D97 Multilingual Teachers and MPAC Host Resource Night to Assist Migrant Families

District 97 multilingual teachers, in partnership with the Multilingual Parent Advisory Council (MPAC) and school and district administrators, held a Migrant Resource Night at Holmes Elementary School last week.

The purpose of the May 23 resource night was held to assist migrant families in District 97 by bringing together many of the resources they may need or could use.

Some of the resources available to attendees related to health access, education and community services. Immigration attorneys were on hand to try and answer questions from attendees and interpreters were available to make the information accessible in multiple languages. Childcare and dinner were also provided.

“When Dr. Zelaya and I met a few months ago and discussed this idea, I had no idea it would become a reality this school year,” Holmes multilingual teacher Jenn Jaros said. “Having so many resources in one location at the same time allows families to have increased access to what they need for not only their children to be successful at school, but for their larger family to thrive.”

The event was a group effort between Jaros, Zelaya, Holmes administrative assistant Margaret O'Malley, multilingual teachers across the district and MPAC. Over a dozen community groups were on hand to offer expertise and support to families.

The evening was such a success that the team is already looking at doing a similar event in the fall to reach new families as the school year begins.

“When Jenn and I first discussed this, we recognized there was a true need to support our migrant families and their needs were quite different from our other multilingual families,” Zelaya said. “We were truly honored to host this event that brought so many of our community partners together to support the needs of not only our Holmes families, but families from all of our District 97 schools.”