This article was written by intern Isabella Beltran. Lea este artĂculo en español aquĂ.
The Parents Alliance group of Youth Alliance works to help parents find their voices so they can advocate for the needs of their children in schools. More than anything, according to Isabel Muñoz, they demand that schools invest in preventive programs instead of depending on suspension.
A parent organizer with the group, Muñoz said that its main objective is to minimize, through education, kids ending up in jail. The group’s founder, Jeanette Neal, started Parents Alliance when she was working with justice-involved families who began seeing issues between the schools and their children.
A big part of reaching their objective is teaching parents to speak to the school district and learn to stand up for their children.
“Parents also have a voice and the ones who are experts in young people are the parents themselves,” Muñoz said.
Parents who are part of the alliance have said the group has given them tools that have helped them to communicate with schools, teachers, and their kids.
“To create those bridges, they have given us these necessary tools to communicate with teachers, with the kids and also to continue creating community,” Parents Alliance member Olividalia Sanchez said.
Sanchez said that this group has built a bridge between parents and schools that has the ability to help students succeed instead of ending up on the streets or in jail.
“We want for each of us to be able to defend our children in the best way, to express ourselves in the best way and for administrators and teachers to be able to give them the tools instead of being at odds,” Sanchez said.
Several members of the group have attended and spoken at school district and county meetings, and met with government leaders to advocate for the needs of students.
“[Senator John] Laird came and I was able to share some issues like the lack of transportation outside the city and the lack of job opportunities and youth programs,” parent Paige Solorio said.
Among the victories for the group has been the approval of Senate Bill 274, which prohibits student suspension for “willful defiance.”
“The reality is that being suspended already means [the student] is out of school, what is the real solution with a suspension?” Munoz said. “On the other hand, what if we invested in preventative programs instead?”
Solorio has also advocated for programs for students that the group says can help keep kids off the streets and out of jail.
Part of keeping kids off the streets, according to Sanchez, is making sure they feel welcome and safe at school. That’s why she said that she wants to see more counselors in schools.
“When a conflict happens in schools,” Sanchez said, “whether it’s a suspension or a fight, and they come back to school, they feel intimidated, they feel alone. But if we had that staff supporting them in schools, making them feel welcome, we wouldn’t have so many problems in schools because those kids would readjust.”
That’s a sentiment that another member of the group, Marisela Portillo, also shares.
“I would like them to have more counselors because at my daughter’s school there is only one and she’s also a teacher,” Portillo said.
Beyond creating connections between parents and schools, Parents Alliance has helped members in their personal lives, according to Solorio.
“It has helped me a lot with my self-esteem,” Solorio said. “It was really low back then.”
Solorio, through Parents Alliance and other Youth Alliance programs, was also able to get financial help to pay for her children’s college tuition. The group has helped her manage being a single mom who is supporting her children.
Parents Alliance has also helped in parents’ work lives, according to Portillo.
“For me, this program is like a tool to be able to face things at work,” Portillo said.
Muñoz said that the parents participating in the alliance dedicate many hours to the group, taking turns going to school district meetings every month and participating in discussions about solving school issues.
Meanwhile, the parents also work and take care of their families.
“For them, their time is gold and the people that work here are very grateful to them, because thanks to them many things happen,” Muñoz said.
The BenitoLink Internship Program is a paid, skill-building program that prepares local youth for a professional career. This program is supported by Monterey Peninsula Foundation AT&T Golf Tour and Taylor Farms.
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