Long winter absences no longer plague educators at largely Hispanic schools
*Here are some of the reasons given by families that are no longer taking extended trips to Mexico over the holidays: Immigration enforcement is tighter; companies retain employees over the winter; parents grew up in U.S. and understand the importance of attendance. VL
By Vikki Ortiz Healy, The Chicago Tribune
When Maria Cerpa was in high school in the 1990s, her parents pulled her out of classes for several weeks each winter for family trips to Mexico, where they visited with relatives, celebrated religious feasts and reconnected with their culture.
But when Cerpa, now 36, planned a similar trip for her own family in December, the Chicago mother was sure to have her 14-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter back in school when classes resumed in early January.
[pullquote]January is no longer a stressful month spent catching up large numbers of Hispanic students after extended absences.[/pullquote]“I think it’s really important that they know where their roots come from, and they need to appreciate what my parents went through in order for us to be here,” Cerpa said. “But I want them to be prepared when they go to college and to be able to handle the classes.”
It’s a sentiment welcomed by educators at schools across the Chicago area, who say January is no longer a stressful month spent catching up large numbers of Hispanic students after extended absences. A decade ago, administrators at schools from Chicago to Waukegan tried everything from forums educating parents about the importance of attendance to threatening to fail students and forcing the repayment of registration fees to keep families from taking winter trips that lasted a month or more.
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[Photo by You Belong In Longmont/Flickr]
