Final Presentation for Dynamics of Leadership

1. Cultivating a College-Going
Culture:
Identifying Barriers and Empowering
Parents and Families to Increase
Hispanic Student Persistence and
Completion
Maricela Silva
Dynamics of Leadership
EDUD 6306-48F

2. South Texas College (STC), an institution of higher education
offers certificate and degree programs, and serves the
communities of Hidalgo and Starr Counties, along the Mexico
border. It provides transformative educational opportunities to
these counties and is compounded by a constant influx of
immigrants, who do not speak English.
• English-speaking children
• Spanish-speaking homes
• Higher education instilled in school
• Parents and families remain unfamiliar
with the concept of “college-going culture”
due to a lack of materials/information in
their native language.

3. This initiative is designed to provide information and resources
to Spanish-speaking parents and families in an effort to empower
them and cultivate a college-going culture in our communities.
The program will:
• Provide access to information about programs,
processes, and services in higher education
• Provide a clear college and career pathway for
students.
• Impress on parents and families the
importance and value of higher education.
In order to achieve these goals, a team from STC
will engage the Spanish-speaking population by
connecting with and going into the communities
through existing portals, such as public schools,
community centers, religious institutions, etc.

4. Many Spanish-speaking parents and families of grade-school
students have a sense of intimidation when it comes to
connecting to the college culture.
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 85% of
Hidalgo County households and 95.9% of Starr County
households speak a language other than English.
STC provides extensive information in English, through printed
material and Internet content; however, this information is
unavailable in Spanish.
Therefore, Spanish-speaking parents and families remain
uninformed about higher education and the processes.

5. This will be accomplished by:
1) Developing a simple, reproducible, bilingual
informational video guide and brochure which will
include the following:
• The Value of an Education – El valor de la educación
• Admissions – Inscripciones
• Advising – Consejos Académicos
• Financial Aid – Recursos financieros
• Continuing Education – Oportunidades educativas
para adultos
• Specialized Programs – Programas especializadas
• Graduation – Graduación

6. 2) Establishing strong collaborations and relationships with
institutions, organizations, and individuals who can facilitate an
engagement of parents, families, and communities through
events such as ‘Noche de Familia’ (Family Night). Hosts may
include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Public Schools
• Community Centers
• Churches and other religious centers
• Community leaders

7. 3) Create a team comprised of STC faculty and staff who will
implement this program and provide personal guidance and
direction. The Team will include representatives from the
following offices and departments from the College:
• Admissions and Outreach
• Financial Aid
• Advising
• Continuing Education
• Academic areas – faculty representative(s)
• Public Relations and Marketing
• ADA and Veteran Services

8. To help facilitate this process, the Team will
provide Spanish-speaking parents and
families information, in their native
language, about programs, processes, and
services in higher education to provide clear
college and career pathways for all students.
Attendees would have to participate in the
Program Progression (Figure 1) at every
event. In addition, Teams will impress upon
these families the importance and value of
higher education.
Figure 1

9. The Initiative will address the ‘disconnect’ between the
experiences of the public school students and their parents and
families, address the language barriers that prevent the transfer
of information, and the lack of resources.
This initiative will provide information and resources to Spanish-speaking
parents and families in order to empower them and
thereby
cultivate a college-going culture
in our communities.
The team will provide families literature, in Spanish, about
programs, processes, and services in higher education and
provide clear college and career pathways for students. This
program will also impress on these families the importance and
value of a higher education.

10. Resources
Buhidar, W., Herrin, J., Sanchez III, R., Scott, G., and Silva, M.G. (2012). C3@STC: Cultivating a College
Going Culture/Cultivando una Cultura Universitaria. Ambassadors Leadership Academy, South Texas
College.
Migrant Health. (2014). Border Populations. Retrieved from http://mhpsalud.org/who-we-serve/border-populations/.
South Texas College. (2014). Factbook. Retrieved from http://www2.southtexascollege.edu/
factbook/SiteAssets/1%20-%20Access/EnrollmentHeadCountbyInstrucMode_AY2013_E.pdf.
Texas Education Reports (TPEIR). (2014). High School Graduates' Longitudinal Analysis - by Education
Service Center Region. Retrieved from http://www.texaseducationinfo.org/ ViewReport.aspx.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2013). Quickfacts. Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov /qfd/states/48000.html.
University of Texas-Pan American. (2014). Graduation And Retention Rates For First-Time, Full-Time
Freshman Fall 1996 - Fall 2013. Retrieved from https://portal.utpa.edu/portal/page/
portal/utpa_main/pres_home/oire_home/files_data_and_reports/RetentionnGraduationRatesFall1996ToC
urrent.pdf.