Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Month-old CCSD center assists new immigrant students and their families
A simple sheet of paper posted on a whiteboard at the Clark County School District’s new Family Support Center illustrates the breadth of the clientele coming in for social and educational services.
Designed for immigrants with limited or no English skills, it says “I speak” plus a language in that tongue. First is “Hablo Español,” or “I speak Spanish.” The list of languages includes: Arabic; Persian, Farsi or Dari; Pashto; Swahili, Kinyarwanda; Amharic; Tigrinya; Russian; Ukrainian; Tagalog.
These are languages for the people of Iran, Afghan
istan, Congo, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Russia, Ukraine and the Philippines, some of whom have come to Las Vegas and enroll their children in CCSD while looking for a better life in the United States.
The support center is focused on helping newcomers get acclimated. But the services go further, as district officials believe the center is the first in the county staffed with advocates who directly state their commitment to undocumented immigrants with the newly created Undocumented & Immigrant Family & Youth (UNIFY) Success Services.
CCSD’S Family Engagement Department has 10 small field centers at schools serving primarily low-income students. They offer English classes and basic technology lessons for parents and preschoolers.
The support center, which opened about a month ago at Maryland Parkway and Oakey Boulevard, offers all that and more, including connections to Catholic Charities, Three Square food bank, Legal Aid, job-finding nonprofits, a clothing and school supply closet, a health clinic, a lending library and onsite translators.
Cindy Flores, the new center’s director, said a big selling point for the facility was its comprehensive nature. It’s already offered a vaccination clinic, a workshop on applying for college scholarships and financial aid, and an orientation for five refugee families from Afghanistan.
Astrid Silva is the UNIFY Success Services director. She will also be based at the center, which is across the street from Global Community High School, a specialized school for teen immigrants.
For several district officials, this center is personal. Silva is a high-profile advocate for immigrant youths — she co-founded the immigrant rights group Dream Big Nevada and has long been open about her status as an undocumented Mexican immigrant brought to the U.S. as a child. She is a DACA recipient, benefiting from the Obama-era relief policy Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
Flores was born in the United States a year after her parents fled El Salvador in the late 1970s seeking political asylum and finding a scant social infrastructure to receive them in Los Angeles. Superintendent Jesus Jara came to the U.S. with his family in 1980 from Venezuela at age 10, not knowing a word of English.
Silva graduated from CCSD’S Advanced Technologies Academy in 2006 and wants to empower families to be involved in their children’s education regardless of immigration status. She said some families have been nervous about exposing themselves to immigration authorities just by approaching school office staff, or benefiting from services and opportunities that critics says they shouldn’t be allowed to have, such as a spot on a school basketball team.
“We want to make sure the students are free to be themselves,” Silva said.
Up for the Heisman
Eighteen local high school athletes were named school-level winners in the Heisman High School Scholarship competition.
The award looks for high-achieving student-athletes from more than 29,000 high schools nationally who are also difference-makers in their communities. To qualify, a student must be a leader in the school community, and a noted role model for underclassmen.
The 18 school-level winners are: Macda Angaw, Spring Valley High School; Mia Aronow, Coronado High School; Jennifer Barajas, Del Sol High School; Braydon Bond, Southeast Career and Technical Academy; Soleil Fullmer, Nevada State High School-henderson; Sean Gosse, The Meadows School; Jaydon Hare, Veterans Tribute Career and Technical Academy; Jaida Harris, Lake; Donte Hoofkin, Mojave High School; Abigail Lescenski, Faith Lutheran High School; Taylor Lindahl, Las Vegas High School; Eddie Lozano, Sports Leadership and Management Academy; Marley Spielberg, Basic High School; Justin St. Cloud, Coronado High School; Katie Vena, Green Valley Christian School; Rylan Walter, Faith Lutheran High School; Parker Wittmayer, Calvary Chapel Christian School; and Lauren Wong, West Career and Technical Academy.
They advance to a state-level competition, where one female and male will be receive $1,000 scholarships, plus the chance to win a $10,000 scholarship.