Parents Build a Brighter Future for Boyle Heights.

Last summer 19 parents were trained to be parent ambassadors at Proyecto Pastoral’s Early Childhood Education Centers (serving children ages 18 months to 4 years old). The series of year long workshops served as leadership development and engaged parents to advocate for their children’s education. Parents attended workshops on topics such as letter writing, computer basics, and power point. “More than just providing parents with new tools, these workshops had parents apply their new skill set to concepts related to child development. These workshops provided parents with the information on who to speak with, where to go to for help, and why continuing to advocate for their children’s education is important,” states Martha Moreno, lead teacher at Centro de Alegria. “You can see significant changes in the parents who have participated in the training. They are more active and engaged!”

Martha and a parent ambassador will be starting a series of workshops this summer called “Opening Doors.” The first workshop titled “I am my child’s first teacher,” is an introduction to the program and will discuss the importance of 0-5 development and the important role that parents play. “This is especially important because many of our parents are either young parents, single parents, or work many hours and often do not have the patience or the tools needed to further their child’s development. These are the most important years of a child’s life! Often times parents underestimate the capacity of their children. We want to make sure that parents are educated and prepared to be engaged in their child’s development,” explains Martha.

“Boyle Height has many social problems. There is a lot of work to be done and while other programs focus on troubled families we are trying to help families avoid that path. We want to address the root causes of many of the social ills found in our community before it’s too late. We are strengthening families so that down the line when they reach obstacles, they have the tools to continue to live a healthy life,” affirms Martha. Proyecto Pastoral’s Early Childhood Education Centers comprehensive approach actively supports and engages parents so that families can continue to thrive. Together parents and staff at the Centers are working to build a brighter future for Boyle Heights.

Written by: Michelle Angeles, Development Associate