The Visitacion Valley Parents Association (VVPA), a project of Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), is dedicated to supporting limited-English proficient (LEP) parents to become active participants in their children’s education and in the Chinese community at large. The group includes LEP parents who became frustrated by the barriers they personally faced when trying to get involved in their children’s schools and decided to take action to make their voices heard.

Immigration parents face many challenges when trying to build a new life in a new country, but few are as daunting as when a parent cannot be involved in their child’s education. For example, LEP parents worry about their children’s grades, but may not be able to understand the report cards if they are only in English. They want to get involved in the school activities, but may not be able to read the notices. Many immigrant parents face these significant barriers and feel frustrated and/or lost.

VVPA parent leaders help other parents overcome this challenge by teaching them about their rights and how to advocate for themselves at school sites. They learn how to request translation services at meetings and ensure that the concerns of LEP Chinese-speaking parents are heard. VVPA memebers develop advocacy and leadership skills needed to become community leaders such as public speaking and one-to-one relationship building. Over time these parent leaders are able to share their skills by mentoring and supporting a new group of leaders through VVPA’s annual spring training and other community workshops throughout the year.

For the past several years, VVPA parent leaders have actively participated in campaigns geared towards increasing opportunities for meaningful LEP parent involvement and educational equity for all students. For example, in 2006, VVPA members successfully secured additional funds to expand language services in San Francisco public schools by presenting data and parent testimonies to illustrate the tremendous need. This past year, VVPA conducted community presentations and provided public statements in support of a local ballot initiative that would increase well-trained teachers at public schools in San Francisco. Currently, the group is focused on the school district’s new strategic plan, which will help strengthen the academic goals at each school site and guarantee that all students will have equal access to quality and meaningful education. VVPA’s goal is to ensure that LEP parents will have the opportunity to voice their opinions during this process.

VVPA parents continue to advocate for change because they believe in the value of active community engagement and have seen how their collective efforts can improve language access for LEP parents. As VVPA moves forward, parents will identify other issue areas to work on and know that they can be part of enriching the lives of all LEP parents in the City.

Written by Michelle Yeung, Community Advocate at Chinese for Affirmative Action