Dear Members and Partners:
So many families and organizations continued to face difficulties again this year due to the coronavirus. At the top of the list for families of school age children was adjusting to new safety protocols and routines as students returned to instruction in the classroom. At the same time, PON continued its advocacy at the state level on behalf of parents and partnered with families of English Learners to successfully influence LCAPs in three school districts.
We learned so much about the challenges families and educators face in supporting English Learners and other student groups that we are impelled to reground our work in parent training in 2022.
To this end, we will be scaling back our advocacy efforts at the state level and investing time and resources in two new strands of work: building parent capacity to monitor student learning, including English language development, and exploring ways to foster cross-cultural solidarity through transformational experiences in the communities where we work. This will ensure parents remain actively engaged in helping their children succeed in school and that they collaborate and support one another in these efforts.
Thank you so much for your support during 2021. We look forward to our continued partnership and movement building in the new year.
In solidarity,
Araceli Simeón
