Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education Noticiario Noticiario_Winter2018 | Page 14

Regional Activity Highlights
Regional Activity Highlights

Plains Region

November 2017: West Texas A & M University hosted a group of students and their families from the Amarillo area. The Padres Colaboradores / Parent Collaborators Leadership Academy is a nine-week program, sponsored by Amarillo ISD, that prepared Spanish-speaking parents with the tools and information to successfully navigate the education system and support their children’ s academic achievement. Parents receive research-based training designed to help them in supporting their children’ s career and / or college aspirations. A key component of this program includes providing parents with key information and support to instrumentally encourage their student’ s college education. In order to reinforce this concept, a visit to WTAMU was part of the program.
While on campus, the high school-aged students were able to participate in Discover WT while their parents participated in a comprehensive program covering a variety of topics, all in Spanish. Some of the presentations for the parents included:
Paving a Pathway to College – What students can do to make themselves competitive for college admission( strong academic record, community service, leadership, extra-curricular, etc.) Paying for college – FAFSA 101 and other financial aid information( types of financial aid available for low-income students, etc.) College and College Life 101 – Overview of what it means to pursue a college degree( benefits of a degree, college schedule, length of program, costs beyond tuition, housing, clubs, etc.)
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