey responds to "I don’t like Mexicans"

"I am Hispanic, even if I don’t look the part. My dad is Mexican, and my mom is White"

SuperMousey, middle-school blogger and daughter of Coyote Chronicles' Mack, has written about a lunchroom encounter with a classmate who told her, "I don't like Mexicans" and "I don't like Blacks."

SuperMousey prefaces the story by describing the environment at her school, saying that

There aren’t that many non-caucasion children that attend school here, but the ones that do just don’t stand up for themselves.

I did last Thursday. I am Hispanic, even if I don’t look the part. My dad is Mexican, and my mom is White.

Read SuperMousey's complete description here of the event, which at one point she calls "drama" but which centers around the emotional impact of the negativity she experienced:

I seriously felt close to tears. I did end up crying pretty hard in the hallway afterwards. He came up to me and started to apologize and stuff, but I knew he didn’t mean it. He only said he was sorry so that he wouldn’t get in trouble. I think he figured that I was gonna keep crying.

I don’t know why, but it seriously got to me. I think that I’ve been dealing with people not liking me or my family just because we have some Hispanic blood in us. Some other kids at school think we (we being Hispanics and Mexicans) are out to kill them. Yes, I’ve had people say that to me.

Despite the negativity, SuperMousey finds something positive came of it:

People stood up for me, and I stood up for my heritage.

Both the tears and also the rebuffing of negativity in SuperMousey's story remind me of this episode of John Quinones' ABC series, "What Would You Do?" - especially this Part 2 video, in which people stand up for their neighbors.

SuperMousey is one of the local Hispanic bloggers listed in the left-hand column of HispanicNashville.com, under "Local Bloggers."

Labels: education, negativity

Parents, experts both see benefit
At Glencliff, goal is to increase immersion time from 50% to 80%

The Tennessean reports here that Metro schools' English-language learning (ELL) students are going to spend more of their schoolday with fluent English speakers. At Glencliff High School, native English speakers and English learners currently spend about half of their schooldays together, but the goal is to up that proportion up to 80%:

For part of the day, they [ELL students] are pulled out into special classes where they learn basic vocabulary and skills. They spend the other portion in "sheltered" classes, where they receive traditional instruction with help from a teacher trained to deal with students learning the language.

The problem is that in some schools, the roster in sheltered classes is full of English Language Learners rather than a balance of those and native English speakers. And parents and experts agree that robs students of one more opportunity to practice their new tongue.
...
[Glencliff High School Principal Tony] Majors estimates that English Language Learners spend 40 percent to 60 percent of their day with other non-English speakers. He wants to see that drop to 20 percent.

Statistics included in the story:

ELL students in Metro: 6,900
ELL teachers in Metro: 317 (126 of whom are not fully certified for ELL)
Metro schools offering ELL programs: 63
Glencliff High School student body: 34% black, 34% white, 26% Hispanic, 5% Asian

Photo by Thomas Hawk. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: education, statistics

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Thursday, April 23, 2009

450 Latino students will graduate from Metro high schools in 2009; up from 250 in 2008

A record number of Latino students will graduate from Nashville's public high schools this year, according to Metro Nashville Public Schools’ Latino Parent Advisory Council (El Comité de Padres Latinos - COPLA).

The number of Latino graduates will be 450, which is 80% higher than last year's total of 250 (originally reported to be "more than 200").

In February, it was announced that Tennessee's Hispanic high schoolers are taking Advanced Placement exams in greater numbers.

Photo by Dave Herholz. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: education

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Thursday, April 16, 2009

Bilingual event for children's health April 23

Free Health Screenings and More at Whitsitt Elementary School

From Catholic Charities of Tennessee:

Nashville families with young children are invited to “Building Futures for All Children / Construyendo un Futuro Mejor Para Nuestros Niños” on Thursday, April 23, a festival at Whitsitt Elementary School sponsored jointly by Nashville non-profit and government agencies. The event, from 2:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., will feature free health screenings, information booths on children’s development and health, the opportunity to register to vote and apply for a library card, and games and activities for children and their families.

“We specifically have planned to welcome Hispanic families,” said Eileen Beehan, Catholic Charities of Tennessee, one of the sponsoring agencies. “The event will be well staffed by Spanish-speaking healthcare providers, social workers and others. All the materials to be distributed will be available in Spanish.”

Complete physicals and dental screenings for children will be offered on April 23. If needed and requested, referrals will be made to community resources for additional screenings and testing. The April 23 “Building Futures for All Children / Construyendo un Futuro Mejor Para Nuestros Niños” festival is sponsored by Catholic Charities of Tennessee, TENNder Care, Metro Public Health Department, Whitsitt Elementary School, Baptist Hospital, Meharry Medical College, and AmeriChoice.

“Building Futures for All Children / Construyendo un Futuro Mejor Para Nuestros Niños” will be held during the Week of the Young Child, a national observance. The Week of the Young Child is a time to recognize that children's opportunities are the responsibility of the community and adults, and to ensure that each and every child experiences the type of early environment--at home, at child care, at school, and in the community--that will promote their early learning and well-being.

Whitsitt Elementary School is located at 110 Whitsett Road in the Woodbine community. For additional information, contact Hispanic Family Services at 615-445-8310, ext. 222

Photo of Dr. Viviana Lavin by Susan Adcock for the Hispanic Nashville Notebook.

Labels: education, english, events, health, spanish

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Monday, April 13, 2009

Laura Blackwell Clark to lawmakers: don't withhold college

HB0808 would close universities' doors to Tennessee students
Students without visas flourish with the responsibilities they can control
Hearing tomorrow in Higher Education Subcommittee

TimesNews.net (h/t Post Politics) reports that MTSU professor Laura Blackwell Clark has told state lawmakers that a bill to withhold college from good but unvisaed students is bad for the community at large:

"We allow (non-citizen) people to go to public institutions if they pay out-of-state tuition," Laura Blackwell Clark, assistant professor of Educational Leadership at Middle Tennessee State University, told the subcommittee. "This bill is seeking to close the door to the opportunity for a person who is undocumented to attend a public institution of higher learning. … I’m asking you to think about this and to not support this bill. My belief is when we block educational access to any of the residents, any citizens, any non-citizens, any people who are part of our American community, we do our community a disservice in the long term."

The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights position on the bill is here. The bill, HB0808, will be on the calendar of the House Higher Education Subcommittee on Tuesday.

Students without visas flourish with the responsibilities they can control

Tennessee's visaless high schoolers are still achieving success, despite the barriers set up against employment after graduation (see this story). As I've said before, any proposal to blockade high performers from college altogether echoes of the doomsday clock and the misery strategy. Even if one fully considers both concepts and embraces them as "sticks" to use against parents, supporting HB0808 and opposing legal status for good students requires being comfortable offering no "carrot" to the kids for their good behavior here.

Students who have gone on to college without visas - a population that exists in many places including Tennessee, at least currently - are interviewed in the video below. We have the choice of designing a system that moves them backward in society (the misery strategy) or one that recognizes that through their success they should earn something better than a dead end:

Click here to act

If you would like to take action on this issue, try one of the following:

Contact your state legislator to ask them to oppose (or thank them for opposing) HB0808, which would close the door of Tennessee's universities even for visaless students who would pay out-of-state tuition on their own dime.
Do one of the following below to support the DREAM Act, which would allow good students to get on a path to legal status: call, fax, or e-mail your federal legislator, and text here to get updates. (H/T: Change.org)

One final word on the DREAM Act - President Obama's statement about it during the campaign:

Labels: education, immigrants, justice

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Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Cafe con Leche dance event at Vanderbilt will feature 150 students, nine Hispanic dances

Theme: "El Wiz"

The Vanderbilt Association of Hispanic Students is putting on its annual dance event called "Cafe Con Leche" this Saturday, March 28.

From the Office of Leadership Development and Cultural Affairs:

Description: Cafe con Leche is an annual exhibition of Hispanic culture consisting of traditional and modern Hispanic dances and other performances and is the Vanderbilt Association of Hispanic Students' largest annual event.

Event's Purpose: To celebrate and increase awareness of Hispanic culture through dances, music and other means.

From the Vanderbilt Hustler:

A celebration of Hispanic dance and culture, Cafe con Leche 2009 will take a trip down the yellow brick road Saturday night with the theme of "El Wiz."
...
Vanderbilt students choreographed each dance, and over 150 students from all cultural backgrounds are participating in nine different Hispanic dances. The event attracts hundreds in the community every year.
...
The event starts at 7 p.m. in Langford Auditorium and tickets are $7 at the Sarratt Ticket Office or at the door.

The Nashville Latino Professionals Meetup Group will be attending (their event page is here).

Photo: 2008 Cafe Con Leche

Labels: dance, education, entertainment, events

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Friday, March 13, 2009

Vanderbilt biomedical engineering students return from spring break service in Guatemala

Fixing electrosurgery machine was part of the job, broadens reach of operating room

Twelve biomedical engineering students, their professor, and a former dean of the engineering school recently returned from a service-focused spring break (Feb. 28-March 7) in Guatemala City. You can read about their trip at this blog and this press release.

The students are currently in Associate Professor Cynthia Paschal’s Service Learning and Leadership class. Paschal and the class also joined Ed White, dean emeritus, in Guatemala.

During the week they worked in Hospital San Juan de Dios, Manos de Amor clinic and at a local school, as well as join engineering students and faculty at Universidad del Valle for a mini-conference.

The Vanderbilt students delivered to Manos de Amor donated medical equipment secured by two students in Paschal’s previous fall semester service learning class, a three-credit hour course dedicated to working on service projects that could be completed in Nashville. The spring class, a one-credit hour course, offers the on-site international component involving travel during spring break.

Paschal visited Manos de Amor and Universidad del Valle in May 2008 before creating the fall course.

Students traveling to Guatemala City were Wade Allen, Sung Hoon Bae, Karen Baker, Jim Clear, Katherine Gray, Paul Guillod, Jessica Keener, Rosie Korman, Chris Madison, Lauren Nichols, Jessica Paulsen and Garrett Spiegel.

Here is an excerpt from the blog chronicling the trip:

We got to the hospital and as the maitenance workers were greeting us the head doctor of the ER and OR came in to test the electrosurgery machine we had fixed the day before. He brought with him a chicken leg and a hot dog. After testing both the coagulation and cutting mechanisms of the machine on the chicken leg, he started to thank us for fixing the machine. They hadn't used the machine for over 5 years and to have another one made another OR room adequate for more types of surgeries.

Labels: education, guatemala

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Monday, March 09, 2009

Association of Hispanic Educators launches with Overton meeting Tuesday

Goals include student success, employee support, and sensitivity training
Metro lacks Hispanic principals and assistant principals despite 14% student body representation
First meeting 4pm Tuesday at Overton

Overton High School Small Learning Community Site Coach Gini Pupo-Walker has formed the Association of Hispanic Educators, according to The Tennessean:

There are no Hispanic principals or assistant principals in Metro Nashville Public Schools, where Hispanic students make up 14 percent of the enrollment — with much higher percentages in some schools.
...
Gini Pupo-Walker, who oversees Small Learning Communities at Overton High School, recognized the transformation in some schools and formed the association, which meets for the first time at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Overton to hash out membership and other issues.
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"We have many Hispanic professionals in the community that we can draw upon and they can share their expertise," she said. "This is a large student population and we want to help them, make kids successful, and we can do it with one voice."
...
The other impetus to forming the association is to help Hispanics who work in the 75,000-student school district, plus provide sensitivity training to the school district's staff.

Two other Hispanic educators mentioned in the story are Ruben DePeña, Metro schools' communities outreach manager, and Overton Spanish teacher Sonia Ruiz. Lillian Machado, a mother involved in Committee of Latino Parents ("COPLA"), is also mentioned.

The full story is at the Tennessean here.

Overton High School has also been mentioned in these previous Hispanic Nashville Notebook stories:

Advanced Placement exam increase among Tennessee's Hispanic high schoolers (February 2009)
Conexion Americas' clients pay it forward with new parenting program at Overton High (October 2008)
Hispanic graduates of Nashville high schools celebrate against the odds (June 2008)
Overton High conducts seventh annual diversity workshop (November 2003)

For more stories about education in the Hispanic Nashville Notebook, click here.

Photo by Clever Cupcakes. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: education, events, statistics

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Friday, February 27, 2009

English, GED and college info at Hispanic Family Night in Springfield March 3

Families welcome; entertainment for children provided

From Volunteer State Community College:

Volunteer State Community College and Workforce Essentials of Robertson County are teaming up for a night designed to help the Hispanic community. Information about English classes, GED preparation, and college courses and degrees will be available at the event on March 3 in Springfield.

“This is our first Hispanic Family Night in Springfield. They’ve been quite popular in Gallatin. We’ll have advice and information for the entire family, from teenagers getting ready for college, to parents who are looking to improve English skills,” said Eric Melcher, Communications Coordinator for Vol State. “It will be held at the Tennessee Career Center in Springfield, which is a good community resource for everyone who wants basic education and career help.”

Translators will be available for Spanish speakers. Representatives from Robertson County Adult Education will answer questions about Basic English classes, and high school GED classes. Vol State staff will assist with information about college level ESOL English classes, as well as the 70 academic programs, and several degree options, offered by the college. Vol State has a main campus in Gallatin, but the college also offers several evening courses each semester at Springfield High School.

Hispanic Family Night will be held on Tuesday, March 3rd from 5:30pm to 8pm at the Tennessee Career Center in Springfield, 229 10th Ave East, just two blocks off of highway 41. It is free and open to everyone. Families can show up at any time during the event. There will be refreshments, and coloring books and videos to entertain the children. For more information in English call 615-230-3570 and for more information in Spanish call 615-230-4846.

Labels: education, english, spanish

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Monday, February 16, 2009

Hispanic students represent under 2% of public higher education population in Tennessee, but trend points up

Small percentage of Hispanic students is on the rise
Schools see growth opportunity

The Tennessean reports here on the educational fair Volunteer State Community College hosted earlier this month, which was announced by the Hispanic Nashville Notebook here.

The report points out that "Hispanics make up less than 3 percent of the 7,200 students at Vol State."

Among the entire population of public colleges and universities statewide, the statistic appears to be just under 2 percent, according to a chart accompanying the story (reproduced above).

Both public and private universities in Tennessee are trying to attract Hispanic college students, according to this 2007 story in the Hispanic Nashville Notebook, which described the Hispanic recruitment efforts of Tennessee State University, Belmont University, UT-Knoxville, and Austin Peay.

This month's story touts Vol State's efforts:

"The college is very Hispanic-friendly," said Cristina Frasier, president of the Sumner Hispanic Alliance, which Vol State created in 2006. The group consists of about 25 business owners and community leaders and has partnered with the school on an annual cultural celebration and other events.

It hopes to begin a scholarship program this year, Frasier said.

In the 2007 story, Hispanic enrollment at Vanderbilt University was reported at 5.7%, with the number being 4.7% at Austin Peay, 1.7% at UT-Knoxvile, and 1% at Tennessee State University. As for the overall number of Hispanic students in higher education in 2007, the story at the time was that "Hispanic college students in Tennessee consistently number fewer than their African-American classmates — and often Asian students, as well."

While the lower representation of Hispanics as compared to African-Americans and Asians is still the case in 2009 - the pie chart above shows 38,580 African-American students and 9,373 Asian/Alaskan/American Indian and other students, compared to only 4,076 Hispanic students - Hispanic students in higher education are "one of the state's fastest-growing student populations," according to this month's story. The Tennessean's charts above indicate that Hispanic student representation at public institutions of higher education in this state has grown faster than the growth rate for white and black students, but at a slower pace than the combined category for other groups including Asian/Pacific and American Indian/Alaskan Native students.

Labels: education, statistics

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Monday, February 09, 2009

Advanced Placement exam increase among Tennessee's Hispanic high schoolers

"They are sticking it out."

The Greeneville Sun reports here that the number of Hispanic high school students in Tennessee who take at least one Advanced Placement exam has risen 35% since 2007.

The Tennessean quotes one source here who says that the uptick represents a higher mastery of English among those Hispanic students whose native language is Spanish (not all Hispanic students are immigrants or native Spanish-speakers). Overton High School is used as an example:

"In those higher-level classes we have not had that population of bilingual kids, but now we do," she said. "We had 25 Hispanic seniors (at Overton) last year. This year we have 75. This tells you they are sticking it out."

The Tennessean further reported that 14 percent of the overall Metro student population is Hispanic, with the number at 5 percent for the entire state.

Photo by Stephen S. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: education, english, spanish, statistics

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Thursday, February 05, 2009

Education info at Vol State's free Hispanic Family Night February 10

Update 2/15/09: The Tennessean reported here from this event

From Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin:

Education is the focus for Vol State Hispanic Family Night

Education is important, but going through the college application process can be complicated. Volunteer State Community College has an event that can help. Hispanic Family Night will have information about everything from basic English classes, to college level courses and degree programs. It will be held on February 10. It is free and open to everyone.

“Hispanic Family Night really is for the whole family,” said Eric Melcher, Communications Coordinator at Vol State. “Many adults are interested in English classes or returning to school, and teenagers are just getting ready for college. We’ll have counselors who can speak to people in Spanish and English, to better answer any questions they might have.”

“No matter what skill level people have in English this event can help,” said Terry Bubb, the Director of the Advising Center. “Sumner County Adult Education will have information about basic English classes and their GED program. Vol State folks can talk about our advanced level English classes and how to prepare for college.”

Volunteer State has many support services available for students, including the award-winning NewSkills Center, which provides help with math, reading and writing. The Language Center has resources for people who speak foreign languages, including Rosetta Stone software. The TRIO Student Support Services program has a wide array of help for first-generation college students, those with low family incomes, or those with certain disabilities.

Refreshments will be served. There will also be movies and fun to keep the kids entertained, so parents can have time to ask questions. Everyone is invited to attend. The Hispanic Family Education Night will run from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. and people can stop by whenever it’s convenient. It will be held on Tuesday, February 10 at the Thigpen Library on the Vol State campus at 1480 Nashville Pike in Gallatin. For more information call 615-230-3570 or in Spanish 615-230-4846.

Labels: education, english, events, spanish

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Monday, January 26, 2009

Lipscomb plans Hispanic Forum April 30

Mayor Karl Dean, Gregg Ramos to speak
"Proposing collaborative solutions to individual and community needs"
Lipscomb University President L. Randolph Lowry calls for "dialogue not debate"

From Lipscomb University:

Lipscomb University, looking beyond last Thursday’s special election, announced an Hispanic Forum slated for April 30. The forum is designed to bring together leaders from business, government, education, healthcare, advocacy and non-profit organizations to find common ground on the challenges facing Nashville’s growing Hispanic community.

Mayor Karl Dean and Conexion Americas Board Chairman Gregg Ramos will speak at the event.

“After a polarizing election centered on one issue, we at Lipscomb want to provide the opportunity for a positive approach -- dialogue not debate -- on a broader range of issues facing the growing Hispanic population in Middle Tennessee,” said Lipscomb University President L. Randolph Lowry. “Collaboration can help us view these not as Hispanic issues but as community challenges that demand creative solutions from all of us.”

The first annual forum is part of a series of programs focused on the challenges to a growing immigrant and refugee population in Middle Tennessee.

Renata Soto, executive director of Conexion Americas, welcomed the opportunity for a broader positive conversation: “Regardless of the outcome of the Thursday vote, we need to look forward to ways to foster understanding. The dialogue at Lipscomb on the opportunities and challenges facing the immigrant and refugee community can increase that understanding. From understanding, comes solutions.”

Candice McQueen, dean of the College of Education at Lipscomb, said the planning for the event began with education issues. “In talking with area educators, we quickly decided that the issues we needed to address were broader that just those in the education arena.”

Local leaders will serve as resource people for a dozen facilitated conversations with a goal of proposing collaborative solutions to individual and community needs.

Labels: education, events

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Monday, December 08, 2008

Hispanic business leaders in Knoxville sit down for "roundtable" with News Sentinel

The Knoxville News Sentinel conducted a roundtable interview with local Hispanic business leaders in that city - the article is worth a read.

Some excerpts:

Mother unaware her daughter was in the infirmary

I do think that the state governments have certain measures to care for the community. Public schools do a great job of taking kids. They don't ask. They don't care if your parents are legal - if a kid was born here or not. If you live in the area, you come to school no matter what. So that's great. However, there are like three or four translators for the whole county. That's not enough. I've been as a mom in meetings at the school where all the parents are there and the principal of the school has asked me to translate? And he sits me in a corner with all the Hispanic parents, and me a parent, is translating the meeting. So, yes, they're taking the kids, but it doesn't stop there. A lot of these parents don't speak English. I'm just using public schools as an example because that's what I see every day. A Hispanic lady called me and said "can you please call school. They are calling me. I don't know what's happening. And they just tell me OK, OK." She didn't know what they were saying. I called. Her daughter was throwing up in the infirmary and they wanted her to pick her up. If you're going to take the kids, you need to care for that community.

FBI apologizes

I was at the Citizens Academy of the FBI and one of the agents mentioned that the Hispanic community was growing and with the growth of the Hispanic community they also brought their problems, which is gangs. So I raised my hand because I thought, well I'm part of that community. I don't think I bring my problems like a gang. So I make the correction that the problems follow all these gangsters, they follow the community because we are a target of them. Then they made the correction and apologized.

Photo by Timothy Wisniewski. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: business, education, english, justice, language, spanish

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Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Nashville English Language Learning program makes adjustments, gets tips from Memphis

While still praised as "one of the best ELL programs in the state and in the nation" by Tennessee Department of Education official Connie Smith, Nashville's English Language Learner program is undergoing changes and getting tips from Memphis, according to this article in the Nashville City Paper (originally published in June) and this article in Monday's Memphis Commercial Appeal.

As previously reported in the Hispanic Nashville Notebook, Nashville schools' English learner programs have a track record of success (story here). Both ESL and ELL classes are credited with improving overall classroom concentration in Nashville, because students who have language difficulties are no longer asking friends to interpret for them in class.

ESL and ELL teaching require special teaching methods but not necessarily communication in the students' native languages.

Less busing

From the Nashville City Paper:

Metro Nashville Public Schools is in the process of a shift from emphasizing placement of students at English Language Learner (ELL) Centers to kids into ELL Program Schools closer to home.

This [2008-2009] school year, because of the changes, about 600 kids will receive ELL services in their regularly zoned schools. Kids being transported to ELL Centers often have to ride buses up to one hour each way, according to LaWanna Shelton, executive director of ELL for MNPS.
...
ELL Centers and Program Schools are identical in terms of the academic resources provided, Shelton said. The only difference is that kids enroll in Program Schools if they are regularly zoned to attend there, whereas participants at ELL Centers may be bused from other areas.
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MNPS parent Cesar Muedas, former chair of Hispanic parent organization COPLA, said parents in Hispanic communities are divided as to whether they would prefer their children to be educated in ELL or in general education classes, due in part to inconsistencies between schools.
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For Metro’s ELL programs, the state is leaving Shelton in charge — and giving her a promotion. The state plan gives Shelton the title of executive director, rather than coordinator, and elevates the entire ELL office to the same level as those for special education and gifted education.

DOE accountability chief Connie Smith said last week that Shelton does “a beautiful job.”

“I think it’s one of the best ELL programs in the state and in the nation,” Smith said last week while updating on the reorganization to members of Mayor Karl Dean’s Advisory Council on Special Education.

Language learners called "primary reason" Nashville misses NCLB benchmarks, Memphis program is "exceptional"

From the Commercial Appeal:

The education budget hearings were the focus of some good news for Memphis City Schools. The system was held up by the governor and education officials as a model for how to effectively teach non-English speakers. Failures by English language learners, or ELL, to achieve federally mandated benchmarks are the primary reason why the Metro Nashville Public Schools are in their second year of oversight by the state.

"Memphis City Schools has an exceptional ELL program," Asst. State Education Commissioner Connie Smith said. "We've taken Nashville school officials down there, and to Shelby County Schools too, to show them how they are doing it."

Poor, disabled and Hispanics in general are also missing benchmarks

Another Nashville City Paper article from July 2008 details a few areas in which Nashville missed its No Child Left Behind benchmarks:

• Proficiency in language arts for students with limited English proficiency, grades kindergarten through eight;
• Proficiency in math for three groups of high school students: economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, and students with limited English proficiency;
• Proficiency in language arts for four groups of high school students: economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, students with limited English proficiency, and Hispanics.

Photo by Derek Baird. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: education, english

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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Winner of Conexion Americas' inaugural young writer essay contest: Dulce Torres

"Dreams of Home in Both Places"
Renata Soto comments on "disappointing truth" revealed in top essay

Conexión Américas announced that Nashville student Dulce Torres has won that organization's inaugural essay contest for young Latino writers.

With the theme "My Hispanic Roots, My American Dream," the contest was one of several activities to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and was geared toward Latino high school students who live in Middle Tennessee.

Ms. Torres will receive a personal computer and a $100 savings bond. The runner-up finalists, Alejandra Mata and Lupita Garcia, will also be recognized with gift certificates.

The Tennessean published photos of the winners and all three essays here.

The full text of Torres' winning essay, "Dreams of Home in Both Places," is below, followed by a Q&A with Conexion Americas' executive director Renata Soto about the following comment in Torres' essay: "I know I have different goals from other Hispanics, like finishing high school and going to college..."

Dreams of Home in Both Places
By Dulce Torres

My name is Dulce Torres, but what many people don’t know is that my full name is Dulce Maria Torres Guzman. I come from a family of seven, and I am the oldest so I usually have to deal with four screaming “bundles of joy.”

Most of my brothers and sisters were not born in Mexico, but in America. And I guess that has given us a great advantage in helping us live here. But I’ve never forgotten my heritage. It is always with me, everywhere I go. And though I live in America, I’ve never let go of it. My parents have really helped in showing me where I came from. My mother never stopped speaking to me in Spanish when I was little, and she never stopped telling me stories of when she was a little girl in Mexico. She would tell me of simpler times when her ten brothers and sisters and she would play with whatever they could find outside. Imagination was one of the only tools they had back then, but with that, they could create whole worlds out there. Funny, my mother would usually tell me these stories when she would catch me watching TV instead of doing something else.

But people say that others learn things better by doing. So that’s what my parents did. From as far back as I can remember, my parents have taken me every summer to Mexico. I’ll never forget the feeling of knowing that when the final bell of the final day of school rang, that soon I would be in Mexico. When I would get home the frenzy of packing the suitcases (and practically the whole house), cleaning the house, fixing the car, and getting everything else ready would start almost immediately. My mom would get really nervous and angry, and make everyone else nervous and angry. But I didn’t mind this, and I didn’t even mind the three-day-long car rides going to Mexico. It was all worth it in the end. Just the thought of seeing Mexico again would keep us from bothering the living heck out of each other. We couldn’t make much noise or our daddy “might crash.” I believed him; he had done it before. On the third day, we were all exhausted but we knew that soon, we would be home.

And suddenly, stores would start to appear. Neverias, tortillerias, carnicerias, and then La Plaza, and then I knew: I was home. Screams were heard everywhere once we got out of the car. A blur of people came and started to hug my family and me. And then a short time passed before I could finally get inside the old, yellow house to see the wrinkled, gentle, and happy faces of two of the people I love the most. “Dulce que? Dulce Armargosa!” was always my grandfather’s favorite thing to say to me. He was the jokester in our family, the main line to the laughter that would fill the house once he started talking. “No le hagas caso a tu abuelito,” my grandmother would tell me. She usually disapproved of most of the things that would come out of my abuelito’s mouth because most of it was inappropriate.

Some of my fondest memories are of Mexico. My memories are of things I had been doing since I was little, and I had never gotten bored there. The Mexican food that would appear on my grandmother’s table, the nightly walks to the store to get the delicious candy that could only be found there, the delicious smell of the fresh tortillas as I carry them back to my grandmother were just a few of these memories.

Some of my memories are the ones I really hold close to. As I silently walked and made my way closer to the plaza, I would soon be circled by lights from the rides, the smells from the food, and the words and laughter of almost all the people in Degollado who would come to the exact same place every Sunday.

Maybe that is why I study so hard in school and try so hard to get good grades. I know I have different goals from other Hispanics, like finishing high school and going to college. I want to become a writer. I think I was always meant to be one. And I also want to change a few things. I know not many Mexicans, or Hispanics, like to read books, or even try to write them. But I love it. I love to create stories using only my imagination and I love to write about everything I see. I want to create books so that when people read them, they will be amazed that it was done by a Hispanic woman and then they will know that we can be successful and that we can do good things for this country and this world. I hope to be one of the first to start the path to get other Hispanics to follow, and to see that they don’t have to act that way to fit in. They can do whatever they put their minds to. That is my American Dream.

Q&A about "I know not many Mexicans, or Hispanics, like to read books, or even try to write them."

Before publishing "Dreams of Home in Both Places," I asked Conexion Americas' executive director Renata Soto about the sentence in the essay that says, "not many Mexicans, or Hispanics, like to read books, or even try to write them":

HispanicNashville.com:
I wanted to ask you a question about the winning essay, especially this portion:
"I know I have different goals from other Hispanics, like finishing high school and going to college..."
If I saw anyone else saying that Hispanics' goals don't include finishing high school and going to college, I'd be shocked. So when the 1st place essay for Hispanic Heritage Month includes that sentiment, I'm dumbfounded.

What are your thoughts?
Soto:
The disappointing truth is that many of the entries spoke to that issue. It reflects their experience. When for every Latino kid who graduates from high school they see another Latino kid drop out….you cannot dismiss their sense of the reality.

Another one of the students who participated in a video we co-produced about parent involvement in school told me during our interview about how his oldest sisters dropped out of high school and how he wanted a different outcome for him and others.

So while there may be a temptation to dismiss the essay's sentiment, to not 'send the wrong message,' it was an honest reflection from the author about the world around her.

This is an interesting dilemma we face, because we sometimes hear people repeat the myth that latinos don't value education, even though national polls say that latino parents rate education as one of the most important things for their children. So here at Conexion Americas we do talk a lot about correcting that myth. But when 50% or more of Latino kids do drop out, we know that problem is going to take more than appreciation for education from parents…hence our new Parents as Partners program.

Centennial Park speech: "...thanks to the German-American press..."
Tennessee Staatszeitung, Emigrant Und Beobachter

Reminders are everywhere that Nashville's present is not English only - see this salute from the Nashville Scene to the national media for the Belmont debate ("English only. What you'll be speaking for the duration of your stay in Nashville, though perhaps not what you'll be hearing.") and this local middle school where the students speak 37 languages.

This week's Scene (see here) also mentions in passing that linguistic diversity is in Nashville's past as well as its present - referring to a German-language newspaper which once flourished in Nashville:

His thorough research allows him to take on everything from minstrelsy to Mozart. In more than 200 vintage photographs, he showcases editorials from long-gone publications such as the German language newspaper the Tennessee Staatszeitung, pictorial renderings of historic buildings like an 1835 Christ Church Episcopal and posters from an 1873 performance by the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

According to snippets available on Google Books, the Staatszeitung wasn't the only such Tennessee paper almost a century and a half ago. Contemporaries included Emigrant Und Beobachter (also Nashville), Sudliche Post (Chattanooga), and Anzeiger des Sudens (Memphis).

At the German American Day at the Tennessee Centennial Exposition inaugurating Centennial Park in 1897, the role of German-language newspapers as an integration tool was praised in a speech that landed in the New York Times:

Image of German newspapers by Karl-Ludwig Poggemann. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: education, english, german, history, spanish

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Friday, October 17, 2008

Alignment Nashville wants GEDs for Spanish-speaking youth; seeks allies October 22

From Alignment Nashville:

SPANISH GED BROCHURE PROJECT

If your organization serves the Spanish-speaking population in Nashville, the 16-24 Year Old Out-of-School/Out-of-Work Committee invites you to join a network of organizations that provide information about GED and adult high school programs to Spanish-speaking youth, ages 16-24.

The initial meeting of the network will be held on Wednesday, October 22nd at 10:00 am at the Martha O'Bryan Center. During the meeting, your organization will receive copies of a brochure, developed by the Nashville Career Advancement Center in conjunction with Metro Nashville Public Schools and other GED service providers, that provides information about how to access information and services. You will also learn how being a part of the network can increase your organization's capacity to serve this population, as well as how the entire network can increase the number of Spanish-speaking youth receiving these credentials.

Please RSVP to Melissa Jaggers at melissa.jaggers@nashville.gov or 862-5004 by Friday, October 17th. If you have questions about the project, please contact the 16-24 Committee chair, Ellen Zinkiewicz, at ellen.zinkiewicz@nashville.gov.

Labels: education, events, spanish

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Monday, October 13, 2008

Conexion Americas' clients pay it forward with new parenting program at Overton High

Hispanic Council launches, leads class

The Tennessean reported here that a new class for Hispanic parents at Overton High School is teaching basics like understanding the American GPA system, college admissions, and also child advocacy like fighting for tougher coursework and positive reinforcement of children.

The class was created and is taught largely through Conexion Americas' Hispanic Council, a group of former clients of the integration-focused organization.

The participants in the class for parents are making a sacrifice to attend. According to the article, Overton parent Concepción Sanchez "works at a Mexican restaurant from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. most days but takes Thursday nights off for the program."

According to the article, 50 families are signed up to take the class.

Statistics cited by the Tennessean are that over 100 languages are spoken district-wide, and that there were 10,514 Hispanic students in Nashville's schools last year, or 14% of the overall population.

Photo of Catalina, from Morelos, Mexico, courtesy of Conexion Americas' Hispanic Council page

Labels: education, statistics

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Saturday, September 20, 2008

Fidel Castro's daughter to speak at Austin Peay October 16 amid string of Hispanic Cultural Center events

Culture and civic engagement, Symphony conductor, and Salsa night among other events

More information about upcoming Heritage Month events hosted by the Hispanic Cultural Center at Austin Peay State University, from the AllState student newspaper:

The Hispanic Cultural Center (HCC) hosted Café Hispanico on Wednesday, Sept. 10 in Morgan University Center room 308. Accounting clerk Pat Treviño facilitated the open conversation about ways to preserve Hispanic culture by sharing her own genealogy research with students who attended the event, entitled "Preserving Hispanic Culture in a Multi-Cultural Society."
...
The HCC will host two more Café Hispanico events this semester on Tuesday, Oct. 21 and Tuesday, Nov. 4.

The Oct. 21 event is entitled "Hispanic Culture with Respect to Civic Engagement".
...
The HCC will officially kick off Hispanic Heritage Month with a guest lecture by Nashville Symphony conductor Giancarlo Guerrero. Guerrero will speak at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 23 in the Music/Mass Communication Concert Hall. Salsa Night will be held at 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 3 in the Foy Fitness Center. The HCC will close out Hispanic Heritage Month with guest speaker Alina Fernandez, daughter of former Cuban president Fidel Castro. Fernandez will speak at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16 in the MMC Concert Hall.

A complete list of events can be found on the HCC homepage.

Labels: arts, cuba, education, events, justice

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Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Conexion Americas launches Young Latino Writers' Essay Contest

My Hispanic Roots, My American Dream

Labels: education

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Thursday, September 04, 2008

Nashville's city leaders published "Agenda" on immigration in 2007: status report, anyone?

I'd like to know what's being done to advance the proactive immigration plank of Nashville's Agenda, a 2007 plan for Music City:

IMMIGRATION

To make Nashville the best it can be…

Identify ways to encourage understanding of immigration issues – including the problems associated with illegal immigrants – in a broader context of valuing cultural diversity and encouraging appreciation for new Nashvillians.

* Create more positive image of immigration in the city. Encourage corporate and political leaders to educate city on value of diversity and immigration. Find ways to increase cultural awareness in Nashville through more city-wide celebrations like the Celebration of Cultures festival. Educate public about differences between immigrants and illegal immigrants with a focus on the total immigrant population.
* Expand diversity training to identify cultural differences provided in the workplace, school, religious institution and govt.
* Encourage local corporations to “adopt” at-risk or immigrant neighborhoods for civic training and job placement.
* Provide a database and services that are multi-lingual to address specific newcomer needs.
* Convene a group of policy-makers to develop a special driver’s license for undocumented immigrants that, at a minimum, allows them to drive to and from work.
* Create an Office of Immigrant Integration that provides education, information services and forums that encourage civil conversation
* Hold “civics” classes at schools and libraries for new Nashvillians on local laws, government processes and services available.
* Create a leadership academy which partners immigrant leaders with native Nashvillians to expand partnerships and create stronger leaders.

Hat tip: Nashville Post

Photo by Joel Meulemans. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: business, education, english, immigrants, justice, spanish

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Friday, August 29, 2008

Vanderbilt International Lens Film Series brings films from Argentina, Chile, Caribbean, Spain

Vanderbilt University's International Lens film series will begin Sept. 3 at Sarratt Cinema. The series, which is free and open to the public, will screen 27 films from 21 nations from September through December. Each film screening will include an introduction by a Vanderbilt faculty member or program director, who will also lead a post-screening discussion. Most films will be shown in 35 mm prints.

The series includes three contemporary South American films – one from Chile and two from Argentina – and another film from Spain. The Caribbean documentary On The Map will also be shown, with Filmmaker Annalee Davis in attendance.

“We want to help the Nashville film community grow,” said Joel Logiudice, director of the Office of Arts and Creative Engagement. “The International Lens film series is an opportunity for us to bring some of the best in foreign film to Nashville, but films that might not otherwise be shown because of their special topics or niche appeal. We want to complement what’s already happening in Nashville art cinema circles while also engaging the research interests of our faculty and center directors. We feel that access to these films and the chance to discuss the themes and ideas they raise will translate into real benefits for our students and the Nashville community.”

The series is made possible through the sponsorship of the Office of the Dean of Students, the Max Kade Center for European and German Studies, the Vanderbilt departments and centers represented, and through the generous support of Nashville cinephiles Mimi and Scott Manzler and The Tournées Festival of the French American Cultural Exchange. All films will be screened at 7 p.m. in Sarratt Cinema unless otherwise noted. A full schedule is here.

These are the Chile, Argentina, Caribbean, and Spain films:

Oct. 1, Machuca (2004, Chile) directed by Andrés Wood. Presented by Jason Borge, Assistant Professor of Spanish.

Oct. 16, On the Map (2007, Barbados) directed by Annalee Davis. Presented at 7:30 p.m. in Room 235 of The Commons. Presented by Ifeoma Nwankwo, Associate Professor of English.

Oct. 22, Los Muertos (2004, Argentina) directed by Lisandro Alonso. Presented by Jason Borge, Assistant Professor of Spanish.

Oct. 29, Cautiva (2004, Argentina) directed by Gastón Biraben. Presented by Marshall Eakin, Professor of History.

Dec. 3, Bodas de Sangre (1981, Spain) directed by Carlos Saura. Presented by William M. Akers, Senior Lecturer in the Film Studies Program at Vanderbilt.

Parking for International Lens screenings is available free in Zone 2 Lot 2 on West End Avenue. Sarratt Cinema is on the first floor of the Sarratt Student Center at Vanderbilt University.

For more information, call 615-322-6400 or go to www.vanderbilt.edu/internationallens.

Labels: argentina, arts, barbados, chile, education, events, spain, spanish

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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Leticia Mason, Natalia Pelaz, and Paulo Boero to speak at Charlemos Spanish

Charlemos Spanish, one of Nashville's Spanish chat groups, sent out this press release announcing its upcoming speakers:

Sister Cities of Nashville’s Spanish social conversation group, Charlemos Spanish, announces its speakers for the beginning of the 2008-2009 season. Each meeting begins with a presentation, in Spanish, followed by small group conversation, in Spanish.

Charlemos Spanish meets the second and fourth Thursday of the month from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Palette Gallery and Cafe at 2119 Belcourt Avenue in Hillsboro Village. All levels of Spanish-speakers, from beginner to native, are invited. The event is free and open to the public.

The speakers are:

* Leticia Mason--originally from Guadalajara, México; a lawyer and certified Spanish court interpreter in the state of Tennessee; “Spanish court interpreters in Tennessee and main differences between the American justice system and the Mexican justice system”; 11 September
* Natalia Pelaz--Spanish professor at Belmont University; originally from Spain; “Until soccer united us--How the European Cup created a sense of Spanish unity”, 25 September
* Paulo Boero--Spanish professor at Belmont University; originally from Argentina; moved to Nashville at the age of twelve; will speak about Argentine film, 9 October

Charlemos Spanish was created in December 2006 by the Spanish Committee of Sister Cities of Nashville, a nonprofit organization, founded in 1990, dedicated to the promotion of global understanding through educational, professional and cultural exchanges.

Sister Cities of Nashville has one Spanish-speaking sister city--Mendoza in the wine country of Argentina. Nashville has developed a successful high school student exchange with Mendoza. Sister Cities is currently exploring a relationship with Chihuahua, Mexico. A formal International Friendship City relationship with El Port de la Selva, Catalonia, Spain is pending.

Mayor Karl Dean is the Honorary Chair for Sister Cities of Nashville.

Charlemos Spanish is for persons who wish to:

* Speak Spanish on a regular basis
* Make bilingual friends
* Learn more about Hispanic culture.

The founder and president of Charlemos Spanish is Elizabeth Worrell Braswell. Ms. Braswell is an online Spanish instructor for Austin Peay State University and a board member of Sister Cities of Nashville.

For directions and more information on the gallery go to: http://www.palettegallerycafe.com

Contact:

Elizabeth Worrell Braswell
615-202-0482
elizworrell@comcast.net

Monica Mackie
director@scnashville.org

Photo by Dragunsk Usf. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: argentina, education, justice, mexico, spain, spanish

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Monday, August 11, 2008

Metro's multilingual Homework Hotline resumes today

The Tennessean reports here that the multilingual Homework Hotline will resume today. The service, which received 32,407 total calls in 2007-2008, is available not only in English but also in Kurdish, Somalian, Arabic, and Spanish.

The service is a partnership between Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools and corporate leaders including Dell, Bridgestone/Firestone, AT&T, NewsChannel 5, Sonic, and Tri-Star Health System.

Labels: education, spanish

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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Hispanic kids who fled Robertson County schools in January returned in time for federal tests

Officials needed everyone to be prepared
89% of Hispanic students never left

The Tennessean reports here that most of the 90 Hispanic students (both U.S. and non-U.S. citizens) who fled Robertson County schools in the wake of January immigration raids are back and have taken federally mandated No Child Left Behind tests:

When at least 90 Hispanic students disappeared from Robertson County classrooms last winter, school administrators worried.

If the children, about 11 percent of the total Hispanic student body, didn't come back right away, they'd be too far behind to succeed on spring achievement tests. School leaders didn't know if they would turn up the day before the tests, unprepared but counting toward countywide performance anyway.

In the high-stakes world of the federal No Child Left Behind law, every group of students needs to pass.

The fears weren't realized. Most of the students, who left over fears of immigration raids, came back in time to get ready.

The improvement in scores over last year's performance was enough to earn the county "improving" status

The original story about the disappearance of the students, who represented about 11% of the overall Hispanic student body in the county, is here.

Labels: education, english, immigrants, justice, statistics

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Friday, July 25, 2008

AVANCE seminar offers comprehensive integration orientation for Spanish-speakers at Belmont tomorrow

Conexion Americas will host its annual AVANCE Spanish-language seminar at Belmont University tomorrow, July 26, from 9:30am to 3:30pm. The seminar will cover topics designed with Conexion Americas' mission in mind - "Promoting the social, economic and civic integration of Latino families in Middle Tennessee" - and will specifically include personal finances, insurance, homeownership, and consumer protection, as well as "creating a family plan in case of deportation or detention, and rights and responsibilities in the United States," according to this announcement:

Dear Community Organizations,

Attached you will find an invitation and information about a free educational conference for the Latino community this Saturday, July 26 from 9:30am-3:30pm at Belmont University.

“Avance 2008: Infórmate Hoy para Lograr un Mejor Mañana!” - Information Today for a Better Tomorrow – is a seminar on topics such as immigration, legal education, creating a family plan in case of deportation or detention, and rights and responsibilities in the United States. The event will also include a motivational keynote speaker with information about how to be successful in the United States. AVANCE is completely free of charge. We will provide breakfast, lunch and childcare. Interested participants can register for the event by calling (615) 269-6900.

Please inform any Spanish-speaking clients which your organization serves about this event. Feel free to print the attached invitation to distribute or let us know if you need additional information!

Gracias!

Labels: education, events, justice, spanish

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Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Learning English takes years, volunteers

100 volunteers needed for Nashville Adult Literacy Council alone
Somali student: four years to speak English proficiently, even more to read and write
"They say almost universally if I knew English other doors would open"

Janell Ross of the Tennessean reported here on the time it takes for a student to learn English, and on the need for teachers:

LaWanna Shelton, the director of Metro schools' English as a Second Language programs, said people don't learn languages simply because they are surrounded by them.

"How many people studied a foreign language in high school, or high school and college?" Shelton said. "How many have been on those Spanish immersion trips to Mexico for two weeks? How many can speak that language, I mean, really speak that language, read it, write it? Well, that should give people some idea how difficult, how individual, how much of a process it really is."
...
Fadumo Siyke, a native of Somalia ... said it took four years to speak proficient English in most settings, but she still couldn't read or write the language. When she took her citizenship exam for the first time in January, she passed the oral section but failed the written test.
...
When [Renata] Soto's agency [Conexion Americas] surveys Latinos in the Nashville area, one answer appears repeatedly.

"People don't talk about a better-paying job, sometimes they don't even talk about papers," she said. "They say almost universally if I knew English other doors would open."
...
[T]he Nashville Adult Literacy Council, which also works with U.S.-born adults who cannot read, is in need of nearly 100 volunteers willing to work one-on-one with foreign-language speakers or adults who want to learn to read.

Photo by Pete Zivkov. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: education, english

"Refusal to Resegregate Nashville"
"Racial code ... permeates the culture of our community"

Former Metro Nashville Public Schools Director Pedro Garcia authored a document titled "Refusal to Resegregate Nashville" that has surfaced only now in the context of the city's school rezoning plan. In it, Garcia covers a wide variety of topics related to segregation and his history in the top job at MNPS, and he compares his working conditions under the Nashville school board to the dictatorships of his native Cuba.

From the Nashville City Paper:

According to the document, Garcia believed racial politics permeated life in Nashville.

“I had never lived in the south before I came to Nashville,” the document says. “This is a great city and we have many friends here. But, I have also had to adjust to many racial issues. There is some sort of racial code or expectation that permeates the culture of our community. Sometimes it is like having an elephant in the living room of your house but refusing to recognize it is there.”

The document compares the behavior of some school board members with life under dictatorships in Cuba.

“I spent the first fifteen years of my life in Cuba living under two dictatorships, Batista and Castro,” the document reads. “I saw and experienced hate, violence and abuse. I expected such behavior from tyrants and oppressive regimes. However, I never expected board members and community leaders would become acrimonious and demeaning.”

“I believe in parental choice and in freedom of expression. I fought against Castro for these rights from the age of thirteen. And yet, here in America, I was the target of behind the scenes manipulations and fear tactics. My tenure at MNPS should not have ended this way,” the document states.

Copies of the documents can be found here on the Tennessean's web site or here on the Nashville City Paper's web site.

The complete story about school rezoning and Garcia's document can be found in either this article in the Tennessean or this article in the Nashville City Paper.

Labels: cuba, education, negativity

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Wednesday, July 02, 2008

VU's Dillehay honored for Araucanian archaeology

Monuments, Empires and Resistance wins Society of American Archaeology book award
Chilean natives resisted Spanish conquest for more than 300 years

From Vanderbilt University:

Anthropologist Tom D. Dillehay's book Monuments, Empires and Resistance has received the Society of American Archaeology's highest book award for 2008.

In the book, Dillehay, who is the Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at Vanderbilt University, examines the methods that the Araucanian people of southern Chile used to resist Spanish dominance for more than 300 years.

In 1550, when the Conquistador Pedro de Valdivia attempted to conquer southern Chile, he ran into stiff opposition from the scattered population of the Araucanians who had successfully resisted Incan conquest. Before disease and fighting reduced their numbers, the Araucanians earned the nickname of the Apache of South America by defeating Valdivia and his followers and nearly capturing Santiago. Subsequently, the Spanish pushed the resisters into a forest region south of the Bio-Bio River, which remained the boundary between the two peoples for three centuries. It wasn't until the late 1800's that the Chilean army defeated the Araucanians and settled them on reservations farther to the south.

Dillehay's book draws on 30 years of anthropological, archaeological and archival research to investigate the manner in which the Araucanians successfully resisted the Spanish and actually flourished in the process, including their use of sacred monuments to help form widespread alliances and adoption of the use of horses in battle.

Image credit: Patricio Valenzuela. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: chile, education, history

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Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Nieto and Preciado lead Spanish-language portion of Lipscomb's Summer Celebration lecture series July 2-4

"To bring the members of Hispanic Churches of Christ in Nashville together into one community"
Classes, activities for kids, food, fireworks

From Lipscomb University:

Lipscomb University’s 2008 Summer Celebration lecture series, July 2-4, will feature a track of classes held completely in Spanish. Local Hispanic church leaders hope the July gathering can serve as a catalyst to bring the members of Hispanic Churches of Christ in Nashville together into one community.

The Spanish-language classes will follow the same theme as the overall lecture series: “Bringing Stones to Life: Nehemiah’s Call for Courage, Passion and Revival.” The keynote speakers for the event will include Jose Gregorio Nieto, minister at Brewer Road Iglesia de Cristo (Church of Christ) in Winston Salem, N.C., and Carlos Preciado, a full-time missionary for the past three and a half years.

The daily programs are not just for adults. Fun children and teen activities such as devotionals, classes, games and service projects will keep the kids busy all day, and a professional fireworks display, live entertainment and plenty of family fun and food will end the annual festival of faith and fellowship.

July 4 activities start at 4:30 p.m. with a picnic and Kid’s Zone; a community worship begins at 6:30 p.m. and fireworks are expected to begin around 9 p.m.

Nieto’s Brewer Road Iglesia de Cristo is one of the fastest growing congregations in North Carolina. He is part of a team of preachers that travels throughout the U.S. and Latin America, strengthening congregations by presenting leadership seminars, gospel meetings, and in-depth Bible studies to prepare men and women to be better equipped to serve their local congregations.

Nieto has been a full-time minister for eleven years. He graduated from the Harding School of Biblical Studies and received a bachelor’s degree in Bible and Ministry. He has been involved in mission trips to establish new congregations in Spain and Mexico.

Preciado has been a full-time missionary for the past three and a half years. They have been working with the Griffin Road Church of Christ in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.. His focus is personal evangelism, and he frequently leads Bible studies with families, young adults and teenagers during the week.

He graduated from East Tennessee State University. In 2001 he and his wife Maribel enrolled in the Atlantic International Bible Institute, a branch of Sunset International Bible Institute, where they graduated in December 2004. During that time, the couple were serving their home church in Hialeah, Fla., working with the youth, and with a new Spanish ministry in Naples, Fla.

Labels: education, events, faith, spanish

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Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Hispanic graduates of Nashville high schools celebrate against the odds

Committee of Latino Parents highlights achievements of 200 students
Graduation rate the lowest among five racial and ethnic groups
"Not everyone wants you to succeed because you're Hispanic"
Lipscomb announces grants up to $22,000 for entering freshmen

The Tennessean reported here on last Saturday's graduation celebration for Hispanic students in an event hosted by the Comité de Padres Latinos (COPLA), [Committee of Latino Parents], a parents group focusing on communication with MNPS Latino parents. According to Metro Nashville Public Schools, more than 200 Hispanic students who graduated from high school this year were honored, along with their parents. The event was held at the Allen Arena of Lipscomb University, which announced at the event that it will offer grants of "up to $22,000 per student over a four-year period to Latino students who meet the university’s admissions criteria."

According to the Tennessean, "[d]uring the 2006-07 school year, 57.7 percent of eligible Hispanic students in Metro graduated high school, the lowest percentage among five racial and ethnic groups, including African-Americans and whites, district figures show. The school system's overall graduation rate last year was 70 percent."

Also, according to the Tennessean, "[i]n the last five years, the number of Hispanic students attending Metro schools nearly doubled, from 7.8 percent in 2003 to 13.3 percent last year."

The Tennessean quoted Overton grad Juan Camarena about his record after living in the U.S. for only three years:

"I consider it to be an achievement to be Hispanic and graduate with a 3.98 GPA. I moved here three years ago," he said.

"It was hard, coming here with a struggle of leaving your country and getting adapted to a new culture. This is the land of dreams. I came here to find my interpretation of the American Dream."

Also quoted was Thriane "Triana" Lopez of Glencliff:

"Sometimes you feel like it's hard to graduate because not everyone wants you to succeed because you're Hispanic. I see it all the time."

For more stories on statistics or education, click on the "Stories About" links in the left-hand column of this page.

From Metro Nashville Public Schools:

The community stakeholders working with COPLA for this year’s event included the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Lipscomb University, Harding Place Family YMCA-Hispanic Achievers, Conexión Américas, Prevent Child Abuse of Middle Tennessee, Spanish-TV, Tennessee Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and other community organizations.

Guest speakers were Mayor Karl Dean, attorney Gregg Ramos, Pastor Tommy Vallejos and others.

A reception was held following the ceremony, with food provided by members of the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and live entertainment by Son Latino and Maria Benham.

COPLA was organized two years ago to help build relationships with the parents of Hispanic students, who comprise more than 14% of the district’s student population. The organization meets monthly to share information and resources available to Spanish-speaking families, as well as develop ways to educate families on the important role of parental involvement in student success.

From Lipscomb University:

Lipscomb University will begin offering grants of up to $22,000 per student over a four-year period to Latino students who meet the university’s admissions criteria, Lipscomb President L. Randolph Lowry announced Saturday at the Comité de Padres Latinos (Committee of Latino Parents or COPLA) Hispanic Student Graduation Celebration held in Allen Arena.

“The Latino population in our region is growing daily and more than 26,000 Latino students are already enrolled in the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools alone. Access to the best higher education opportunities is vital to the success of the Latino community and our region, and Lipscomb is pleased to take the lead in providing that access,” Lowry said.

The Hispanic Achievers University Grants program is the second initiative Lipscomb has established this year to reach out to Latino students. In the spring the university established the Saint Thomas Health Services Nursing Advantage Scholarships for Hispanic nursing students.

More than 14 percent of Nashville’s public school students are Latino, and according to the Nashville Chamber of Commerce’s 2008 Workforce Study, 83 percent of new Hispanic residents arriving in Nashville between 2000 and 2006 were either prime working age adults (25-44) or children under age 14.

So the city has a large population of strong, motivated Latino students and potential students who one day will become valuable employees and leaders in the community. But a great many of these students do not make it to college due to their financial situation and cultural upbringing. A survey of local colleges listed on www.collegeboard.com found only one local college with a Hispanic student population above 3 percent.

“Lipscomb University has established the new Hispanic Achievers grants to let these students know they are welcome at Lipscomb and we want to help them achieve their dream of a college education,” Lowry said.

Admissions criteria for Lipscomb freshman are a grade point average of 2.5 or better, an ACT score of 21 or higher (or equivalent on the SAT) and strong educational and personal references.

“We have honor roll students and National Honor Society students in our program who sit in our office crying because they can’t go to college,” said Jessie Garcia Van De Griek, director of the Hispanic Achievers program at the Harding Place Family YMCA. Hispanic Achievers helps middle and high school students to develop leadership skills and prepares them for college through school clubs, tutoring and one-on-one assistance in applying for college.

“For Lipscomb to come in and tell these students ‘We are going to join arms with you and make this dream happen’ gives us such a rush of happiness because we can now give our students something tangible to inspire hope. We can tell them that this grant can help make a future education possible.”

According to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission 2007-08 Fact Book, the Latino student population in Tennessee’s public colleges has increased by 1,599 students (or 74.2 percent) from 1997 to 2007. But Latinos still make up a very small percentage, less than 7 percent, of the student population at public universities.

Van De Griek says her program has about 40 students this year who have applied to local colleges including Lipscomb University.

“COPLA understands education is the key for our young people to succeed,” said Ernestina Gonzalez, chair of COPLA, a parents group focusing on communication between the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools and Latino parents. “For this reason, we are extremely happy that prestigious universities such as Lipscomb support the talent of our Hispanic students. On behalf of the Hispanic community in Davidson County, COPLA is very grateful for this support.”

Low incomes and lack of knowledge about the college admissions process and available scholarships are the biggest obstacles to Latino students entering college, Van De Griek said. “We spend a lot of time researching scholarships across the country that our students are eligible for. Nationwide there is $30 million in scholarship funds designated for minority students, but much of it goes unclaimed because students don’t know it is available,” she said.

By announcing the new Hispanic Achievers grants at the COPLA event, Lipscomb hoped to boost awareness of this new opportunity among Nashville students and to change their mentality to a college-bound mindset, said Lipscomb’s Director of Admissions Ricky Holaway, who has worked with the YMCA’s Hispanic Achievers program to enroll students.

“This lack of awareness has been a major obstacle for many low-income families in the Latino population,” said Wendy Chavira, researcher and associate director of operations at the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, which compiles a directory of scholarships for Latino students. “Students need the drive to apply for each scholarship opportunity, because there's not one form to fill out. Each scholarship has its own application. But the effort is well worth it.”

For those interested in applying for the Hispanic Achievers University Grants, contact the Lipscomb University Admissions Office at 615.966.1000 or log on to www.golipscomb.com.

Hat Tip: Fabian Bedne

Photo by Charline. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: education, statistics

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Wednesday, May 28, 2008

NPT debuts original series about Nashville immigrants

"Challenged by isolation and barriers unknown to many Nashvillians"
Explores Nashville’s status as "destination city"
First installment, tonight: Little Kurdistan, USA

The Tennessean published this story about the new, original documentary from Nashville Public Television: Next Door Neighbors: Little Kurdistan, USA. Airing Wednesday at 8pm, it is the first in a series about immigrants in Nashville.

Just yesterday, NBC's Today Show identified Nashville as one of the "5 friendliest cities in America." Nashville's reputation for hospitality is often intertwined with the welcome the city extends to immigrants (see story here).

From the NPT press release:

Over the past thirty years, Kurdish immigrants in Nashville have started the first Kurdish Mosque in the United States and opened businesses, restaurants, markets and bakeries, building what is now the largest Kurdish population in North America. On Wednesday, May 28 at 8:00 p.m., Nashville Public Television (NPT) introduces the city to this thriving community with the premiere of NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS: LITTLE KURDISTAN, USA, the first in a new series of documentary programs under the NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS banner.

“As refugees, Kurds have overcome significant barriers to survive and flourish in Nashville,” says Will Pedigo, the program’s writer, producer and director. "They arrive as outsiders; estranged from their homeland and strangers in their new home. With this documentary, and the future installments in the Next Door Neighbors series, we hope to encourage Nashville to make strides towards a greater awareness of its diversity and provide an avenue for interaction among all our neighbors.”

The first significant wave of Kurds arrived in Nashville in 1976. They have since established a vibrant community recognized by Kurds nationally for its strong cultural and traditional heritage. The half-hour NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS: LITTLE KURDISTAN, USA examines how these Kurds have adapted to life in Nashville and provides insight into the struggles refugees face as they build new lives in a new home. The documentary explores what it means to be Kurdish, and reflects on the journey Kurds make as they become Kurdish-Americans trying to assimilate into American culture and still hold on to their traditions. In addition to meeting a variety of Kurdish immigrants and Kurdish-Americans, viewers will also visit Azadi International Foods for fresh-baked Kurdish bread, go inside the Salahadeen Center, the first Kurdish Mosque in the United States, and hear about life in Nashville from younger generations of Kurds.

The NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS series looks at Nashville’s status as a new destination city for refugees and immigrants, and explores the rich diversity of people now calling Nashville home. Across the United States, mid-sized cities like Nashville are experiencing unprecedented growth in their international populations. Together these communities are redefining the traditional international city on a smaller local scale.

“As our new neighbors rebuild their lives in Nashville,” says Pedigo, “their experiences, contributions and conflicts impact the city. They are also challenged by isolation and barriers unknown to many Nashvillians. How Nashville addresses its changing demographic will be important for the future of similar communities across the country.”

The NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS series will include in-depth web content at wnpt.net, public forums and feature a panel discussion after each of the four programs.

NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS: LITTLE KURDISTAN, USA is made possible through a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s My Source initiative and is supported by The HCA Foundation on behalf of HCA and the TriStar Family of Hospitals. A partnership with the Vanderbilt University Center for Nashville Studies provided valuable research and community outreach.

Labels: education, immigrants

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Friday, May 23, 2008

Luna Negra modern dance on 2008-2009 TPAC Education agenda

TPAC Education announced its 2008-2009 Season for Young People, featuring "a culturally diverse mix of music, theatre, comedy and dance for young people."

According to the press release, "Highlights of the upcoming annual season of TPAC Education’s “Humanities Outreach in Tennessee” (HOT) include the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Nashville Opera’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, two native North American works, Latino modern dance, and theatre from the United States, Canada, England, Italy and Scotland. During its 27th year, TPAC Education’s curriculum-based programs will serve up to 40,000 students from pre-school through high school, providing teachers with comprehensive resources."

“This year’s season is more diverse than any we’ve ever presented—a full spectrum of literature, history, art, and culture from around the world,” said Sherri Leathers, TPAC Education’s Director of Programming.

Luna Negra Dance Theater will perform October 29-31 and is described as a Chicago-based company dedicated to Latino choreography, featuring Hispanic artists and music.

TPAC Education supplies guidebooks for each production with lesson plan suggestions and study materials for use before and after the performance, identifying “learning links” to curriculum requirements, including history, literature, language arts, science and social studies. Post-performance discussions and in-school visits also may be scheduled.

Financial assistance is available to subsidize ticket and travel costs for eligible students and school systems.

For reservations or more information, visit www.tpac.org/education or call 615-687-4288.

Labels: arts, education, events

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Wednesday, May 14, 2008

MNPS Principal Del Rio receives Statewide recognition

Contribution by Cesar A. Muedas

The Tennessean reports today on the award and ceremony as reproduced below.

Three Nashville-area public school principals were among 18 in Tennessee whom an education-focused organization recognized this week for excellence.
In a ceremony Monday at the state Capitol, the Education Consumers Foundation honored principals whom it called "the best of the best" in advancing students academically. Among them are:
• Mary Lou Del Rio of Paragon Mills Elementary in Metro Nashville.
• Brian Bass of Fairview Middle School in Williamson County.
• Johnny Chandler of Dickson Middle School in Dickson County.
The winners were selected from the more than 1,300 public elementary and middle schools statewide, based on year-to-year gains in reading and math. Schools whose students make the greatest annual achievement gains earn the highest value-added scores.

Mrs. Mary Lou Del Rio, an educator with more than 30 years of experience, is the wife of Mr. Luis del Rio, a retired coach, bilingual interpreter, and a prominent Cuban-American in the advisory board of COPLA (Comite de Padres Latinos, the council of Hispanic parents with children in Metro schools).

Labels: awards, cuba, education, english, spanish

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Monday, May 05, 2008

Year of service in Nicaragua, Ecuador awaits two Vandy grads

Manna Project International is humanitarian organization formed by Vanderbilt students
"It’s about me saying, ‘Let me enter into this with you.’"

From the Vanderbilt News Service:

La Chureca, the city dump on the outskirts of Managua, Nicaragua, could be the setting for a dreary, futuristic movie. A city of scavengers, many of them orphans, they live in the filthy heaps of refuse at this municipal garbage dump. Clothed in rags, they rummage for food, scrounging out a meager existence by selling the small trinkets or recyclables they find, or sometimes selling their own bodies to survive.

A graduating senior at Vanderbilt, Emily Lineberger, plans to dedicate a year following graduation this May to helping these otherwise hopeless orphans through Manna Project International, a humanitarian organization formed by Vanderbilt students to bring hope to some of the poorest communities in the Western Hemisphere.

Senior Duncan Fulton, a Spanish and European studies major, also has signed on with Manna. After graduation he’ll spend a year in Quito as a program director for Manna’s newest site in Ecuador. A Dallas native, who studied for a year in Madrid and visited Nicaragua on a spring break trip, has deferred entrance into Tulane University Law School until after his year in Quito. He hopes to create educational and legal aid programs there.

Seniors Holly Ward and Tressa Hoektra have signed on to go to Ecuador and Nicaragua, respectively.

Formed in 2004, Manna is run and staffed predominantly by Vanderbilt students and alumni. The organization is best known for its year-long immersion experience in Managua, and more recently, Quito, but also offers a spring break trip and a summer program.

Lineberger, a human and organizational development major from Winston-Salem, N.C., counts herself among the many in her class who have not lacked for “the creature comforts in life.” While she could have taken the summer off to prepare for graduate school, law school or the corporate world, instead she plans to shed “the Vanderbilt bubble” to serve as a program director for Manna’s Managua site for 13 months.

“I want to stay for a year so that I’m not just another American stepping in to ‘fix’ things and then leave,” Lineberger said. “It’s about me saying, ‘Let me enter into this with you.’ It’s about shedding my vanity, being stripped of materialism and getting outside this beautiful, sheltered place called Vanderbilt.”

During her sophomore year at Vanderbilt, Lineberger heard about Manna from a friend and decided to sign up for a spring break trip to Nicaragua. Her week there included working with children at a pre-school, repairing a playground facility and helping teach English and nutrition classes.

Lineberger thought she was prepared for the country’s living conditions, but found herself overwhelmed when she arrived at La Chureca. An estimated 1,500 people call the city dump home – more than half of them under the age of 18 – and are plagued by malnutrition, disease and heartbreak.

“It was animalistic; I have never seen anything like it,” she said. “It was shocking to hear personal accounts from the children, who sniffed glue because they were so hungry – it was their only escape. And to hear girls saying that their fathers sent them out to prostitute themselves to the garbage collectors in order to get the best scraps – you can’t describe it.”

Lineberger said that week in Nicaragua was less about making a difference in the Nicaraguans’ lives than being changed herself.

“You can’t make much of a difference in a few days. It’s just not possible,” she said. “But once you’ve seen what goes on there, you are forever changed. Once you have seen it, you can’t go back home and forget about it. You have to do something.”

Lineberger will live in a rented house in Managua with other college graduates, many of them from Vanderbilt. Like her fellow volunteers, she has raised $7,000 to pay for her food, housing and program fees for the year. During that time she will set up community outreach programs based on her interest in health education.

“I like the idea of counseling, emotional stability and health,” she said. “I want to work with kids and families and show them how to have a sense of pride in having a healthy body.”

Fulton agrees that the students won’t be able to change the world but they will do what they can.

“I can’t change the legal system,” Fulton said. “But I want to try setting up some programs that will help people. In the end, I think the experience will affect how and in what areas I choose to practice law.”

One of Manna’s founders, Lori Scharffenberg, has been in Nicaragua since the program’s inception. She and others designed the organization to provide a tangible way for students and recent graduates to make a long-term investment in community service. They also wanted students to be able to serve in areas that they enjoyed and were passionate about. That formula seems to be working.

“We believe that by bringing the community together, each with our individual passions, we can serve another community with a holistic approach,” Scharffenberg said.

The organization currently has three staff members and 13 volunteers, and more than 400 individuals have participated in the program since its creation. In addition, approximately 65 Vanderbilt students have traveled under Manna’s banner to other international sites hosted by partner organizations for spring break trips, including Peru, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Mexico and El Salvador.

While traveling abroad presents concerns for personal health, safety and maybe even homesickness, Lineberger is more anxious about how she’ll be changed emotionally by the experience.

“The biggest challenge right now is the idea that I am about to have my whole worldview rocked,” she said. “It’s different than a short-term trip. When you live somewhere for a year, it becomes your community and you are forced to see the issues right in front of you. You can’t hide. It’s going to be scary, but it’s also going to be life-changing.”

Labels: ecuador, education, nicaragua

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Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Car seat education for Hispanic Catholics, from police and St. Edwards

Tennessee was first state with seat belt law in 1978
72% of U.S. parents do not use car seats correctly

The Tennessean reports here that the Metro Nashville Police Department and St. Edwards Catholic Church are teaming up to provide car seat education to Hispanic members of the St. Edwards and Our Lady of Guadalupe congregations.

According to this article in the Murfreesboro Post, before 1978 there were no U.S. state laws requiring seat belt use, and Tennessee was the first state to pass one:

More than 30 years ago, Dr. Robert Sanders of Murfreesboro became a passionate advocate for child safety and led the effort to protect children while riding in automobiles. Senator Douglas Henry, the late Representative John Bragg and former Representative Mike Murphy sponsored legislation to make Tennessee the first state to require the use of safety seats for child passengers. The law became effective on January 1, 1978.

The Murfreesboro Post article also states that, nationwide, "72% of parents are not using car seats correctly."

Photo by Liam Ryan. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: education, faith, statistics

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Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Latino parents group honors former Metro Schools Director Pedro Garcia

COPLA (Committee of Latino Parents) sent out this recap of its event honoring former Metro Schools Director Pedro Garcia:

COPLA hosted a 'Celebration Night' to honor former Director of Metro Nashville Public Schools Dr. Pedro García.

COPLA Chair Ernestina González, Co-Chair Adelina Winston and support members Luis Del Rio, Gini Pupo-Walker, and Rubén De Peña sent out an invitation to community friends and former colleagues who gathered to celebrate Dr. Pedro García's contributions during his tenure as Metro Schools' Superintendent, including his vision for establishing COPLA.

In attendance: Eva Melo and husband Andrew (LatinMarketing Communications) Josias Arteaga (YMCA Hispanic Achievers) and wife, Fabian Bedne, Alfonso Nieto (Latino News) and wife, Eliud Treviño and Aida Hughes (El Crucero Newspaper), COPLA Chair Ernestina González, COPLA support members: Luis Del Rio and wife, Gini Pupo-Walker, Rubén De Peña and wife Dana; Pedro Quiterio (Engineer with Nissan North America), Sheyla Hicks (Spanish TV), Victor Rojas (Rojas Media Productions) José Quezada among many others including members of the school distric, members of COPLA and friends.

Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce* member Raul López, Vice-Chair Luis Bustillos, Treasurer Loraine Segovia and President Yuri Cunza were also present in support of COPLA's 'Celebration Night'.

For more information about COPLA call 615- 831-2967 or send an e-mail to: coplaboard@gmail.com

how many Hispanic chambers are there in Nashville?

Labels: education, events

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Thursday, March 13, 2008

Vanderbilt Hillel students serve in Uruguay

"My concept of poverty changed"

InsideVandy has this recap of a student's experience in Uruguay as a part of Vanderbilt Hillel's Alternative Spring Break, which immerses students in service. According to its web site, Vanderbilt Hillel is "the center of Jewish life at Vanderbilt, serving the religious, social, and educational needs of the undergraduate and graduate Jewish student communities."

Hillel has spent previous Spring Breaks in other Latin American countries, including Mexico (recap here and picture here), Cuba, and Argentina (video recap here).

Excerpts from the Uruguay recap:

We went to connect with the large Jewish population in Montevideo but also to somehow accomplish the arduous task of building four houses for four impoverished families before we left the country.
...
My concept of poverty changed. The impoverished individuals I saw had family, community, love and hope. Families worked alongside one another and laughed.

Excerpts from the Mexico recap:

That is to say, what part, if any, of Judaism provides the impetus to want to help others? Students read a number of Jewish readings during the course of the week that dealt with such concepts as the significance that every human being is created in the image of G-d, the impact of globalization on the world community and the importance of action accompanying thought.
...
To be a good person, it is important to give as much as you can and then give some more.

Labels: argentina, cuba, education, mexico, uruguay

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Friday, March 07, 2008

Deadline today for Vanderbilt media fellowship on immigration

Journalists to interact with professors, service providers and Nashville’s immigrant communities

Today is the deadline for applying for Vanderbilt University's media fellowship - a seminar for journalists - on immigration. The event is called “Immigration: Nation’s Bedrock or Burden,” and is scheduled April 1-4. The deadline for registration is today.

Vanderbilt University encourages active journalists to apply to attend its 2008 media fellowship, “Immigration: Nation’s Bedrock or Burden,” April 1-4, 2008, in Nashville, Tenn.

The application deadline is March 7. Apply now.

Through interactions with professors and Nashville’s immigrant communities, journalists will have the opportunity to learn more about the complexities of new migration patterns that are leading many foreign-born people to cities like Nashville in the nation’s interior.

While border cities have been at the forefront of immigration issues, interior cities are now dealing with immigration’s implications for social services, health care, employment and the prospects for unionization. Nashville is emblematic of this change.

In a city known for being the buckle of the Bible belt and its country music roots – you can travel just a few miles from downtown’s Country Music Hall of Fame to find the sounds and flavors of Latin America, Ethiopia, Somalia and Kurdistan. Nashville is home to the largest Kurdish community in the United States and was one of only five cities in the country where Iraqi expatriates could cast their ballots in the 2005 Iraqi elections.

From 1990 to 2005, Tennessee experienced the fourth fastest rate of immigrant growth of any state in the country. Nashville experienced a three-fold increase in foreign-born residents – from 12,662 to 39,596 – according to the last U.S. Census Report.

The fellowship is available to a limited number of print, broadcast and experienced freelance journalists. Vanderbilt will cover the costs of lodging and some meals. The participant's employer is responsible for travel expenses and salary during the fellowship.

Labels: education, events, immigrants

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Thursday, March 06, 2008

High school achievement of visaless students unimpeded by government's blockade of benefits of diploma

But college, jobs out of reach of star pupils
Ten local students lobby Senators Alexander and Corker to support DREAM Act
"We don't want to make it worse by raising hopes and then dashing dreams"

Middle Tennessee high school students whose problematic immigration status was determined before they became adults, and in some cases without their knowledge, are still succeeding and graduating with great promise, despite the fact that the government currently has a blockade against them, preventing them from using the benefits of a high school education in the United States. Such students cannot often obtain in-state college tuition even they would otherwise satisfy residency requirements, they cannot work legally before or after graduation, and there is a current proposal in Tennessee to keep them out of college altogether even if they paid on their own dime.

The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition organized a trip for ten local students to Washington, D.C., to lobby Tennessee Senators Alexander and Corker to vote in favor of the DREAM Act, which would reward high-performing high school students and renew practical incentives for success. Alexander and Corker have voted against the DREAM Act in the past.

From the story in the Tennessean:

Moya, 17, may be unable to attend college, though she has a 3.4 grade point average, received unsolicited recruiting packages from Princeton University, and speaks and writes in English and Spanish. Her parents brought her from Mexico to the U.S. at age 8 and enrolled her in Metro Nashville schools. The parents overstayed their visas, making the family illegal.

Two proposed laws — one federal, one state — would deal with Moya's situation in far different manners. The federal Dream Act would let her and students like her enter public colleges and universities and would even hold out a possibility of in-state tuition.

Tennessee's plan would bar state schools from admitting her and others who cannot prove they're in the country legally. Proponents say House and Senate bills would open up spaces for other students.
...
The Dream Act, which enjoyed bipartisan support, is stalled in the U.S. Senate after a fall filibuster. Tennessee Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, both Republicans, voted against the bill.

Moya and nine other students from across the state climbed into SUVs in Nashville on Wednesday morning to drive to Washington, meet with both lawmakers and try to jump-start it. The Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition organized the trip.
...
The situation deals a psychological blow to some students, said Jessie Van de Griek, director of the YMCA of Middle Tennessee's Hispanic Achievers' Program. The program opened seven years ago to help Hispanic students — those here legally and those who are not — navigate the college application process and develop leadership skills.

Last year, Hispanic Achievers' began referring students and their parents to immigration attorneys. Some are exploring their options, but none have been able to obtain citizenship or student visas in their home countries. Citizenship is a process that often takes more than a decade.

"It's a key issue," Van de Griek said. "If we are raising the hopes of students who are undocumented and they don't have any way to achieve, we don't want to make it worse by raising hopes and then dashing dreams."

The Tennessee proposal to blockade high performers from college altogether echoes of the doomsday clock and the misery strategy.

Students in similar situations outside Tennessee write the blogs I Am a Shadow and Dreams Unlimited, LLC. Various visaless students in California made their case to break the blockade in this video:

Photo by Margo C. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: education, immigrants, justice

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Monday, March 03, 2008

"The Bible and Immigration" breakfast at Vanderbilt March 13

Vanderbilt University issued this press release:

A Vanderbilt Divinity School professor will discuss what the Hebrew Bible has to say about immigration issues at a community breakfast on Thursday, March 13.

Alice Hunt, associate dean for academic affairs and assistant professor of Hebrew Bible at the divinity school, will speak on “Strangers, Aliens, Residents and Walls: The Bible and Immigration.”

The breakfast, from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. in the refectory of Vanderbilt Divinity School, is open to the public but advance reservations are required to attend. Cost for breakfast is $10.

To register, call 615-936-8453 or go to www.vanderbilt.edu/divinity/breakfasts.html and register online.

Vanderbilt Divinity School stages several community breakfasts each semester to offer fellowship and insights on topics of interest.

Various studies of the intersection of immigration and the Bible are available on the Internet. Just search for the Bible and immigration on Google.

"God's love" photo by Michael Dorn. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: education, events, faith, immigrants

"hang [expletive] high"
2004: "We have drawn lines between 'our children' and 'their children'"

Williamson County's Poplar Grove Middle School, described in 2004 as the least diverse school in its district, is now the subject of community concern because of racist graffiti on a bathroom wall, according to this WSMV story. Before it was removed by school officials (some say too slowly), the graffiti depicted a noose next to these words:

hang [expletive] high

According to SchoolDigger.com, in 2006 Poplar Grove had 328 caucasian, 36 African-American, 21 Hispanic, 8 Asian, and 2 American Indian students.

From February 2004:

"Poplar Grove's diversity task force hit the ground running last week in an attempt to get minority families to apply to the open-zoned, year-round school beginning today."

"The Franklin Special School District Board of Education decided earlier this month not to zone the K-8 school as it rezoned the rest of its elementary schools to even out the percentage of students from minority and low-income backgrounds. The board also required that Poplar Grove recruit at least 50 minority students in the next two years to its kindergarten class or face possible zoning. That meant that the task force needed to work fast because today is the first day the school is accepting applications for next fall. The deadline for applications is March 5."

From March 2004:

"In recent weeks, it has become evident to us as a community that lines are drawn here too. There are lines between rich and poor and still others between white, black and Hispanic. We have drawn lines between 'our children' and 'their children.' At times, such as when the Franklin Special School District board expressed its commitment to equality, it seemed we would reach for the higher plane. Then at other times, the cry of 'my child' reached such deafening proportions we could no longer hear the cry of the child down the street, or the child across town."

"Moments of bitter disappointment followed those of shining hope. In the end, not much changed. Although a few neighborhoods have been rezoned, Liberty Elementary will begin next year with most of the overwhelming challenges they faced in this one. Poplar Grove remains untouched except for the monumental challenge to diversify in the next two years."

"While some parents breathed a sigh of relief, others breathed a sigh of discouragement. Perhaps the most marked difference is that now some of us realize with new awareness, and possibly for the first time, just how divided we are. As we gaze into that ugly reality, we wonder how we can possibly mend the divide."

From March 2004:

"Poplar Grove is the [Franklin Special School District]'s only open-zoned, year-round school. It is also the least diverse school in the system. Last month the board voted to rezone its other four elementary schools in an effort to spread out the diversity but left Poplar Grove open-zoned under the stipulation that it enroll at least 50 minority students in the kindergarten class over the next two years."

"If the school cannot attract that many minority students, board members have said they will zone it."

"Once [Principal Christi] Buell knows how many of her existing students are returning next year and how many of their siblings will enroll in kindergarten, she will begin admitting new students. The top consideration for admission after siblings is minority status."

From July 2004:

"The incoming kindergarten class at Poplar Grove - which registered for classes Friday - will be the most diverse in the history of the Franklin Special School District's only year-round school."

"This year, the kindergarten class has 28% minorities, said Principal Christi Buell. That is out of a class of 100 students. Eleven percent of those students are African American, 11% are Hispanic, 3% are Asian, 3% classify themselves as other types of minorities and 72% are white."

"Last year, instead of drawing up an attendance zone for the for-choice school to get it more in line with the rest of the district's minority numbers, the school board decided to give the school two years to recruit at least 25 minority students to kindergarten. This year's numbers show that goal has been reached ahead of the deadline."

Graffiti in gas station restroom on I-65

"Ignore this text" photo by Johnny Vulkan. Licensed under Creative Commons.

"What is an American" photo by John Lamb.

Labels: education, negativity, statistics

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Friday, February 22, 2008

Two groups of city employees learn Spanish, but Hendersonville offers $5,000 bonus

Murfreesboro to give all PD employees "survival Spanish" by end of year

The Tennessean reported here about a program for Hendersonville employees that "gives them the chance to earn $2,500 if they get credentialed as Spanish court interpreters and an additional $2,500 if they stay with the city for two years."

The article also said that half of Murfreesboro's 271-employee police department was trained in "survival Spanish" last year, and "the rest are expected to train this year." There is no mention of any financial compensation for the Murfreesboro employees.

Photo by TW Collins. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: education, justice, spanish

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Friday, February 15, 2008

Bilingual, bicultural facilitators needed for "STARS" Hispanic family outreach

Bilingual facilitators are needed for a Hispanic educational program to be conducted by Students Taking a Right Stand (STARS). According to Vanderbilt grad student and STARS intern Jacqueline DeSelms-Wolfe, STARS plans to expand its Strengthening Families Program (SFP) to the Hispanic population in Nashville, and bilingual and bicultural facilitators are needed.

SFP is an evidence- and video-based curriculum that has been shown to reduce adolescent at-risk behavior and to increase family cohesion. The 7- to 10-week series deals with family issues that may arise in relationship to discipline, drug and alcohol use, peer pressure, and related issues. To conduct the Hispanic outreach, STARS is looking for 3 to 5 bilingual facilitators who would be willing to work with the families one evening a week at Cameron Middle School and administer the Spanish-language curriculum materials.

The families who will be participating will have at least one middle-school aged child that attends Cameron. Outside of the one evening a week, STARS would like for the facilitators to call and contact the families to encourage them to return to the program. A more detailed job description will be made available for those who request it.

Any prospective facilitators should contact Jacqueline DeSelms-Wolfe at (615) 969-7966 or jacqueline.m.deselms-wolfe@vanderbilt.edu . DeSelms-Wolfe says that STARS would like to start the program within 2-3 weeks.

Labels: education, spanish

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Monday, February 04, 2008

Nashville has 25% of all new-to-English students in Tennessee public schools

Same number as June 2006
English learners are 2.1% of public school students statewide
Language acquisition in Metro is twice as fast as in other districts

This article in the Tennessean reports that "a quarter of the entire state's non-English-speaking students are in Metro," which is the same number reported here by the Nashville City Paper in 2006. The latest figures reported on the Hispanic Nashville Notebook are that 2.1% of Tennesssee public school students are new to English. Hispanic students, not all of whom are immigrants or English-learners, make up 3.2% of the student body state-wide.

Middle Tennessee has had great success with its transitional English classes for students, with a graduation rate to mainstream classes that is double what is found in other school districts, according to this 2006 report in the Hispanic Nashville Notebook.

Photo by Judy Baxter. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: education, english, statistics

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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Hispanic Family Night at Vol State February 19

Information about ESOL classes, Vol State degrees and programs, local community groups
Refreshments, movies, entertainment for children

From Volunteer State Community College:

Hispanic Family Night at Vol State puts the spotlight on education

Education is a lifelong pursuit that can benefit everyone in the family. Volunteer State Community College is holding an evening especially designed for Hispanic families. The Hispanic Family Education Night will help answer questions about everything from college degree programs to English classes. It will be held on Tuesday, February 19 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on the Vol State campus in Gallatin.

“There are high school students who are ready for college, and perhaps adults who want to go back to school or improve their English skills,” said Eric Melcher, Communications Coordinator at Vol State. “We’ll have several of the college offices on hand, including Admissions and Advising. We’ll have bilingual staff available for advising and translating in Spanish.”

“We’re seeing a growing need for information about the college in Spanish and English,” said Volunteer State Advisor-Counselor Terry Bubb. “We know that many Hispanic families have members who have different English skill levels. This event will have something for everyone. We’ll have information about our ESOL classes, for people who want to improve their English skills, and also information about our degrees and programs for those whose English is already at the college level.”

ESOL stands for English for Speakers of Other Languages. The classes provide a stepping stone for Spanish speaking people to build their skills in conversation, writing and reading.

Families will be able to see the support services Volunteer State has for students, including the award-winning NewSkills Center, which provides help with developmental needs in areas, such as math, reading and writing. The Language Center, with resources for people who speak foreign languages, will be part of the campus tour. The TRIO Student Support Services program will also be represented. It provides a wide array of help for first-generation college students, those with low family incomes, or those with certain disabilities.

The Sumner Hispanic Alliance will have information about events and opportunities for the Hispanic community. Local community groups, who provide educational support in a number of different areas, will also be on hand at the event.

“It’s not just for people who want to go to Vol State,” said Melcher. “We’re trying to provide resources to help families get more information about higher education. It can get complicated and it helps to talk to someone, one-on-one and in a relaxed atmosphere.”

Refreshments will be served and there will be movies and fun to keep the kids entertained, so parents can have time to ask questions. Everyone is invited to attend. The Hispanic Family Education Night will run from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. and people can stop by whenever it’s convenient. It will be held on Tuesday, February 19 at the Thigpen Library on the Vol State campus at 1480 Nashville Pike in Gallatin. For more information call 615-230-3570 or in Spanish 615-230-4846.

Photo: Vol State instructors (left to right) Ruth McKinzie, Karen Hutson and Cindy Chanin answer questions at the 2007 Vol State Hispanic Family Night. Source: Volunteer State Community College. Used with permission.

Labels: education, english, events, spanish

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Friday, January 25, 2008

Hispanic truancy at 11% after Springfield raids

Public schools educate all students regardless of visa or citizenship status
"We're still accountable for their test scores"
U.S. citizen children among the "vanished"
Students described as scared and distrustful
Unfinished gingerbread house

Update July 2008: Most of the students returned (story here).

Enforcement of immigration law is encouraging citizen and immigrant absences from school, according to this article in the Tennessean. The resulting truancy problem among Hispanic children - regardless of visa or citizenship status - who may have remained in the area and may to return to school at a later date, has been identified by officials in Springfield, Robertson County.

The article quotes Joyce McAllister, a Spanish interpreter at Cheatham Park Elementary, who decribes her Hispanic students as "scared" and "distrustful." She also recounts the story of a child whisked away by her parents while she was building a gingerbread house. Excerpts from the article:

Nearly 11 percent of its Hispanic students have vanished since December, and school officials worry that if they don't return soon, they will be too far behind to succeed on upcoming achievement tests. The 10,500-student district is in under state watch for failing to educate pockets of children, including non-English speakers.

Of the district's 768 Hispanic students, about 60 have formally withdrawn since before winter break, and administrators can't account for an additional 25 to 30, school officials said.

"Thus far, I'm not aware of anyone who has left and re-enrolled," said Danny Weeks, assistant director of Robertson County schools. "We are very concerned about what would happen if these students were to stay away and, assuming they didn't have any education, come back. We're still accountable for their test scores."

Public schools are required by a U.S Supreme Court decision to educate all students regardless of their immigration status, and they don't report that status to law enforcement.

Springfield pastor Guadalupe Ramirez, who leads La Iglesia del Fuente de Redencion congregation (The Fountain of Redemption Church), said many of the children who moved are U.S. citizens because they were born here. He doesn't think they will be back anytime soon.

"If the parents have no work, they have no reason to stay," he said. "If they take these kids back to Mexico, they're going to grow up there, and when they're the right age to come back, they'll miss their whole education that America provides to all kids."

Maury County experienced a similar crackdown on illegal immigration last year that led to at least two dozen arrests, but school officials there say they haven't seen a dramatic drop among Hispanic students.

Classroom photo by Melinda Taber. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: education, immigrants, statistics

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Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Moises Caballero promotes integration through Sumner Hispanic Alliance

Moises Caballero and the Sumner Hispanic Alliance are featured in this article in the Tennessean about the work of locals who plan to "make a difference" in 2008. The Sumner Hispanic Alliance was created last fall (story here) to focus businesses, educators, and government on the Hispanic residents of Sumner County.

From the Tennessean story:

Moisés Caballero took on the reins of the relatively new Sumner Hispanic Alliance as its chairman this past fall, and he'll be spending 2008 building metaphorical bridges.

The growing Hispanic population and existing Sumner County community benefit if they learn from each other, said Caballero, 42 and assistant vice president at Regions Bank in Gallatin.

Caballero will visit Hispanic businesses to raise awareness of and involvement in the alliance, which is sponsored by Volunteer State Community College, and he'll encourage school and government officials to meet with the Hispanic community.

"It's a community that's here to stay," he said. "It's to our benefit as a larger community . . . to have those folks integrated, to be educated in our educational system, our business system, governmental system. You prevent problems down the road if people understand and work within the system and grow within the system."

Other difference-makers featured in the article are Judith Biondo Meeker, who uses quilts to teach children compassion for people in other countries, and Win Myint, who wants to use the Nashville Buddhist Meditation Center to offer Christian immigrants and refugees "a place where they feel at home."

Labels: business, education, faith, immigrants

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Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Miss Ecuador Andrea Jacome working towards Vanderbilt MBA in 2008

Leadership in Global Business Association, Latin Business Association
Interned at Dollar General
"I already have a life here"

Andrea Jacome, MBA '08 candidate at Vanderbilt's Owen School of Business and former Miss Ecuador, describes her transition to U.S. study in the Fall 2007 issue of Vanderbilt Business (on pages 16-17 and page 62). Since coming to Owen, Jacome has been a member of the Latin Business Association, was elected a student government representative and also executive president of the Global Business Association, interned in the Strategic Operations Department of Dollar General, and partnered with Kalamata's to open a student-run café.

Some excerpts of the Vanderbilt Business article:

I came to Owen ready for a new chapter in my life. I knew it was going to be challenging, given the cultural and language differences. Just reading cases and developing write-ups in a language that was not my first took hours.

After the first three months I started to feel better. I was elected a first-year students’ representative for the Owen Student Government Association; I invited some peers to participate in the Innovation Challenge and we did very well; as a member of the Latin Business Association, I took the initiative in bringing Latin guest speakers to school, including Eduardo Castro-Wright, CEO of WalMart U.S. Stores; and right now I am helping the CMC Pillar of the Owen Student Government on the design of a special program for international students.

I focused my efforts on finding a summer internship program where I could gain experience, one that would allow me to stay in Nashville after graduation. By the end of Mod III, I accepted a job offer from Dollar General, turning down a couple others. I think I have found what I wanted, where I wanted it.

When I returned from Ecuador to Nashville after December’s break, I had a weird feeling. Somehow I felt that I was coming back home. I already have a life here, filled with school activities and the time I share with my fiance. Still, during the first three Mods, I flew back to Ecuador five times. And when I wake up in the morning here in Nashville, before picking up the Wall Street Journal I read the Ecuadorian newspapers on the Web.

Photo by Daniel Dubois for Vanderbilt Business. Used with permission.

Labels: business, ecuador, education, immigrants

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Tuesday, January 08, 2008

USN says goodbye to Guatemalan exchange students

Guatemalan exchange students Cynthia Fuentes and Pili Ceballos have finished their semester at the University School of Nashville. From the USN News Archive:

Cynthia and Pili quickly became a part of the class, collaborating with the teacher to help students feel more comfortable using their Spanish. They worked with students one-on-one during class time, and they added their knowledge of the Spanish language and the Latin American culture to the class discussions. When students learn a language, sometimes they have a hard time making the connection between learning a language and actually using it. With Cynthia and Pili as part of their class, the students were able to see this connection immediately.

On Friday, November 30, both of the girls gave presentations on Guatemala to the three sections of Spanish IV. The students learned in Spanish about the country's fauna, flora, geographical regions, typical clothing, food and traditions. After their presentation, Pili and Cynthia taught the students a typical dance and shared a dish. The Spanish students wish the girls the best of luck as they prepare to go back home. They will be missed! Buena suerte y ojala nos encontremos de nuevo!

Photo of Halyconia plant in the highlands of Guatemala by Ana María. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: education, guatemala

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Wednesday, December 19, 2007

"Next Door Neighbors" documentary series to highlight Nashville's immigrants and refugees

Joint production of Vanderbilt Center for Nashville Studies, Nashville Public Television
Funded by HCA Foundation, Nissan Foundation, Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Nashville Public Television President and CEO announced in the Tennessean (here) a new partnership with Vanderbilt University to produce the "Next Door Neighbors" documentary series about the immigrant and refugee populations of Nashville:

Over the next several years, NPT will produce a series of documentaries exploring the immigrant and refugee communities that call Nashville home. Reaching diverse groups such as the Kurds and Somalis in Middle Tennessee could be a daunting prospect for NPT on its own, but through the extensive research and outreach already conducted by The Vanderbilt Center for Nashville Studies and its director, Dan Cornfield, preproduction is under way. Cornfield, a former member of our advisory board, will provide an invaluable introduction to, and perspective on, the challenges these communities face as they assimilate into our city.

With Vanderbilt's expertise and NPT's meticulous attention to quality, we'll present Nashville with documentaries that educate and inspire. Off the screen, our "Next Door Neighbors" series will provide a rich basis for community discussion.

Local corporate powerhouses HCA Foundation and Nissan Foundation will provide funding, according to this Vanderbilt press release:

NPT will produce, through grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the HCA Foundation, and the Nissan Foundation, a three-four year documentary series examining Nashville’s booming foreign-born population. Vanderbilt's Center for Nashville Studies will provide research assistance reaching immigrant and refugee groups, including Hispanics, Kurds and Somalis, and resources to better understand the issues they face in Nashville. This will be spearheaded by sociology professor Dan Cornfield, director of the Vanderbilt Center for Nashville Studies and a former member of NPT’s Community Advisory Board, who has conducted extensive research on foreign-born populations in Nashville.

Labels: business, education, immigrants

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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Charlotte Park Elementary is 25% Hispanic

From The Tennessean:

Charlotte Park Elementary — 11 percent Asian, 41 percent African-American, 25 percent Hispanic, 1 percent Native American and 22 percent white

Photo by Claude Covo-Farchi. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: education, statistics

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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Pedro Garcia, Nashville's Spanish-speaking director of public schools, may be looking at San Diego job

The Tennessean reports here that Metro Public Schools director Pedro Garcia may be under consideration for the top job at the San Diego Unified School District. His Spanish-speaking skills are considered to be a plus for the job.

From the Tennessean:

A source who has spoken to Garcia on the subject confirmed Tuesday he was in the running to become the next school superintendent of the 133,000-student San Diego Unified School District. Garcia has refused to comment, offering only, "I intend to be here until June 30, 2010."
...
Garcia ... has the power to walk away with 120 days' written notice.

School board members in San Diego aren't confirming that Garcia, who taught in San Diego in the 1970s, is a finalist for the job....

The most officials will say is that they're looking for a new superintendent, and, according to the district's Web site, someone who can speak Spanish and is a risk taker is a plus. Garcia meets both criteria.

Labels: education, english, spanish

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Monday, December 10, 2007

Conexion Americas' Celebration of Achievements December 10 at Vanderbilt

Hispanic Middle Tennesseans recognized for home ownership, business development and bilingual skills

From Vanderbilt News Service:

Programs promoting home ownership, business development and bilingual skills within the Middle Tennessee Hispanic community will be recognized Dec. 10 during Conexión Américas’ “Celebration of Achievements” at Vanderbilt University. The Center for the Americas at Vanderbilt will sponsor and host the event, which will take place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the university’s Buttrick Hall.

The Center for the Americas and Conexión Américas, a Nashville nonprofit organization that promotes the integration of Hispanic families into the community, will recognize families who have bought houses through its Puertas Abiertas/Open Doors home ownership program as well as individuals enrolled in Conversemos – a Spanish/English language exchange program.

“Hispanic families value home ownership because it represents a solid commitment to their integration into the community,” said Renata Soto, executive director of Conexión Américas. “Participants in the program are required to save toward their down payment and attend a home-buying class that gives them the tools to build their credit and become savvy about their future investments,” Soto said.

The Spanish/English Language Exchange Program pairs two individuals – one who speaks Spanish and the other English – so that they can help each other improve their foreign language skills. The program also fosters intercultural exchange between Tennesseans and Hispanic immigrants. “There is a myth going around that Hispanics coming to our city don’t want to learn English. This is absolutely not true,” Soto said.

“In working with the Latino immigrant community every day, we witness that one of its top priorities is to learn the language. They understand that this is of great importance to their success in building a life in this country.” Soto also said that a growing number of Tennesseans who realize the competitive advantage of bilingual skills and the importance of becoming familiar with Hispanic American cultures are interested in learning Spanish. This helps build bridges between the non-Hispanic local communities and their Hispanic neighbors.

“The Language Exchange Program, in particular, has forged close links between Nashville’s growing Hispanic-American community and Vanderbilt’s students and faculty,” said Vera M. Kutzinski, the Martha Rivers Ingram Professor of English and Comparative Literature and director of the Center for the Americas. This program is possible thanks to Vanderbilt student and Nashville professional volunteers who are interested in improving their ability to speak Spanish and are committed to helping newcomers improve their language skills.

Soto emphasized that speaking the language is a crucial step in the integration of Hispanic families into Tennessee, while starting a business and owning a home are crucial to fulfilling their goals. “We are thankful to have recipients of numerous grants and awards, including the 2007 Bank of America Community Award, and sponsorship of our programs and events,” she said. “The Nashville community and corporations that support us have been very generous with us, and this event is recognition of where their support is going – helping these families take one more step toward their integration and building their American dream.”

The Center for the Americas is an institute devoted to collaborative, interdisciplinary research for the benefit of the Americas. It brings together a variety of scholars and innovators to investigate the cultural, economic and political interactions among the countries and territories of the Western Hemisphere and between the region and other parts of the world. Using its research, the center develops and helps sustain lasting partnerships that solve problems of importance to the Americas. In the process, the center reshapes ways in which the academy conducts research, evaluates research results and trains future generations of scholars. For more information on the Center for the Americas, visit www.Vanderbilt.edu/americas or call 615-343-2818.

Editor’s note: The “Celebration of Achievements” is by invitation only, but media are welcome to attend. Please email maitane@conamericas.com to RSVP

Labels: awards, business, education, english, events, spanish

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Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Cultural traditions featured tonight at MTSU's Celebrations of the Season

MTSU's Hispanic Student Association along with other school organization will be highlighting different cultural celebrations of the holiday season in tonight's Celebrations of the Season at the Tom Jackson Alumni Building at 6pm. The event will feature music from Lalo Davila and the MTSU Gospel Choir.

Labels: education, events, faith

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Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Nearly 9% of Metro suspensions were of Hispanic students last year

The Tennessean reported here that 8.9% of Metro suspensions last year were of Hispanic students.

For more on statistics or education, click on the links for education or statistics above.

Photo by Eduardo. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: education, statistics

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Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Holidays around the World December 1

Supports Susan Gray School, for children with typical and also impaired development, economically and culturally diverse student body
International food, live international music and entertainment, special children’s activities and a silent auction
Argentina one of featured countries

Vanderbilt University's Susan Gray School will host its Holidays Around the World celebration on December 1, according to this press release:

The public is invited to join over 200 children and their families at the Susan Gray School’s annual Holidays Around the World celebration Dec. 1.

The event will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Junior League Conference Center, 2202 Crestmoor Road. Tickets are $75 for families and $30 for singles.

“This is an opportunity to celebrate the school’s diversity while learning about different cultures and their holidays. We encourage the Nashville community to come and share in the fun,” Ruth Wolery, Susan Gray School director, said.

The event will feature international food, live international music and entertainment, special children’s activities and a silent auction. Countries featured this year are Italy, Cambodia, Australia, China, the United States, Ghana, Haiti, Argentina and Japan. Vanderbilt head basketball coach Kevin Stallings is 2007 honorary event chair and star basketball player Shan Foster is the honorary student.

The Susan Gray School, located at the corner of 21st Avenue South and Edgehill Avenue, offers an early education program for children from birth to 5 years. The school serves typically developing children and children with various disabilities such as cerebral palsy, autism, failure to thrive, pre-maturity, Down syndrome and speech language delays. The school also serves an economically and culturally diverse population from around the world. It is affiliated with Vanderbilt's Peabody College of education and human development.

For more information about the event or to purchase tickets in advance, contact the Susan Gray School at 322-8200 or e-mail michelle.wyatt@vanderbilt.edu.

Learn more about the Susan Gray School at http://www.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/x441.xml.

Labels: argentina, education, events

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Friday, November 02, 2007

Hispanic kids: 14% of Metro student body

In this article about school zoning, the Tennessean reported that Hispanic students in Metro represent 14% of the total population:

Districtwide, African-American students make up 48 percent of the student enrollment, white students 34 percent and Hispanic students 14 percent of the district's 74,600 students.

Photo by Agur. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: education, statistics

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Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Cultural Diversity conference starts today

Third International Conference on Cultural Diversity:
Bridging the Gaps

October 31, 2007 • Middle Tennessee State University
November 1-2, 2007 • Millennium Maxwell House Hotel

Are you a businessperson, educator, journalist, government official, or service provider? We’ll help you answer the following questions and more:

1. How do I know if I’m culturally competent?
2. How can cultural competence be used to help people value and accept each other?
3. What do I need to know to be more culturally competent in my classroom?
4. How can I best prepare employees and students for a multicultural world?
5. How do we help students and employees prepare for culturally insensitive environments?

The Third International Conference on Cultural Diversity will be held October 31 – November 2, 2007 at the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, TN. The theme of the conference is “Bridging the Gaps” and will focus on developing cultural competence as we interact and communicate with people of diverse backgrounds in various environments. Pre-conference activities will be held on Wednesday, October 31, 2007 on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the conference please contact the office via email at cdinit@mtsu.edu or by telephone at 615-898-5975.

Labels: education

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Friday, October 19, 2007

Cheekwood's 8th Dia de los Muertos: October 27

Free event features art, food, music, tours

The Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art will host its Eighth Annual Dia de los Muertos celebration next Saturday, October 27:

EL DIA DE LOS MUERTOS AT CHEEKWOOD ON OCTOBER 27, 2007
NASHVILLE, TN – The popular Latin American family celebration, El Dia de los Muertos, will be held at Cheekwood on Saturday, October 27 with activities including live performances, a Mexican marketplace, and interactive art activities for everyone.

Now in its eighth year at Cheekwood, the day-long celebration is a premiere community event for Nashville’s Hispanic population as well as for families throughout the area. Translated as “Day of the Dead,” El Dia de los Muertos is a uniquely Latin celebration of families as they honor their ancestors.

The festivities, from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, include activities for families of all cultures to learn about this noted Latin-American tradition and participate in a wide range of activities conducted in both Spanish and English. Cheekwood members are free and regular gate fees apply to non-members.

The schedule includes live performances by Mariachis Alma de Mexico, Serenatta, Danny Salazar y los Cuatro, Grupo Folklorico Hispanoamericano, and Sixto Reyes & Miguel. Art projects include making painting gourds, decorating “the family tree,” making paper marigolds, crafting family journals, making calaveras masks, a “tombstone factory,” creating paper cut-outs, and Spanish Bingo. A unique feature this year, the Alma de Mexico Mariachis will lead 2 parades throughout the grounds during the festival. Cheekwood will also have a resource room which will feature various books, materials, and movies documenting the history and culture of the El Dia de los Muertos holiday.

Available in the Mexican Marketplace will be traditional food, sweets, and arts and crafts. Community altars will be displayed in Botanic Hall and there will be bilingual tours of Cheekwood’s Museum of Art given by Belmont University Spanish students.

Labels: arts, education, events, food, mexico

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Monday, October 15, 2007

Jaime Escalante to speak at Austin Peay October 24

The Austin Peay State University Hispanic Cultural Center will host famed mathematics teacher Jaime Escalante, who inspired the popular 1980s movie, “Stand and Deliver.”

The three-day event begins with a showing of the film at 11 a.m., Monday, Oct. 22 in the Morgan University Center, Room 308. The film will be shown again at 4 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 23 in the same location. Escalante will speak at 1 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 24 in the Morgan University Center, Room 303. All events are free and open to the public.

Escalante’s talk Wednesday, titled “Ganas: Creating a Desire to Learn,” will highlight the ways in which Escalante has succeeded in educating students for decades. As a high school teacher, his underprivileged and Hispanic students have set academic records that remain unequaled in American education.

Apart from being the inspiration behind “Stand and Deliver,” one of the most acclaimed films of the 1980s, he is also the subject of the book “Escalante: The Best Teacher in America.”

An immigrant from Bolivia, Escalante continues to garner more awards within the teaching profession. In 1999, he was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame.

For more information about these events, contact the Hispanic Cultural Center by telephone at (931) 221-6645

Photo by Cathy Cole. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Labels: bolivia, education, immigrants

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Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Tennessee universities roll out welcome mat in struggle to attract Hispanic students

Vandy: 5.7% of undergrads
TSU: 1% of student body
UT-Knoxville: 1.7% of incoming class

update 11/25/07: Colby Sledge points out Austin Peay State University's on-campus Hispanic Cultural Center, "which offers help for Spanish majors and Hispanic students and organizes events like Spanish-language movie nights. " Austin Peay has 413 Hispanic students, which comes to 4.7% of the student body of 8,600.

The Tennessean published this article about the efforts of Tennessee universities to attract Hispanic college students, who are not flocking to the state in large numbers:

Universities across the state are beginning to recruit Hispanics in an attempt to diversify their student bodies. Hispanic college students in Tennessee consistently number fewer than their African-American classmates — and often Asian students, as well — even though Hispanics are the most numerous minority in the nation. ...

Vanderbilt saw its Hispanic undergraduate enrollment rise from 339 students last year to 362 this semester [out of a total of 6400 undergraduates].

Tennessee State University recruiter Jose Vazquez arrived at the school about a year ago partially to attract Hispanics, including adult nontraditional students.

Hispanics make up about 1 percent of students at the historically black university. Nearly twice as many Asian/ Pacific Islander students attend the school. ...

Belmont University officials also have increased recruitment efforts in the Nashville Hispanic community though hosting events with the YMCA's Hispanic Achievers program, as well as an annual Latin street festival on campus. ...

At the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, officials are planning recruitment programs targeting Hispanics, including campus visits geared exclusively to Hispanics, spokeswoman Amy Blakely said.

This year, UT's freshman class included 73 Hispanics, or 1.7 percent of the school's incoming class.

Photo by Paul Chenoweth

Labels: education, statistics

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Sunday, September 02, 2007

Spanish Immersion gets noticed

Contribution by Cesar A. Muedas
Pages 65-67 of the latest issue of Nashville Parent showcase an informative overview of the practice of Spanish Immersion in different learning environments in middle Tennessee (check also the story online and included in the sister publications Rutherford Parent and Williamson Parent, too).
This story hits home personally for this contributor because my two children attend

Glendale Elementary, the only public school in middle Tennessee that offers a Spanish immersion curriculum. Mrs. Sue Clark, principal of Glendale is quoted as saying:

"We feel that learning a second language increases your chances of becoming a global citizen and a life-long learner. We have people moving into our zone so they can be guaranteed a spot at our school. When our children come in kindergarten they know no Spanish. [Four years later, when they move on to middle school] the students are developing Spanish speakers. The grammar study doesn’t come until the fifth and sixth grades. Ours is more conversational Spanish. We study the culture and the history. We try to put a Latin flavor on things. [Vanderbilt University’s Spanish and Iberian Studies department] works closely with our teachers. When they bring in speakers, dancers, authors and painters, they always share those people with our school."

There is also reference to the role of Ms. Becky Gibson, coordinator of foreign languages for Metro Nashville Public Schools, who indicates that “last year, Glendale Spanish Immersion Elementary School had one of the highest TCAP scores in the city, so it’s proven it works.”

The Parent magazine article by Ashley Driggs, managing editor and mother of three children under 7, is best at providing broad coverage of opinions, approaches, issues and resources most relevant to the learning of Spanish as a second language. We invite you to read the full story.

Labels: education

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Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Know Your Rights Educational Forum in Shelbyville

ATTENTION SHELBYVILLE!!!

After a successful June 23rd Educational Forum in McMinnville. The Tennessee Human Rights Commission and the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce continue with our "Know Your Rights"series on June 30th in McMinnville.
Thanks to our partners, supporters and volunteers we can inform and help make a better community for all.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: June 25th, 2007Loraine Segovia Luis Bustillos

615-216-6757 Office

952-216-5737 Fax

"NAHCC & THRC team up to educate Hispanic families through Forums"
WHAT: Discrimination. Learn how to protect you and your family from
Employment discrimination, housing, and public accommodations.
Work. Learn about your rights as an employee.

WHO: Frank Guzman, Coordinator of Special Projects
of Tennessee Human Rights Commission (THRC).
Santiago Rodriguez, TN Labor Department and Workforce
Development

WHEN: June 30, 2007 @ 5:00 p.m.

WHERE: Centro de Desarrollo Familiar
100 East Side Square Shelbyville, TN 37160

This event is FREE and OPEN to the public.
For additional information please contact Loraine Segovia or Alejandra Peña by telephone at 615-216-5737 or e-mail: http://www.nashvillehispanicchamber.com/

Special thanks to the following:
Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana - Rev.Hervin Antonio, Patricia Torres.
Centro de Desarrollo Familiar - Centro Latino Y Bedford Bridges
El Paisano - Mauricio Gonzales

"La NAHCC & THRC unen esfuerzos para educar a las familias Hispanas"

QUE: Discriminación. Aprenda a como protegerse y proteger a los
suyos en caso de discriminación en el empleo y la vivienda.
Trabajo. Aprenda cuales son su derechos como trabajador.

QUIEN: Frank Guzman, Coordinador de Proyectos Especiales de la
Comisión de Derechos Humanos de Tennessee (THRC).
Santiago Rodriguez, Departamento de Trabajo de Tennessee

CUANDO: June 30, 2007 @ 5:00 p.m.

DONDE: Centro de Desarrollo Familiar
100 East Side Square Shelbyville, TN 37160

Este evento es GRATUITO y esta ABIERTO al publico.

Para mayor información comuníquese con Loraine Segovia o Alejandra Pena al 615-216-5737 o por e-mail: http://www.nashvillehispanicchamber.com/

####

The Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is a 501(c)6 non-profit business organization. The NAHCC keeps the highest level of accountability on sponsorship funds received or other corporate contributions. The mission of the NAHCC is to help Nashville become a better place to live, work and visit by creating positive environments conducive to business growth, education, integration, and cultural appreciation. Partnerships with corporate members wishing to fund NAHCC programs and events are subjected to Board of Director's approval and are primarily to support educational causes and/or empower entrepreneurship opportunities as well as mainstream business member initiatives not restricted to the Hispanic enterpreneur or market.

Labels: discrimination, education, justice

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Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Blindness is less of a barrier for Puerto Rican Trevecca grad than bureaucracy is for Venezuelan Owen grad

The Tennessean reported here on the graduation of Puerto Rican Jessica Smith from Trevecca University. Smith is blind and has worked part-time as a Spanish translator in Nashville. She has plans to start a family and return to graduate school. As a Puerto Rican, Smith is a U.S. citizen and has no immigration bureaucracy to navigate.

The Tennessean also reported here on the graduation of Venezuelan student Luis Pacheco from Vanderbilt's Owen Graduate School of Management and the prospect that he will not be able to legally remain in the United States, despite the fact that he is well educated and has applied through the proper channels.

"The H-1B visa program is designed to give foreign workers an opportunity to work in the United States for up to six years in their field of expertise. The visas are awarded to 65,000 new foreign-born workers by lottery each year. This total is known as the 'cap.' An additional 20,000 visas are reserved for those with master's degrees or higher."

"This year, the capped H-1B visa program began accepting applications on its traditional April 1 start date. U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Service, the agency that processes the applications, had received 'well in excess of 120,000 petitions,' and on April 2 it officially closed the lottery, Christopher Bentley, an agency spokesman, said."

"Last year, applications were accepted until May 26; in 2005, applications were accepted until Aug. 10."

"Pacheco said Amazon.com's attorney told him that the H-1B visa petition submitted on his behalf arrived by the April 2 cutoff. But in the six weeks that have followed, neither Pacheco nor Amazon has received a lottery decision. It is unclear whether Amazon will hire him if he can work only one year."

"'Obviously, the main point of doing the MBA is finding a job,' Pacheco said, 'When you come here you know this process is going to be hard. But I had no idea this year would be like this.'"

Labels: education, immigrants, puerto rico, venezuela

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Monday, May 21, 2007

Miss Tennessee Latina and affiliated teen version seek contestants for 2007 crown

Miss America Latina, LLC is looking for contestants to compete in the Miss Tennessee Latina pageant on August 11, 2007 at Tucker Theatre in Murfreesboro from 6PM - 10PM. Contestants do not need to speak Spanish. Winners of the pageant will receive scholarship funds and other prizes. This pageant is for both Miss Teen Tennessee Latina (14-17 years old) and Miss Tennessee Latina (17-27 years old). Miss Teen TN Latina contestants must be at least 14 years of age and not over 17 years of age by September 1, 2007. Miss TN Latina contestants must be at least 18 years of age and not over 27 years of age by December 31st, 2008. Contestants must be of Latin American or Iberian origin by birth or ancestry and a legal resident of the United States. Contestants must continuously reside in Tennessee for a minimum of six (6) months. Contestants must live, study or have been born in Tennessee. Contestants must be single women, who have never been married, given birth to a child, nor been a parent. Contestants must have a good reputation. To apply to enter the pageant or if your company is interested in a sponsorship opportunity contact Marjorie Weller.

Miss America Latina, LLC
Marjorie Weller
misstnuslatina@hotmail.com
615-506-1279

Photo: Janet Abeja, Miss Tennessee Latina™ 2006

Labels: education, spanish

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Thursday, May 17, 2007

Vanderbilt-funded poll: democracy in Peru threatened by corruption, crime, violence, and low confidence in political system

Democracy has solid majority support in Peru yet still lags behind most other Latin American countries, according to a survey by the Latin American Public Opinion Project released in Lima, Peru. But there is widespread dissatisfaction with the country’s political system and general skepticism about how the government protects Peruvians' rights, according to the report LAPOP issued in cooperation with the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, a Lima-based, independent, non-profit organization devoted to social science research.

“The challenge is to increase the quality of democracy, making institutions more effectively responsive to the requests of the population, hence reducing popular dissatisfaction,” concluded the report by Julio Carrión and Patricia Zárate titled Cultura Política de la Democracia en Perú: 2006. The results were released Monday at the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos to officials in the executive office of the Peruvian government.

The poll was carried out in June 2006 among 1,500 people in Peru shortly after Alan García was elected president. This study is part of a series of surveys by LAPOP's AmericasBarometer, an effort to measure democratic values and behaviors in the Americas using national probability samples of voting-age adults. The surveys are made possible with funding from the United States Agency for International Development and the Center for the Americas at Vanderbilt University. The series covers 19 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and North America, and is directed by Mitchell A. Seligson, Centennial Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University.

Dissatisfaction with the political system in Peru is balanced by relatively high levels of political tolerance toward minorities, the survey shows.

The best scenario for a stable democracy includes both support for the system and political tolerance, said Carrión, LAPOP regional coordinator for Mexico, America Central and South America, and Zárate, a researcher at the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos.

“In Peru, only 1 out of 5 people are in that place. …This number is among the lowest found in Latin America in 2006,” Carrión and Zárate say in the report.

Fragile citizen support of the political system manifests itself in the low levels of confidence in institutions linked to the administration of justice and to political representation. These levels of confidence are among the lowest in the region.

Relatedly, the perception of corruption of public officials is among the highest in the region. The poll found that approximately 30 percent of those interviewed claim to have been victims of at least one act of corruption, whether in the private or the political sphere. This percentage is significantly higher than the numbers registered in Chile (9.4 percent), Colombia (9.7 percent) and Panama (11.3 percent). The report states that citizens more affected by corruption are more willing to tolerate it, thus creating a vicious cycle.

High crime levels also present a significant challenge. Peru is the country with the highest rate of victimization through crime in the entire region, according to the report. More than 25 percent of the people asked stated that they had been victims of a criminal act. Of these, almost 40 percent had been victims of violence. As the study discovered, in Peru crime affects everyone without regard for social or economic status.

While the report noted high levels of citizen involvement in local government, such activism does not seem to translate into higher levels of confidence in the system, in part because the majority of Peruvians (almost 60 percent) feels that they have no influence in political matters. Finally, high citizen participation in strikes and public protests is consistent with the finding that most Peruvians have only a scant level of support for and confidence in their political system.

The publication and data are free to the public and can be obtained at the following link: www.lapopsurveys.org.

LAPOP, a project group in the Center for the Americas at Vanderbilt University, was founded in the 1970s by Seligson to conduct scientific surveys of Latin American citizens about their opinions and behaviors related to building and strengthening democracies. Its new AmericasBarometer now covers nearly the entire Western Hemisphere.

Labels: education, peru

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Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Murfreesboro library to celebrate children's books, stories in several languages April 30

Murfreesboro's Daily News Journal announced a multilingual book day on Monday, April 30:

El Dia de los Niños/El Libros (Children's Day/Book Day): 3:30 p.m., Linebaugh Public Library, 105 W. Vine St., Murfreesboro. Co-sponsored by Linebaugh and Read to Succeed. National program created to celebrate childhood and bilingual literacy. Activities include special story time in several languages, book displays and refreshments. Free, open to all ages. Joan Hemphill, (615) 893-4131, ext. 114.

Photo by Trevor DeVincenzi

Labels: education, spanish

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Friday, April 13, 2007

Bilingual story time at Edmondson Pike Library Saturday April 14

Book 'Em and the Nashville Public Library present
Bilingual Story Time
Edmonson Pike Branch Library
Saturday
April 14
11 am - 12 pm

Join us for a morning of interactive literacy
including Spanish/English stories, games, and songs

5501 Edmondson Pike
Nashville, TN 37211
(615) 880-3957

Labels: education, spanish

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Monday, April 09, 2007

Minority PhD candidates expected to rise in Vanderbilt-Fisk partnership

Astronomy professor mentor inspired by immigrant mother

Vanderbilt University is partnering with Fisk University in a partnership designed to encourage minority doctorate degrees in the sciences. The concept is to provide a "bridge" from a master's degree to a doctoral program. In the U.S., minority doctorates in astronomy are bestowed at the rate of 1 every 14 years, but the bridge program expects a frequency of 2 every year.

Vanderbilt University Astronomy Professor Keivan Stassun is featured in this Vanderbilt-produced video about the program. Stassun says that his participation in the program is inspired by his mother, who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico.

Labels: education, immigrants, mexico

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Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Charlemos Spanish April and May speakers

Sister Cities of Nashville’s Spanish chat group, Charlemos Spanish, announces speakers for April and May. Charlemos meets the second and fourth Thursday of the month from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Palette Gallery and Cafe at 2119 Belcourt Avenue in Hillsboro Village. All levels of Spanish-speakers, from beginner to native, are invited. The event is free and open to the public.

Scheduled speakers are:

* John Lamb, Editor, Hispanic Nashville Notebook, 12 April
* Dr. Philip Rasico, Vanderbilt Spanish Professor, 26 April
* Diana Holland, President of Tango Nashville and CEO of Hispanic Link Consulting, 10 May
* Martin Cadieux, Bi-lingual Educator, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, 24 May.

“Charlemos Spanish is truly fortunate to have such dynamic and qualified speakers”, said Elizabeth Worrell Braswell, president of Charlemos Spanish.

Charlemos Spanish is a social conversation group created in December 2006 by the Spanish Committee of Sister Cities of Nashville, a nonprofit organization, founded in 1990, dedicated to the promotion of global understanding through educational, professional and cultural exchanges.

Mayor Bill Purcell is the Honorary Chair for Sister Cities of Nashville.

Charlemos Spanish is for persons who wish to:

* Speak Spanish on a regular basis
* Make bilingual friends
* Learn more about Hispanic culture.

Founding members of Charlemos Spanish include—

* Claudia Villavicencio, Spanish teacher at MBA, Montgomery Bell Academy
* Kim Sorensen, Online Producer at CMT, Country Music Television
* Diana Holland, President of Tango Nashville, and a Hispanic cross-cultural consultant
* Elizabeth Worrell Braswell, online Spanish instructor for Austin Peay State University, president of Charlemos Spanish.

For directions and more information on the gallery go to: http://www.palettegallerycafe.com

Labels: arts, country music, education, spanish

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Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Belmont U grad students bring physical therapy aid to Guatemala

Missions blog offers first-person perspective

For the first time in Belmont University history, eleven physical therapy graduate students and a clinical instructor spent their spring break on assignment in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

At the Hospital Infantil de Infectologia y Rehabilitacion (Children's Hospital for Infectious Disease and Rehabilitation), home of the only hospital PT wing in all of Guatemala City (population 5 million plus), the Belmont PT graduates worked with children with developmental delays as a result of having gone untreated for normal childhood diseases and also with trauma patients — accident victims or those whose illnesses have led to brain damage. They also taught modern physical therapy to Guatemalan doctors and nurses.

The team posted pictures and narratives of the March 3-10 trip in this Physical Therapy Missions Blog.

Labels: education, guatemala, health

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Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Abintra Montessori: Spanish immersion for children at full capacity

Amy Napier Viteri at WKRN produced this video profile of the Spanish immersion program at Nashville's Abintra Montessori School. The program is at full capacity for this year and next year.

The story features an interview with Spanish Guide Patricia Salazar. The school's web site includes a description of the program:

In Abintra's Spanish Immersion classroom, the Montessori curriculum is presented entirely in Spanish. Adults speak only Spanish; children are free to speak in whatever language they feel comfortable. This provides an opportunity for children to learn a second language in a completely natural environment. This also enables children to take advantage of their critical period for native-style language acquisition. Additional support staff is provided to ensure that students receive pre-reading and writing skills in English as well.

Research shows that when children learn a second language before the developmental window closes, they enhance their own native language skills as well. They also increase their creativity, enhance their verbal and mathematical problem solving skills, and acquire advantages in concept formation ("Early Childhood Bilingualism in the Montessori Children's House," Montessori LIFE, Spring 1998). These skills contribute profoundly to a child's self-esteem and his or her sense of values. They prepare the child for life in the multi-cultural, multi-lingual world of the 21st century.

Labels: education, english, spanish

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Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Nashville schools: 13% Hispanic

Six of 133 schools are majority Hispanic, says board chair

"The face of the Nashville community has changed, with a much richer diversity that should be embraced."

Marsha Warden, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Nashville Board of Education, stated in this article in the Tennessean that 13% of Metro school students are Hispanic, with six schools of 133 being majority Hispanic.

This December 5 story in the Tennessean put the representation of Hispanic students in Nashville/Davidson County schools at 12.1%, with Rutherford County at 6.4%, Sumner County at 3.1%, Williamson County at 2.8%, and Wilson County at 2.2%.

In 2004, state-wide figures from the College Board reported that 1.8% of advanced placement test-takers were Hispanic, with Hispanics representing only 1% of Tennessee students.

Excerpts from Warden's commentary:

[W]hite enrollment in MNPS is 35 percent. Hispanic enrollment has risen from zero percent in 1995 to 13 percent. In addition, students representing 83 countries and 78 languages attended our schools last year. And out of 133 schools:

• 33 are majority white.

• 65 are majority African-American.

• Six schools are majority Hispanic.

• 29 schools are balanced, with no racial group in the majority.

Warden wrote in reaction to recent arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court that Nashville's education system is segregated (story here). Warden disputed that sentiment, saying, "Metro Nashville Public Schools have moved from a majority white, bicultural, school system to a plurality, multicultural school system. The face of the Nashville community has changed, with a much richer diversity that should be embraced."

The nation's highest court is being asked to determine the constitutionality of using race as a factor in assigning students to schools, even in the name of diversity.

According to Warden, "Nashville's 1998 integration plan actually included race as one of the minor factors to consider when the zone lines for schools were drawn. The plan has not changed but, during the years, what has changed are the demographics of students going to public schools."

In 2005, the Nashville school board considered using socio-economic integration as a zoning tool, with a visit to a county in North Carolina that already uses such a system (story in the Hispanic Nashville Notebook here).

The Franklin Special School District in Williamson County, just to the south of Nashville, has also eyed diversity as an educational prize. This 2003 story in the Tennessean described a Williamson County school's efforts to attract minorities: "Poplar Grove is the [Franklin Special School District]'s only open-zoned, year-round school. It is also the least diverse school in the system. Last month the board voted to rezone its other four elementary schools in an effort to spread out the diversity but left Poplar Grove open-zoned under the stipulation that it enroll at least 50 minority students in the kindergarten class over the next two years. ... The top consideration for admission after siblings is minority status."

Photo credit: tree & j hensdill

Labels: education, statistics

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Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Ethnic economic gaps are more pronounced in Nashville

This November story in the Tennessean reported that Hispanic households in Nashville earned $33,376 in 2005, compared to Asian household earnings of $57,678, white household incomes of $50,333, and $27,153 for African-American households in Nashville. The story cited a Census Bureau study, which found that racial disparity is worse here than for the average U.S. city.

The wage disparity must be fueled, at least in part, by low-income immigrants from Mexico. According to this article in the New York Times, "[a]t least one-third of the foreign-born in the United States come from Mexico, census figures show," and "[i]n the United States new Mexican immigrants mostly earn poverty wages by American standards, a median income of only $300 a week, the Pew Hispanic Center reported last year. But that is as much as four times what they would make for similar work at home."

Even though Hispanics have a proportionately lower household income, the Tennessean article describes what may be a path to greater income equality:

"Marilyn Robinson said the key to stemming the economic disparities is to encourage business ownership."

"'If you work hard and have access to business opportunities, then you can generate wealth,' said Robinson, who is president of the Nashville branch of the NAACP."

That's good news for Hispanics, who as of 2002 were "opening businesses at a rate three times faster than the national average." (see this column by Tony Snow). Snow and others dispel the notion that the statistics about immigrants should justify a punitive immigration policy (see commentary by Lawrence Downes and Anna Quindlen).

Other gaps experienced by Hispanics include health care (reported in the Hispanic Nashville Notebook in this March 2005 article) and mortgage rates (reported in the Hispanic Nashville Notebook in this March 2004 article).

Labels: business, education, health, statistics

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Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Large Nashville law firms are among least diverse for women partners

Third-to-last in nationwide review; efforts underway "to reverse that trend"

The Tennessean reports in this article that Nashville ranked third-to-last in a recent study of diversity among female partners at large law firms in major U.S. cities.

"The study, which looked at partners of the largest law firms in 44 U.S. cities, found that 0.26 percent of Nashville firms had minority women partners. Only two cities fared worse in the study by Washington, D.C.–based Association for Legal Career Professionals, formerly the National Association for Law Placement."

"The study is stunning to some given Nashville's diverse population — nearly 27 percent African-American and almost 5 percent Hispanic — and the fact that the city has two law schools and two historically black universities, some legal experts said."

"'[S]tatistically Nashville may not fare very well, but ... some things are being done in Nashville to reverse that trend,' said Billye Sanders, a partner at the Nashville firm of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis."

Wendy Warren, chairwoman of the Nashville Bar Association's Minority Opportunities Committee, is also quoted in the story.

"'I won't say that in the past there has not been discrimination. That would be ... naive to say that that's the case,' said Warren, an associate at the Nashville firm of Bass, Berry & Sims. 'But I would say now that the Nashville market is ... aggressively trying to recruit minorities and women, from my perspective.'"

"She believes female and minority lawyers should be actively trying to socialize with people who may be very different from themselves."

"She and Sanders said they believe that diversity at law firms makes good business sense because many client companies won't hire firms that aren't diversified. Furthermore, the lawyers said, having different perspectives leads to better problem solving for clients."

The ALCP study is consistent with a similar story earlier this year (reported here in the Hispanic Nashville Notebook), in which Nashville was found to lag behind the national average in law firm diversity among male and female partners and associates.

Labels: business, education, statistics

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Monday, November 27, 2006

Vanderbilt business school tops nation in Latin American case study competition

$10,000 Carnegie Mellon challenge: create supply chain for alternative fuel

A team of students from the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management won first place at the 11th annual International Case Competition Nov. 10-11 at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business.

The Tepper School’s Operations Management and Latin American Business clubs teamed up this year to host the highly regarded competition, which kicked off with a panel discussion, “Emerging in Latin America: Operational Issues and Challenges Faced by Business.” The panelists included representatives from the International Finance Corporation, Deloitte, The Innovation Circle and Honeywell.

Following the panel discussion, student teams from top business schools were asked to design an effective supply chain for raw vegetable oil and biodiesel, a clean burning alternative fuel produced from domestic, renewable resources, for a fictional agribusiness investor in Latin America. The challenge was based on a current real-world case from one of the competition’s judges.

The teams received the challenge Friday afternoon and had to prepare a presentation by 1 a.m. on Saturday. The first round of presentations began Saturday at 8 a.m. The students competed to win the top prize of $10,000. Second place winners receive $5,000 and third place takes home $2,500.

The Owen School team – first-year students Marlene Marengo and Melissa Shearer and second-year students Landon Davies, Krista Fakoory and Blair Stilwell – took the top spot with a plan that maximized production of raw vegetable oil and biodiesel and called for an aggressive construction schedule to build several raw vegetable oil and biodiesel plants to gain market advantage. The winning team also suggested forming strategic alliances with diesel engine manufacturers and special interest groups to promote the use of biodiesel and support for raw vegetable oil as a renewable energy source and a healthy alternative to the trans fats and animal fats used in cooking.

Schools in this year’s competition included the Tepper School, Yale School of Management, the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business, Columbia University Business School, the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

The Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt is ranked as a top institution by Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, Financial Times and Forbes. For more news about Owen, visit www.owen.vanderbilt.edu.

Labels: business, education

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Monday, November 20, 2006

Nashville Chamber: latest voice questioning Metro Council's international bans

City's reputation at risk

The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce has joined the chorus of voices questioning the wisdom of three bans that are currently pending before the Metro Council - a language ban, a landlord ban, and an employer ban - all relating to internationals living in Nashville (column published by The Tennessean here). The three pieces of legislation are up for a vote Tuesday night. The three bans are the latest in a series of legislative proposals from the Council that would have an adverse effect on internationals. The previous bans considered by the Council were a sidewalk ban and a taco ban.

Michael A. Carter, vice chairman of small business for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, is quoted as saying that the new bans "will damage Nashville's international reputation as an open, inclusive and increasingly diverse community." Carter further points out that "[t]he Nashville region is increasingly competing for economic recruitment in the international arena, and, collectively, the proposed ordinances send a negative and unwelcoming message to relocating companies, particularly international companies that employ large numbers of foreign-born populations."

A lot of newsprint has been spent on the language ban. Various letter writers expressed their opposition to the language ban in this article and also in this article. Yuri Cunza, president of the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (not the same as the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce), penned this column opposing the language ban. An editorial earlier this year in support of language respect was written by Virginia Scott and is here. Translation for internationals in transition has been applauded by both the Nashville City Paper and The Tennessean. (The Tennessean's editorial on the wisdom of the landlord ban is here.)

English-learning is thriving in Tennessee, as are efforts to reach out to non-English speakers, as indicated by this article in September 2006 about Volunteer State Community College's efforts to assist non-English speakers with their transitions; this article in September 2006 about the Marshall County Library's refusal to impose a language ban on its collection; this report in June 2006 about Nashville public schools' success in converting English learners to English-speakers; this story in May 2006 about legal rights forums directed at Spanish-speaking immigrants, sponsored by the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Tennessee Human Rights Commission; this story in March 2006 about Metro Schools Director Pedro Garcia's reaching out in Spanish to Hispanic parents; this article in December 2005 about the efforts of Middle Tennessee YMCA and Girl Scout programs to integrate Hispanic and bilingual students; this story in October 2005 about Senator Lamar Alexander's proposal to offer a $500 credit and other incentives for prospective citizens to learn English;
the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary's discipline of a Middle Tennessee judge in September 2005 for improperly conditioning a mother's custory rights on her ability to speak English (story here); this story in July 2005 about Metro Police's use of volunteer interpreters; and this story in June 2005 about Cracker Barrel's English-learning programs for employees.

More background on the status of the language ban is available in this previous article on the Hispanic Nashville Notebook.

Nashville ranks 47th nationwide in linguistic diversity (story here).

Labels: business, chambers, council, education, english, negativity, spanish

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Friday, November 10, 2006

Tennessee State University hires Spanish-speaking recruiter

Hispanic outreach seeks diversity, growth

According to this story in USA Today, historically black colleges are reaching out to Hispanics, and Tennessee State University (TSU) is one of those schools. The desired result is twofold: to grow the schools, while at the same time offering opportunities to groups who are underserved in higher education.

"Recruiting Hispanics is an extension of the mission to educate 'underserved' groups, says Lezli Baskerville, president of [the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education]. 'Disproportionate numbers of Hispanic families are low-income. Disproportionate numbers are first-generation. We've got a model that works.'""Tennessee State University also wants to grow. In June, the 9,000-student school hired Jose Vazquez to recruit adults and Hispanics."

"Vazquez meets with local Hispanic leaders and recently attended a gathering for Day of the Dead, an annual Mexican celebration."

"'They need to know that we're here, and I'm here if they have any questions,' he says."

"The university advertises in Spanish-language newspapers and yellow pages. 'We see strength in diversity,' associate vice president Evelyn Nettles says."

TSU is also part of a Latino health coalition in Nashville, in partnership with the Hispanic Community Group of Tennessee (story here).

TSU's web site describes the school as "a comprehensive urban coeducational land-grant university founded in 1912 in Nashville, Tenn. The 450-acre main campus, with more than 65 buildings, is located in a residential setting; the Avon Williams Campus is located downtown, near the center of the Nashville business and government district. Through successive stages, TSU has developed from a normal school for Negroes to its current status as a national university with students from 42 states and 52 countries."

Labels: business, education, spanish

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Thursday, November 09, 2006

Metro Schools' Hispanic parent group elects officers

11% of students in Metro are Hispanic

This story on News 2-WKRN and this story in the Tennessean report that COPLA, the Hispanic parents' group created by Metro School Board director Pedro Garcia, has elected officers. Cesar Muedas is the new chairman of the group, Adelina Winston is vice chair, and Sandra Mendoz is secretary. COPLA stands for Comite de Padres Latinos, or Committee of Latino Parents.

"Director of Schools Pedro Garcia organized COPLA earlier this year to help build relationships with the parents of Latino students, who constitute more than 11 percent of the district's student population."

"Ruben De Pena, Metro's language translation specialist, was asked to help organize COPLA."

"'We are mirroring the Parents Advisory Council, but our purpose is for our parents to be informed and involved with the children,' De Pena said. 'We want to help make parents aware of the tools that exist. There is a lot of excitement. This is a good venue for them to interact with the system.'"

"There are three concerns Muedas sees as significant for Latinos in the school district —- the issue of gangs, the number of schools that don't have parent-teacher organizations and graduation rates. But, while working on concerns, Muedas said the group also wants to work on the positives."

"'I am not speaking for all Hispanics who have children in the system, though,' Muedas said. 'I am just starting to learn the concerns.'"

Photo: Cesar Muedas

Labels: education, statistics

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Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Holidays Around the World this Saturday

Fundraiser celebrates cultures, supports Susan Gray School

The public is invited to join over 200 children as they celebrate diverse cultures at the Susan Gray School's Second Annual Holidays Around the World event Nov. 11 from 5 to 9 p.m. Proceeds from the event will go toward the construction of a new, fully accessible preschool playground at the school.

"This is a fun event that celebrates the diversity of global cultures as well as the diversity of the children and families at the Susan Gray School," said Ruth Wolery, Susan Gray School director.

The event will begin at 5 pm at the Susan Gray School, where nine of the classrooms will be decorated to represent countries including Thailand, Ivory Coast, Italy, Scotland, Morocco, China, America, Mexico and Costa Rica. Families and children will visit each "country," which will include arts, crafts, games and music to teach the visitors about the holidays the countries celebrate. The event will move to the Cohen Fine Arts Building on the Peabody campus from 6:30 to 9 p.m. In addition to silent and live auctions and refreshments, there will be gingerbread houses for the children to decorate, a visit from Santa Claus and the annual SGS Angel Tree.

The Susan Gray School, located at the corner of 21st Avenue South and Edgehill Avenue, offers an early education program for children from birth to 5 years. The school serves typically developing children and children with various disabilities such as cerebral palsy, autism, failure to thrive, pre-maturity, Down syndrome and speech language delays. It is affiliated with Vanderbilt's Peabody College of Education and Human Development.The school also serves an economically and culturally diverse population including families from Afghanistan, Argentina, China, Ethiopia, France, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Thailand, Turkey and Uruguay.

Tickets for the event are $75 for families, $30 for singles and $15 for Vanderbilt students. Cost includes food, drinks and family entertainment.

For more information about the event or to purchase tickets in advance, contact the Susan Gray School at 322-8200 or e-mail michelle.wyatt@vanderbilt.edu. More information is also available on the school's Web site, here.

Hispanic Nashville Datebook

If you know of an event that should be listed in the Datebook, or if you are computer-savvy and want to help keep the Datebook current, pleas contact the editor.

Labels: arts, education, uruguay

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Wednesday, October 18, 2006

VU becomes National Resource Center in Latin American studies

Awarded $1.5 million federal grant

Vanderbilt University issued this press release announcing that the U.S. Department of Education has awarded a $1.5 million federal grant to the university's Center for Latin American and Iberian Studies (CLAIS) and that along with the grant, the CLAIS has been designated a stand-alone National Resource Center. The purpose of the grant and the designation is to assist faculty and students working in Latin America as well as to expand an outreach program for local public schools and the Nashville community.

The National Resource Center is the highest recognition the Department of Education can award such a program. Vanderbilt was one of the first universities in the United States to start a program of research and teaching in Latin American studies.

“This award truly recognizes the center’s academic strength,“ said Edward F. Fischer, director of the Center for Latin American and Iberian Studies and associate professor of anthropology. “Despite being a relatively small program, we have competed successfully with some of the best Latin American programs at leading universities across the nation. This honor will help tremendously in our continued recruiting of renowned faculty and outstanding graduate students.”

The grant includes financial support for graduate students in the form of tuition and stipends as well as funding for expansion of Latin American library holdings. “As a designated National Resource Center, the Center for Latin American and Iberian Studies addresses three of the university’s key missions,” said Richard McCarty, dean of the College of Arts and Science. “These goals are improving graduate education, becoming a more global university and working in partnership with the Nashville community,” he said.

The center’s graduate program promotes greater understanding of Latin America’s history, culture, political economy and social organization.

While the center began in 1947 as an Institute for Brazilian Studies, it has since expanded its areas of expertise to include Maya anthropology and archaeology; the study of democracy building and economic development; Latin American literature and languages; and African populations in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Title VI support of the center’s ambitious research, teaching and outreach agenda dovetails nicely with similar goals in Vanderbilt’s overall internationalization strategy,” said Joel Harrington, assistant provost for international affairs and associate professor of history. “The center has long been a leader in this area and continues in that role.”

Fischer said that a major component of the grant will involve public outreach to specific groups, such as public school teachers, the business community, the media, medical and legal professionals. “Working with Peabody College faculty, we will host monthly K-12 teacher workshops and send professors into public school classrooms,” he said. “We will host a summer teacher training institute on campus and send teachers to a summer workshop in Mexico.”

Fischer also said that the center will work with Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management, the Medical School and Law School to develop cultural competency seminars for professionals and strengthen ties with the School of Engineering. In addition, the center will build links to Fisk University and other area colleges and universities to assist them in building their Latin American offerings. It will continue to sponsor conferences, films and speaker series that bring distinguished scholars, government and business leaders and social activists to campus.

The Center for Latin American and Iberian Studies works closely with Vanderbilt’s Center for the Americas, which brings together scholars from a variety of disciplines to study the cultural, economic and political interactions among the various countries of the Western Hemisphere as well as between the region and other parts of the world.

The grant, which is Title VI funding, will be awarded over the next four years. More information is available at http://sitemason.vanderbilt.edu/clais.

Labels: business, education

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Friday, September 29, 2006

Amigos de la Comunidad to volunteer with Hands on Nashville

Amigos de la Comunidad announced its participation in Hands on Nashville Day:

ADeLaCO

Amigos de la Comunidad

Community Development Org.

Reminder to to our Amigos Team Members

Our next area of support for our community is this Saturday Morning, Sept. 30th. We will be represented on this Nashville’s annual event called "Hands On Nashville Day", Organized by our Sister Organization with the same name and where 1500 volunteers will paint, clean, fix and landscape our worst off community schools, saving over $75,000 on maintenance dollars to our education system plus beautifying our children’s education centers. We will be represented with a team of 50 volunteers, our assigned school is CAMEREON Middle School on Murfreesboro close to downtown, and the working hours will be 7AM to 12 Noon.

Labels: education

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Friday, September 15, 2006

English-only proposal hits Nashville as Hispanic Heritage Month begins; first reading Tuesday September 19

Supporters of translations call for strong turnout, yellow attire at Metro Courthouse

The Tennessean reports in this article that a Metro Councilman has drafted an English-only ordinance so "all city communications would have to be in English, and only in English." The full text of the proposed non-English language ban is here.

The article does not say whether the councilman has made a practical analysis of the impact of his proposal or the opinions of those who would have to implement it. The Tennessean says only, "It is unclear how a variety of city agencies now offering bilingual services — police, schools and Health Department, among others — would be affected." The Hispanic Nashville Notebook reported in 2004 that the greatest barriers to health care for Hispanics in the South are limited English skills and the lack of Spanish-speaking health care workers. (story here). Presumably, upon implementation of an English-only policy, many Hispanics who are not yet fluent in English would be immediately cut off from, among other things, a multitude of Metro government communications about important subjects. Metro currently implements a variety of multi-lingual communication strategies on topics including legal rights, a child's first day of school, domestic violence, recycling, rape victim resources, financial counseling, Homework Hotline, recidivism-reducing DUI education, pet ownership tips, access to health care, and tornado siren instructions - and none of the agencies responsible for those communications have been quoted in any of the articles on the proposed language ban.

Here are excerpts from publications of Nashville governmental agencies who might have something to say about the bill, if asked:

Nashville General Hospital
"And at Nashville General, we speak your language. To serve our community's diverse population, we're proud to have one of the top interpreting programsin the community that uses both Spanish-speaking staff interpreters as well as specialists in other languages, such as Kurdish or American Sign Language for the deaf."

Public Defender's Office
"[T]he Spanish speaking staff saves the state and local government money since they provide out of court translations for the Assistant Public Defenders in cases with Spanish speaking defendants or witnesses. The Public Defender's Office receives frequent requests from probation officers, court officers, and judges for assistance by the Spanish-speaking attorneys and staff. It is apparent that the various agencies of the Davidson County criminal justice system are benefiting from the availability of attorneys and other staff who are able to not only represent Spanish speakers, but who can also assist the courts to understand the many cultural issues unique to Hispanic defendants."

MDHA Fair Housing Office
"It is a wonderful feeling to have friends of all creeds and nationalities. Think of all the different foods you will eat and all the different languages you will begin to learn, and all of the American ways of life you can make your new friends familiar with. Think of the ways you would want to be treated and treat others the same."

Nashville attorney Gregg Ramos* has invited members of the community to show opposition to the bill by wearing yellow and attending the bill's first reading before the Metro Council on Tuesday, September 19:

"We need a lot of people there to show our strong opposition to this unnecessarily divisive bill. The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. [corrected from earlier reported time of 6:00 p.m.] and will be the 1st meeting back in the refurbished Metro Courthouse (not the City Hall Building where the Council meetings have been held the last 2 years). It would be great if everyone could start arriving as close to 6:00 p.m. as possible so we can show our strong opposition to everyone in Metropolitan Government."

"There will be complimentary parking at the Metro Courthouse (in the adjacent Courthouse Garage). Clerk's Office staff will disseminate parking validation coupons just outside the Council Chamber (second floor of the Courthouse) to citizens needing such. The public entrance to the Courthouse is only through the James Robertson Parkway entrance on the north side of the building at this time."

"Also, please try to wear something yellow so we can clearly identify ourselves to the Council Members as opponents of the English-only proposed bill. This could include yellow shirts, blouses, scarves, etc."

The Tennessean has published this editorial opposing the bill:

"[The councilman] cannot claim that the effort is aimed only at illegal immigrants. Many of the non-English speaking individuals in Nashville are here legally. Many of them are trying to learn English."

"[His] ordinance would not reduce the number of immigrants in Nashville. It would not deny them jobs. What it would do is create chaos that need not exist."

"Instead of stymieing communication in Nashville, the Metro Council should look for ways to foster more English-language instruction. Short of that, Crafton's ordinance should be chalked up to political posturing at the expense of the public's well-being."

The Nashville City Paper reports in this article that an electronic billboard is calling for passage of the bill:

"'Metro Council, welcome to America, we speak English here, pass the bill, immigrants, no habla Ingles?, no freeo stuffo, from el governmento, comprende por favor?' the electronic billboard (about 50 feet tall and 48 feet wide) has read since Wednesday morning."

The billboard illustrates that the various subjects of gripes about immigrants - legal status, language fluency, and economic contribution or impact - are often intertwined. Without explanation, the "no freeo stuffo" phrase betrays the author's fusion (or confusion) of language fluency with economic dependence. Considering the non-exhaustive list above of communications currently translated by Metro into languages other than English, one has to hope the author does not truly wish to withhold communications such rape victim resources and tornado siren instructions from those who are currently receiving them.

Kudos to Metro Councilman Mike Jameson, who is also a law partner of Gregg Ramos, for publicly stating his opposition to the bill. He told the Nashville City Paper that the proposed language ban is "unnecessary and potentially dangerous."

"'No one is suggesting that anything other than English be recognized as the official language of the country or of the state or the city,' Jameson said. 'We already have a state statue that spells that out and has spelled that out for years.'"

"'If what you’re telling me to do is to tell the guy who can’t speak English who calls 911 to report that he’s having a heart attack, 'I’m sorry, call back when you learn English,' I’m not going to be a part of anything as vicious and as backward-sided as that,' Jameson said."

"'It’s just beyond me how much more hostile we can be to people when we need to be a welcoming city,' he added."

The City Paper also interviewed Yuri Cunza, president of the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce**, who "said the sign could be extraordinarily unwelcoming to legal immigrants new to Nashville."

"'If I’m a newcomer here, I would say that I would feel targeted. I wouldn’t think it’s friendly. It’s actually rather hostile,' Cunza said."

"'I was under the impression that Metro already spoke English,' he said. 'But I expect city leaders to be wise enough to understand the importance of tolerance and diversity as we grow our city.'"

Read more about English-only proposals in materials prepared by the Tennessee Immigrants and Refugee Rights Coalition ("English-only laws are about the way we treat immigrants in transition") and Wikipedia.

*Gregg Ramos is the former President of the Nashville Bar Association. He is no relation to Nashville attorney Mario Ramos.

**Hispanic Chamber 101: There are four Hispanic chambers of commerce in Middle Tennessee: the first three are the Franklin Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the Tennessee Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The Tennessean profiled these three chambers in this article in June 2006. A fourth chamber was incorporated this year (the Middle Tennessee Hispanic Chamber of Commerce) but no activities have been announced.

Labels: chambers, council, education, english, immigrants, spanish

Monday, June 29, 2009

Vandy prof looking for families to help with grad course on English language learning

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Friday, June 05, 2009

Latin Dance Festival at Global Education Center this weekend

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Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Lipscomb convenes Hispanic Forum; Lowry calls for cross-cultural competence, service

"You will not be educated in our state unless you are also cross-culturally competent""Our unity ... may come from our willingness to get off our agenda and serve each other"100 public officials, teachers, parents, school administrators, community and business leaders in attendance

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Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Local Colombian artists Jorge Yances and Jairo Prado team with Glendale's elementary students

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Middle-school blogger SuperMousey responds to "I don’t like Mexicans"

"I am Hispanic, even if I don’t look the part. My dad is Mexican, and my mom is White"

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Tuesday, April 28, 2009

ELL students to get more time with native speakers

Parents, experts both see benefitAt Glencliff, goal is to increase immersion time from 50% to 80%

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Thursday, April 23, 2009

450 Latino students will graduate from Metro high schools in 2009; up from 250 in 2008

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Thursday, April 16, 2009

Bilingual event for children's health April 23

Free Health Screenings and More at Whitsitt Elementary School

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Monday, April 13, 2009

Laura Blackwell Clark to lawmakers: don't withhold college

HB0808 would close universities' doors to Tennessee studentsStudents without visas flourish with the responsibilities they can controlHearing tomorrow in Higher Education Subcommittee

Students without visas flourish with the responsibilities they can control

Click here to act

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Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Cafe con Leche dance event at Vanderbilt will feature 150 students, nine Hispanic dances

Theme: "El Wiz"

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Friday, March 13, 2009

Vanderbilt biomedical engineering students return from spring break service in Guatemala

Fixing electrosurgery machine was part of the job, broadens reach of operating room

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Monday, March 09, 2009

Association of Hispanic Educators launches with Overton meeting Tuesday

Goals include student success, employee support, and sensitivity trainingMetro lacks Hispanic principals and assistant principals despite 14% student body representationFirst meeting 4pm Tuesday at Overton

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Friday, February 27, 2009

English, GED and college info at Hispanic Family Night in Springfield March 3

Families welcome; entertainment for children provided

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Monday, February 16, 2009

Hispanic students represent under 2% of public higher education population in Tennessee, but trend points up

Small percentage of Hispanic students is on the riseSchools see growth opportunity

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Monday, February 09, 2009

Advanced Placement exam increase among Tennessee's Hispanic high schoolers

"They are sticking it out."

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Thursday, February 05, 2009

Education info at Vol State's free Hispanic Family Night February 10

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Monday, January 26, 2009

Lipscomb plans Hispanic Forum April 30

Mayor Karl Dean, Gregg Ramos to speak"Proposing collaborative solutions to individual and community needs"Lipscomb University President L. Randolph Lowry calls for "dialogue not debate"

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Monday, December 08, 2008

Hispanic business leaders in Knoxville sit down for "roundtable" with News Sentinel

Mother unaware her daughter was in the infirmary

FBI apologizes

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Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Nashville English Language Learning program makes adjustments, gets tips from Memphis

Less busing

Language learners called "primary reason" Nashville misses NCLB benchmarks, Memphis program is "exceptional"

Poor, disabled and Hispanics in general are also missing benchmarks

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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Winner of Conexion Americas' inaugural young writer essay contest: Dulce Torres

"Dreams of Home in Both Places"Renata Soto comments on "disappointing truth" revealed in top essay

Dreams of Home in Both Places

"You will not be educated in our state unless you are also cross-culturally competent"
"Our unity ... may come from our willingness to get off our agenda and serve each other"
100 public officials, teachers, parents, school administrators, community and business leaders in attendance

Parents, experts both see benefit
At Glencliff, goal is to increase immersion time from 50% to 80%

HB0808 would close universities' doors to Tennessee students
Students without visas flourish with the responsibilities they can control
Hearing tomorrow in Higher Education Subcommittee

Goals include student success, employee support, and sensitivity training
Metro lacks Hispanic principals and assistant principals despite 14% student body representation
First meeting 4pm Tuesday at Overton

Small percentage of Hispanic students is on the rise
Schools see growth opportunity

Mayor Karl Dean, Gregg Ramos to speak
"Proposing collaborative solutions to individual and community needs"
Lipscomb University President L. Randolph Lowry calls for "dialogue not debate"

"Dreams of Home in Both Places"
Renata Soto comments on "disappointing truth" revealed in top essay

Centennial Park speech: "...thanks to the German-American press..."
Tennessee Staatszeitung, Emigrant Und Beobachter

Officials needed everyone to be prepared
89% of Hispanic students never left

100 volunteers needed for Nashville Adult Literacy Council alone
Somali student: four years to speak English proficiently, even more to read and write
"They say almost universally if I knew English other doors would open"

"Refusal to Resegregate Nashville"
"Racial code ... permeates the culture of our community"

Monuments, Empires and Resistance wins Society of American Archaeology book award
Chilean natives resisted Spanish conquest for more than 300 years

"To bring the members of Hispanic Churches of Christ in Nashville together into one community"
Classes, activities for kids, food, fireworks

Committee of Latino Parents highlights achievements of 200 students
Graduation rate the lowest among five racial and ethnic groups
"Not everyone wants you to succeed because you're Hispanic"
Lipscomb announces grants up to $22,000 for entering freshmen

"Challenged by isolation and barriers unknown to many Nashvillians"
Explores Nashville’s status as "destination city"
First installment, tonight: Little Kurdistan, USA