tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20945656740368547292023-11-15T05:13:18.034-08:00¡Qué Padre! Communicate with ESL ParentsFinding better ways to communicate with ELL families...ergoodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783329504530166796noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094565674036854729.post-38894305844736153792014-02-03T15:35:00.000-08:002014-02-03T15:35:00.212-08:00Offering Business a Free Website in SpanishWe don't get paid until you do!<br />
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Advocate Latino is expanding beyond schools into the business community. Watch our video, and contact us to start working with us today!<br />
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<br />ergoodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783329504530166796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094565674036854729.post-63779102529628106602013-08-30T07:55:00.003-07:002013-08-30T07:55:48.386-07:00Start Using Advocate Latino Sometimes we don't realize how great of an effect communication can have on a person or a family or a system. We have been working with school districts, and things couldn't be going better for them. If they need something, they can just call us, and we can take care of the situation. They don't need to chase around and find a Spanish teacher or another reluctant volunteer to help communicate with the families.<br />
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School districts can sign up with us now for free with no deposit or commitment required. The families we have been working with are very grateful because they are not in the dark anymore. They feel empowered because they can be a part of their children's education.<br />
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Contact us today at <a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/">www.advocatelatino.com</a>. You can call me directly at 715-821-0116.<br />
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Thanks <br />
Ericergoodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783329504530166796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094565674036854729.post-38030936447400483402013-06-21T14:20:00.001-07:002013-06-21T14:20:39.887-07:00A Revolultion? Sounds a little lofty, doesn't it?I have written a few times in various places that <a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/" target="_blank">Advocate Latino's</a> goal is to revolutionize the way school districts communicate with Latinos and other English learners in the United States. In many school districts, the communication with Latino parents is scattered, chaotic, or nonexistent. There is usually no order to the communication, just people running around, calling at the last minute or not at all, doing the best they can with the system or lack of system that exists. <br />
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<b>We think schools can do better.</b><br />
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When I call schools to let them know about our company, people seem to jump to conclusions about what we are. They think we are expensive interpreters, overpriced translators, a useless software company, or maybe a non-profit service. We are none of these. We are a liaison company for schools that do not have the means to hire their own liaison at this point. <br />
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We do the following:<br />
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1. Provide a 1-800 number that parents (and teachers/administrators) can call anytime with questions or concerns. They can speak English or Spanish with Ary, who takes the calls. If there is no answer, a message can be left, and Ary will call back as soon as possible. THIS NUMBER SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR MEDICAL EMERGENCIES.<br />
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2. Create, manage, update, and promote a functional website for Latino parents that includes our phone number and documents we have translated (or documents that school districts send to us that have already been translated). Read more about why our websites are useful for Latinos<a href="http://www.advocatelatino.blogspot.com/2013/05/our-websites-for-school-districts.html" target="_blank"> here</a>. Most school district websites are not useful for Latino parents.<br />
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3. Make unlimited two party and three party calls. We don't charge by the hour or by the minute. Interpreting can cost up to $40 per hour. Many times an interpreter is not necessary, but a message needs to get to the parents. For example, we recently called four parents to make sure they sent a form back to school with their children. All of the children brought them the next day. The teacher didn't have to worry about the forms and the parents were happy to know that someone went through the trouble to call them about their children. If something is forgotten by any party, another call can be made with no extra charges.<br />
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4. Translate simple documents (permission forms, notices about testing, notices about meetings or events, etc.). We don't charge by the word or page. It's part of the package.<br />
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5. Help fill out school forms.<br />
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6. Conduct meetings/conferences using FaceTime with no extra charges.<br />
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7. Conduct monthly Check In calls and send reports to teachers. <br />
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We come at it from the perspective of an ESL teacher. Translating and interpreting companies don't understand the unique needs of school districts. They also don't understand the limitations of school budgets. They are also not there when you need them. We estimate that a school district can use our services for 20% of what they would pay a liaison who they would hire. If a school district uses us, it doesn't need to go through the hiring process, pay workers' compensation, or pay health insurance. If the population of Latinos decreases, it doesn't need to reduce FTE or lay anybody off. Sometimes it is difficult to find qualified people who are willing to work part-time hours. Also, we already have a communication system ready to go, so there is no need to wait for a liaison to learn how to create a webpage or run a database.<br />
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Why does <a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/" target="_blank">Advocate Latino</a> say it is starting a revolution?<br />
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If a (small) school district signs up with us, it will be giving Latino parents and students much more than what a large district offers its students. We are also doing it for a fraction of the price of anything comparable.<br />
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Join the revolution today! Everyone starts with a free month of service. There is no credit card or deposit required.<br />
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Like us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LatinoAdvocate" target="_blank">Facebook</a> if you believe in us!<br />
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Call me at 715-821-0116 if you have any questions.<br />
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Thanks,<br />
Eric Goodman<br />
Owner and Founder of Advocate Latino, LLCergoodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783329504530166796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094565674036854729.post-24565221024541476262013-05-28T20:43:00.000-07:002013-05-28T20:43:30.614-07:00Our Websites for School DistrictsA few people have asked me why a school district would need a website like the ones we create rather than the website it already has. Here is our sample website: <a href="http://www.anytownschool.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Anytown School</a>.<br />
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First of all, many districts with Spanish-speaking parents and parents who speak other languages don't have websites that have the capability to display the content in another language. For example, I went to the Lincoln (Nebraska) Public Schools website. Although it has a large ESL population (more than 75 teachers), its website does not have the capability to display in languages other than English. <a href="http://www.lps.org/">http://www.lps.org/</a><br />
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Other districts have websites that allow for a Google translation of the web content. I went to the St. Cloud (Minnesota) Area School District website. I scrolled to the bottom of the page and went to the area that says "Select Language." I selected "Spanish." There are three problems with this: 1. The parents might not know that they need to scroll to the bottom. 2. The parents might not be able to read "Select Language." 3. They also might not be able to read "Spanish" and select it.<br />
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If they do get to this point, and they go to <i>Contáctanos, </i>they end up at this page: <a href="http://stcloudisd742.mn.schoolwebpages.com/education/page/download.php?fileinfo=Q29udGFjdF9Vcy5wZGY6Ojovd3d3NS9zY2hvb2xzL21uL3N0Y2xvdWRhc2Q3NDIvaW1hZ2VzL2RvY21nci82NjhfZmlsZV80MDY5X21vZF8xMzUxODU5MzUyLnBkZg==&sectiondetailid=694" target="_blank">Contact Page for St. Cloud Schools</a>. Imagine that you are a non-English speaking parent, who would you call on this page? I also called the number on the main page: <a href="http://isd742.org/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectionid=1" target="_blank">Main Page for St. Cloud Schools</a>. It is in English with no options for other languages. The St. Cloud Area School District has 1,100 ESL students. Google translations, by the way, are not accurate.<br />
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If you look at our sample webpage, things get much more simple. Go to <a href="http://www.anytownschool.weebly.com/">http://www.anytownschool.weebly.com</a>. If you were a parent who speaks Spanish, would you know who to call? Ary, who would receive the phone call, speaks Spanish and would handle the problem ASAP. There are also announcements at the bottom. We can also add forms and other information to this page in case it doesn't make it home with the students. We would also promote this website by calling parents so that they use it. A school district could still connect its site to our site. All of the Spanish on our site would be accurate and written by a native speaker.<br />
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Let us know if you would like a site like our sample website. It comes free with the $12/month/student plan.<br />
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Thanks for reading,<br />
Eric<br />
<a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/">www.advocatelatino.com</a><br />
715-821-0116 <br />
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<br />ergoodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783329504530166796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094565674036854729.post-76732354411147396842013-05-02T18:47:00.000-07:002013-05-12T18:00:46.282-07:00Two MinnesotasUpdate: Minnesota has the highest Homeownership Gap in the country. I will add more to this later. For now, you can read the article: <a href="http://www.startribune.com/local/206703811.html?refer=y" target="_blank">Star Tribune Article</a>. <b>Wake up Minnesota! </b>The rest of the world and the United States is evolving while you stand still and get worse. Arrogance does not solve problems.<br />
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I know that I am taking a risk by stealing the idea from John Edwards. To be honest, I never liked him at all. It's a safe thing to say now. I always thought he was fake, and I guess I was right. The point is not to vilify him, however. Most people are entitled to be forgiven. Everyone makes mistakes.<br />
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He made a good point when he said that there are "Two Americas." I know that I am also taking a risk because his statement has been beat into the ground by conservatives and possibly others as well. It's old news. It's also true.<br />
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It couldn't be more true in Minnesota. Minnesota has one of the widest Achievement Gaps (<a href="http://www.50can.org/what-we-do/press-release/new-data-shows-minnesota%E2%80%99s-achievement-gap-widening" target="_blank">source: 50can</a>) in the country along with the highest dropout rates for Hispanics and Native Americans in the United States. Minnesota is only behind Nevada for the highest dropout rate for African-Americans. It is also doing a horrible job with Asian-Americans and the Economically Disadvantaged (in the bottom 10%) (<a href="http://www2.ed.gov/documents/press-releases/state-2010-11-graduation-rate-data.pdf" target="_blank">source: ed.gov</a>). <br />
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When people outside of Minnesota think about Minnesota, I think they usually have this idea of it being a liberal utopia with a great education system. The numbers show it is far from that. One might make the argument that the reason for the Gap in Minnesota is that whites do so well, but that is not the case either. The problem exists because minorities do so poorly.<br />
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A shining example of "Two Minnesotas" can be found in a recent <a href="http://www.startribune.com/sports/preps/205166471.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y&refer=y" target="_blank">Star Tribune article</a>. There is a House bill to be considered that protects coaches from being fired solely because of parents' complaints. I agree with the bill. I think coaches should have this type of protection.<br />
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The problem I have isn't with the bill. I have a problem with this bill being brought up in Minnesota. It is the first state in the Union that is considering this bill. It also has the biggest Achievement Gap in the country in many areas. <br />
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Instead of going to school boards and complaining about coaches, why don't parents in Minnesota go to complain about the education that everyone is receiving? The most vocal parents probably have no beef with the education of their children because they are represented well and the system set up for their children to succeed. So, instead of complaining about the education of the minorities and economically disadvantaged in their schools, they go and complain about sports.<br />
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I understand that every parent wants the best for his or her children. But people need to start realizing how lucky we have it here. We are lucky to be able to have the luxury of indoor hockey rinks and swimming pools and hardwood basketball floors and well-groomed golf courses. The problem in Minnesota isn't sports. The problem is that some students are getting a much better education (an education that suits their needs and their culture--affluent white students) while everyone else is getting a pretty crappy one, according to the numbers.<br />
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I might be the first to do it, but I am not going to challenge the parents of disadvantaged students and ask why they don't care about their children's education. I am not going to challenge teachers and ask why they can't figure out how to teach to all students. I am not going to challenge coaches and ask them to coach better, whatever that means.<br />
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I am challenging parents of rich, white kids to look back every once and awhile, and maybe extend your hand to someone who needs your support, as you continue to "fight" for your fortunate offspring. You might be surprised by the admiration you get from your children when you do something unexpected.<br />
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Thanks,<br />
Eric<br />
<a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/" target="_blank">http://www.advocatelatino.com </a><br />
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<br />ergoodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783329504530166796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094565674036854729.post-64108296721300665192013-04-29T17:46:00.001-07:002013-04-30T19:39:57.231-07:00Future Posts. I think some people won't like the questions I pose.<br />
Please read below to see some of my posts. The one below is from yesterday.<br />
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I want to write about these subjects in the future. Please comment now if you have opinions.<br />
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1. Do school sports have a place in public schools? I was in a lot of sports in high school. <b>I love sports. I wish I had enough time to be a coach.</b> However, we need to look at this question objectively. Take your kids and your love for the sport out of the equation and look at the bigger picture of closing the Achievement Gap. Maybe sports are part of the answer. Maybe they aren't being used to their full potential. Maybe all groups don't have access to sports, which could be helpful for those groups. Maybe promoting other sports would help close the Gap. <b>I am adding some information here after thinking about this for a day or so. Schools in the United States are now judged on how well they perform academically. Teachers are judged by how well their students do. We are not judged by how well our sports teams do. I know the research says that students who are in sports and other activities do better in school than students who aren't. However, the question is, when do the sports benefit the students' academic performance and when do they have no impact or hurt the students' performance? I am just saying that we shouldn't make the assumption that sports help all students or that the money that goes into sports is benefiting the students who need the most help.</b><br />
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2. On the same token, does music and theater have a place in public schools? Think about who benefits and participates in these activities. Do those with less money have the same access to band as those with more money (due to the cost of the instruments)? How can these activities be made more accessible to all students? Do the programs you are familiar with try to involve all students or do they cater to the middle and upper class? One might say that is how it is, but think of the money that goes into these programs. Depending on the school, it could be two or three more reading teachers. Maybe a good compromise is to add something that would benefit those who do not usually participate in these activities. There is no real equivalent to band, theater, and chorus that is offered during the school day in most high schools. It's usually an easy A for high achievers and something they can put on their college application. What do the students who do not have an interest in this type of thing (or an interest in entering this segment of our culture) have as an equivalent?<br />
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My goal is not to push an agenda (other than promoting <a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/" target="_blank">Advocate Latino</a>). My goal is to try to make public schools work for everyone. I may not have great influence over anybody, but maybe one idea presented in this blog (from me or anyone who comments) will make a difference. <br />
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Take care,<br />
Eric<br />
715-821-0116 <br />
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7HE9877ZS958ergoodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783329504530166796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094565674036854729.post-31817813454428046102013-04-27T13:35:00.001-07:002013-04-27T13:38:51.723-07:00The Education GapI read a very interesting article in the New York Times today about the Education Gap (<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/10/education/education-gap-grows-between-rich-and-poor-studies-show.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/10/education/education-gap-grows-between-rich-and-poor-studies-show.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0</a>). We all know that children who come from affluent families do better in school. The author did a very good job presenting reasons for this. I am going to take a different spin on it because I come from a different perspective.<br />
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I believe that schools can do much more to close this gap, even at the high school level. The first thing that needs to be done is to create a system that really prepares students for college rather than focusing on content classes. Classes should be based on skill building rather than accumulation of information. I know this is already being changed by many schools and many teachers (with the focus being switched to reading and study skills), but I would say a majority of teachers have not changed what they do, and many new teachers are teaching the way their teachers taught them. <br />
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How can this be done? I think changing the name of the classes from Biology, US History, or Algebra II would be a good start. In my opinion, every class should be called something like <b>Building Reading Skills in Science: Biology</b>. Maybe a history class would be <b>Learning How to Write for College: US History</b>. All of the content can still be taught along with teaching the standards. We need to stop believing that learning certain content will help students once they enter college or that learning all of this information will build their confidence. If students believe that they can take what they are learning and apply it to any class anywhere, they will do better and work harder. They will believe it is important no matter what the content is. I think that a lot of these skills are taught at home indirectly (reading, becoming interested in a variety of academic fields, and writing college-level papers). Those skills were taught to me by my parents (we were not rich, but we were educated). Also, without the help of my parents, I would have had no idea how to apply for college or scholarships. Schools can do these things without adding a single dime to their budget. It would just be a shift in mindset.<br />
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The Gap is also widening between because college credit programs for high school students tend to be more beneficial for white students (<a href="http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/09/advanced-placement/">http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/09/advanced-placement/</a>). (I know I am running the risk of mixing race and socioeconomic class. I do not intend to say that being of a certain race automatically puts a family into a certain socioeconomic class). However, I would not say that schools should not offer these classes. As the article suggests, opportunities for teachers to be trained on how to teach the courses might be the trick:<br />
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<i>"In Texas and Florida, for example, where the state provides funding for
teachers to attend summer college courses to help them teach A.P.
courses, Hispanic students have a higher participation in the courses
and have demonstrated more success in the exams." </i><br />
<a href="http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/09/advanced-placement/">http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/09/advanced-placement/</a><br />
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In general, I am just saying that just throwing out AP, PSEO, and CLEP as options is not necessarily going to close the Gap. Parents and students from lower socioeconomic levels need to have some other mechanism to help them gain access to and have success in these types of programs. If they are just offered somewhat haphazardly, they become merely another program that widens the Gap. If a school district does the work to think of ways it can get all interested students involved, they become programs that can close the Gap because the students earn free college credit with these types of programs.<br />
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I haven't mentioned <a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/" target="_blank">Advocate Latino</a> thus far. You can go to <a href="http://advocatelatino.com/">advocatelatino.com</a> to start communicating with parents today about college readiness and other school issues today. We have a free trial.<br />
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Give me a call if you have any questions. Please leave comments about different ways school districts help widen or close the Gap.<br />
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Also, check out our new video. It's pretty funny.<br />
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Thanks,<br />
Eric<br />
715-821-0116<br />
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<br />ergoodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783329504530166796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094565674036854729.post-73852105427444501102013-04-21T13:38:00.002-07:002013-04-21T13:38:28.691-07:00Closing the Achievement Gap with Advocate LatinoI recently changed our tagline on Twitter to "We want to revolutionize the way school districts communicate with Latinos and other English language learners." This or something like it will be our new mission statement. Since I posted it, I have thought about the way we are revolutionizing communication. <br />
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I have cited many sources in this blog and on videos that have made it clear that boosting parent involvement helps Latinos and all other students succeed in schools. You can scroll down to see the videos and blogs that discuss this topic. It has also been shown that increasing parent involvement helps Latino students more than it helps other groups (<a href="http://www.joe.org/joe/2011february/a7.php">http://www.joe.org/joe/2011february/a7.php</a>). So, it is definitely worth it for school districts to put resources toward communication with Latino parents. Increasing parent involvement has been proven to help all students with the following:<br />
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1. Grades<br />
2. Attendance<br />
3. Staying in school<br />
4. Behavior and social skills<br />
5. Graduating and going to post-secondary institutions<br />
6. Earning more credits<br />
(<a href="http://www.nea.org/tools/17360.htm">http://www.nea.org/tools/17360.htm</a>)<br />
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So, the question still remains: How does <a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/" target="_blank">Advocate Latino</a> help boost parent involvement in Latino families? How does it revolutionize the way school districts communicate with Latino families?<br />
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1. I have always been impressed when I see that a school district has a Spanish Hotline. The school districts that have this are usually large districts. With <a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/" target="_blank">Advocate Latino</a>, any district can have this hotline through us. Parents would be able to call us anytime between 7 AM and 7 PM central time. This way, parents can have contact with a Spanish speaker right away, and the questions and issues can be handled immediately. <br />
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2. If a school district subscribes to <a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/" target="_blank">Advocate Latino</a>, we will make monthly phone calls to the parents. A teacher or school district could use these phone calls for any purpose such as surveys, grade updates, behavior reports, announcements, reminders, or educating parents on a particular technique that will help their students succeed. As we gather information, we put it in a database. We can send the information gathered from the phone calls to the teacher or district at any time. In most cases, teachers, even if they do speak Spanish, do not have the time to do this type of valuable work. Most teachers also do not keep the type of communication records that we do.<br />
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3. <a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/" target="_blank">Advocate Latino</a> is the best deal around. I have estimated the cost for a school district with 10 Spanish-speaking students. It comes to around $1,200 for the entire year (maximum). A school district can estimate that it would spend around $120 per year per Spanish-speaking student when using <a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/" target="_blank">Advocate Latino</a>. This estimated price would include FaceTime interpreting for conferences and translations of documents. It may seem like a lot of money, but when you consider that a full-time liaison (in-district) would cost around $40,000 per year plus benefits, long distance charges, and possibly miles, it turns out to be an amazing bargain. Telephone interpreters, human translator services, and machine translating software (which doesn't work) are all much more expensive than <a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/" target="_blank">Advocate Latino</a>.<br />
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4. Because we have FaceTime, school districts no longer need to bring in expensive interpreters for conferences. Sometimes these interpreters can cost up to $35 or more per hour.<br />
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5. I have always considered it bad practice to use children as interpreters. I think most people would agree with me. Because <a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/" target="_blank">Advocate Latino</a> now exists, this does not need to be done anymore.<br />
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6. There are no usernames and passwords when a school district works with <a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/" target="_blank">Advocate Latino</a>. Everyone is treated as an important individual. Teachers and parents will see the difference. All of our customers will be treated with the utmost respect. Because you will work with the same people every time, there will be no need to update us on anything.<br />
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There is still time to start a free trial with <a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/" target="_blank">Advocate Latino</a> for the end of the school year. We would be happy to add you to our family. No school district/Latino population is too small!<br />
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Thanks,<br />
Eric Goodman<br />
715-821-0116<br />
<a href="mailto:eric@advocatelatino.com">eric@advocatelatino.com</a><br />
<a href="http://advocatelatino.com/">advocatelatino.com</a><br />
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<br />ergoodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783329504530166796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094565674036854729.post-88915776967469037352013-04-13T23:54:00.000-07:002013-04-14T17:15:03.167-07:00The Achievement GapI don't necessarily want to focus on Latinos today because the problem cannot be solved if we just consider one ethnic group. I really think schools should look over this data during the summer and make some changes: <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/documents/press-releases/state-2010-11-graduation-rate-data.pdf">http://www2.ed.gov/documents/press-releases/state-2010-11-graduation-rate-data.pdf</a><br />
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Minnesota has the largest achievement gap when it comes to Latinos graduating from high school. I would think that many would find this surprising news when we consider that Minnesota is a liberal state in general, and many consider it one of the best states for public education. The article that exposes Minnesota is here: <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/minnesota-massachusetts-largest-latino-achievement-gaps/story?id=17870011#.UWpFIoJozgg">http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/minnesota-massachusetts-largest-latino-achievement-gaps/story?id=17870011#.UWpFIoJozgg</a><br />
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Why is this happening? It's not that the white graduation rate is sky high. It is only 84%. About 28 states beat Minnesota in this category. Everyone beats Minnesota in the Latino category. Everyone beats Minnesota in the Native American category as well. It doesn't get much better with African-Americans in Minnesota. Only Nevada has worse numbers than Minnesota.<br />
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I have a couple theories:<br />
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1. We talk a lot about how the system is set up so that white, middle to upper class, English-speaking families have the best chance to succeed in United States schools. Maybe this is more true in Minnesota than anywhere else. Maybe progressive Minnesota hasn't caught up with the other states yet. Minnesota really needs to work on integrating and educating families that are not white, middle to upper class, and/or English-speaking.<br />
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2. Minnesota has a metro area with poor inner-city neighborhoods and white, upper-class suburbs. Most cities have this, but it seems like there really are "Two Minnesotas" when one travels between the two. Minnesota also has rural areas that have had a hard time adjusting to the new cultures that have arrived in them. I think we don't want to believe that Minnesota is a closed-minded, racist, or classist state because of the "Minnesota Nice" thing, but maybe Minnesotans need to look at themselves and say, "Hey, we think we are awesome, but we are the worst in the country. Numbers don't lie." Every state in the South beats Minnesota in graduation rates for African-Americans. It's time to look in the mirror.<br />
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3. There aren't enough role models of color in the schools in Minnesota. This can be very powerful, but it doesn't seem like Minnesota is going out of its way to make this happen. I could be wrong. No, you can't blame it on college students not choosing the right fields.<br />
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One of the things schools can do while they wait for policy changes is get parents involved in their children's education. It has been proven that parent involvement leads to better graduation rates: <a href="http://www.nea.org/tools/17360.htm">http://www.nea.org/tools/17360.htm </a><br />
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Getting parents involved can start today. Most of them want to know that someone cares about them and their children. They want to know they have someone who will listen to their concerns. It happens one parent, one interaction at a time. There is no easy answer or quick solution, but an effort has to be made, especially in states like Minnesota.<br />
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Go to <a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/">http://www.advocatelatino.com</a> to start a free trial this spring. We've waited long enough.<br />
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Thanks,<br />
Eric<br />
715-821-0116<br />
<a href="mailto:eric@advocatelatino.com">eric@advocatelatino.com</a><br />
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<br />ergoodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783329504530166796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094565674036854729.post-69578168943588894482013-04-04T21:18:00.001-07:002013-04-04T21:18:04.013-07:00New VideoCheck out our new video:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/6xVwgJCbbSg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Let me know what you think.ergoodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783329504530166796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094565674036854729.post-42793448032363604082013-03-30T21:09:00.001-07:002013-03-30T21:09:34.059-07:00Are Conferences Enough?I talked with a colleague the other day about her ESL program. We agreed on every issue, but when I was talking to her, I realized that there are some misconceptions about communicating with ESL parents. I am going to highlight what some of these misconceptions are, and I will make some comments on them.<br />
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<b>Misconception #1: As long as a school district has interpreters for parent-teacher conferences, it is doing what it needs to do in order to support ESL students and parents. </b>If a parent's first contact with the teacher or school is the conference, they usually arrive bewildered and timid. When I have had contact with them prior to the conference, it usually goes much better and we get a lot more accomplished. Their students also do much better when multiple contacts are made with the parents. Think of everything a mainstream, English-speaking, middle-class family knows about education in the United States. Now, imagine trying to cover all of that information for new arrivals to the United States. Add the time it takes to interpret the information into another language. At most, most children probably get about 60 minutes of conference time a year. It is impossible to transfer all of the information an ESL parent might need during the course of a student's educational career to them even when using a good system for communication. Therefore, limiting communication to what is expressed during conferences is not even close to enough especially when we consider that ESL students are expected to be at par with their mainstream peers in one to five years, depending on the test/state. Most teachers and administrators also expect or hope that their ESL students attend some type of post-secondary institution. Conferences are not nearly enough.<br />
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<b>Misconception #2: A good system for communicating to ESL parents is not necessary. Finding random (reluctant) volunteers, bilingual children, or language teachers to help is a good way to communicate with ESL parents.</b> I think you notice the sarcasm in the previous statement. A school district is not going to get the results it wants in terms of academic performance or behavior if it doesn't create a system that works for parents, teachers, and students. It is also not ethical (possibly not legal) for a school district to communicate with ESL parents in a haphazard way. I know it sounds ridiculous, but many school districts do communicate with ESL parents in this manner.<br />
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<b>Misconception #3: If a school district puts the same amount of effort toward communication with ESL parents as it does with mainstream parents, it will get the results it wants. </b>Here is a quote from the Intercultural Center for Research in Education (1998):<br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">The activities that schools carry out to promote parental involvement are not addressing the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">needs of all parents. For the most part, these activities are appealing to middle class parents,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">whose educational background, social status and financial resources strengthen their ability to</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">help their children succeed in school. Hispanic parents feel alienated from schools and as a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">result, they have low attendance at parent meetings, tend to withdraw from participating in</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">parent-teacher conferences and avoid communication with teachers and school administrators. (<a href="http://www.incre.org/pdf/invohisp.pdf">http://www.incre.org/pdf/invohisp.pdf</a>)</span></i></h4>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">There is actually a lot of good in the article I quoted above. If schools want good results, they need to do more. Parents need to feel like they have a say. They need to feel valued.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">I hope you like the new format. It is no longer a blogfomercial. I hope you can leave a comment. Challenge me if you feel I am incorrect.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Thanks,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Eric Goodman</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/">www.advocatelatino.com</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">715-821-0116</span></div>
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<br />ergoodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783329504530166796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094565674036854729.post-2565775582771476972013-03-26T20:21:00.001-07:002013-03-29T09:18:02.267-07:00Building ESL ProgramsEvery article I find shows that our services are necessary to build a learning program that includes families who speak English as a second language. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2009) states:<br />
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<i><b>3) Communicate with families in a language they can understand. </b>It
is essential that families receive oral and written communication from
the teacher and center staff in a language they can understand best.
Translate written documents such as classroom newsletters into families'
home language(s). If you use a free online translation service, be sure
to have someone who speaks the language proof read the document for
accuracy.</i> (<a href="http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/family/Family%20and%20Community%20Partnerships/New%20Parental%20Involvement/Engaging%20Parents/StrategiesforCo.htm">http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/family/Family%20and%20Community%20Partnerships/New%20Parental%20Involvement/Engaging%20Parents/StrategiesforCo.htm</a>)<br />
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The same article also states:<br />
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<i>Be sure to have a system in place wherein families can provide feedback
such as suggestions, comments or questions to the center. This may be a
point of contact in the center who speaks the language of the families
or perhaps families can provide written feedback and center staff are
able to later translate it.
</i><br />
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Advocate Latino (<a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/">www.advocatelatino.com</a>) can provide these services. We cannot promise that we can solve every communication problem, but we can provide a lot of assistance. If a particular school is having difficulties with academic performance or behavior, I believe that the extra communication we provide will help. Parents will feel like they have someone who they can call, and that their voices are being heard. Their feelings will be passed on to their children, and a difference will be seen in the classroom and the school.<br />
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We will not only do this job well, but we will also do it at a great price. We realize that districts are on a tight budget. If you read some older posts, you will see that we can service 10 students at about $1,000 per year. This includes everything--check in calls; sixty minutes of two way (liaison-type calls), three way (interpreter-type calls), or FaceTime calls (interpreter-type calls with video); a 1-800 number for your parents to call; and whatever else we can do to help (translating documents and interpreting for conferences is extra, but not expensive). Any other business that does the same services is going to be much more expensive.<br />
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Go to <a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/">www.advocatelatino.com</a> to register today. Registration is easy. It should take about two minutes at the most. It is also free. Once you register, you are automatically signed up for the free trial. Because we are a new company, we are trying to build a customer base and a good reputation. Therefore, we are not asking for credit card information or asking for any type of commitment at this point. It is a true free trial.<br />
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Let us know if you have any questions.<br />
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Eric (cell): 715-821-0116<br />
Ary (main number): 715-350-2277<br />
Ary (toll free): 800-378-5354 <br />
ary@advocatelatino.com<br />
eric@advocatelatino.com<br />
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Tengan cuidado amigos!<br />
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Ericergoodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783329504530166796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094565674036854729.post-51103182285631236352013-03-24T12:46:00.001-07:002013-03-24T12:46:56.566-07:00Communicating with non-Latino ESL ParentsI have worked with many parents who do not speak Spanish, and I have enjoyed it quite a bit. I was going to write that I feel bad sometimes because I do speak only Spanish and English, and therefore, I have a tendency to favor Spanish speakers, but I really don't. I feel as though I do treat all of my students fairly.<br />
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This post is not meant to be a blogfomercial. If you look at the links on the right, you can find resources that might help you communicate with all of your ESL students. They are all important, no matter where they come from or what language they speak. We have to find ways to communicate with every ESL family.ergoodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783329504530166796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094565674036854729.post-75997047325897217682013-03-20T19:34:00.000-07:002013-03-20T19:34:30.810-07:00Free Trials for Everyone! Use FaceTime with Us!I know that we have been advertizing free trials for school districts, but I want to mention that we will do a free trial for any organization. You just need to tell us what you need, and we will be happy to deliver it to you--for free!...but not forever :)<br />
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I wonder if Ann Logsdon (2009) was reading our minds when she wrote:<br />
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"Web-based meetings, conducted on reliable equipment with adequate
Internet processing speed, can offer the interpreter and the [ESL] family more
opportunities to pick up on subtle meaning and non-verbal feedback to
improve communication in ways that cannot be accomplished by telephone
alone." (From the article "Top 3 Ways to Accommodate Parents of English Language Learners" <br />
<a href="http://learningdisabilities.about.com/od/publicschoolprograms/tp/eslparents.htm">http://learningdisabilities.about.com/od/publicschoolprograms/tp/eslparents.htm</a>)<br />
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When Ary and I were first creating the business, we were saying, "We need to get FaceTime." We knew that it would be a powerful tool so that Ary could act as the liaison remotely, possibly for a variety of small schools who don't have the resources to hire a full-time liaison. We are one of the few in the liaison or interpreting industry that has FaceTime. Please leave a comment below if you know of another company that offers FaceTime.<br />
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FaceTime can be used for schools, but we have also thought that it would be a great program for helping dentists, lawyers, and chiropractors. We are definitely willing to let anyone try our services for free. You just need to go to <a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/">www.advocatelatino.com</a> and register. We'll take care of the rest.<br />
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I know that this blog is really starting to look like a blogfomercial. It actually is and was always meant to be. I have never considered myself a writer, and I probably never will. We have a new idea for a business, and I am doing my best trying to promote it.<br />
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I would love it if somebody could make some comments about something outside of the company, possibly related to communicating with ELLs or possibly not. I would definitely do my best to try to comment on it.<br />
<br />Our idea, by the way, is to create a company that acts as a Latino liaison for small school districts who cannot afford to hire a part-time or full-time liaison. We believe the need for this is huge. We also believe that many school districts might hesitate because of the fear of cost. That is why we are offering the best prices possible. You can read below (my second post) to see how I broke it down. We also believe that there are dentists, lawyers, and chiropractors in small communities who also could use us as an interpreter in their offices.<br />
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Right now, there seems to be two options for schools:<br />
1. Pay $4 per minute for a three party call.<br />
2. Pay $15 or more per page for document translating.<br />
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When the companies that created the two options above were thinking about who their customers would be, I doubt that many of them were thinking about schools. I hope they weren't. Most schools can't afford these prices. Also, only having these two methods of communicating at your disposal is not enough for the fast-paced environment of a school. Teachers don't always have the time to make a three party call. What if the parents aren't there? Then, they have to do it again. Also, three party calls can be awkward, and they can take a long time. With us, you can send us an email and we will take care of the rest with a two party call.<br />
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For three party calls, we can do it over the phone or on FaceTime. Imagine having an (extra) interpreter at your disposal at conferences. You wouldn't need to hire anybody. You wouldn't need to use children. You wouldn't need to leave with important information unsaid. <br />
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I guess I will get into something a bit more "bloggish." You'll see the bias in it, but I will write it anyway. I don't think it is right to have children do the interpreting for adults. It puts them in a awkward situation. They might be talking about themselves, their siblings, or their cousins. It might be about someone they don't even know. The school, when putting the children in this situation, might be breaking privacy laws. Schools need to have professional liaisons or interpreters ready at all times, no matter how small they are and no matter how few Latinos/ESL students there are at the school.<br />
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Take care everyone. To make it even more bloggish, I will just leave you with my number in case you have any questions. It is 715-821-0116.<br />
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The next blog will be about students who are not Latino. It will not be a blogfomercial because we do not service non-Spanish speakers.<br />
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Thanks for reading. Make a comment.<br />
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Eric<br />
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ergoodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783329504530166796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094565674036854729.post-52217335937197250002013-03-18T19:12:00.002-07:002013-03-18T19:12:46.567-07:00Addition to the First Two BlogsIt looks like this blog has generated some interest around the world. I appreciate that you have taken the time to read it. I welcome any comments.<br />
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I just wanted to let you know how Advocate Latino (<a href="http://advocatelatino.com/">advocatelatino.com</a>) suggests you send translated documents home. First, you would have us translate it. We would send the document to you, and you could print it out and disperse it to your students. Then, we would call all of the parents receiving it so that they know it is coming. There have been many times when papers have been sent home, and I have gotten little or no response. I think the students are overwhelmed with papers, and they don't realize that what you are sending home is important. Sometimes it is something that they don't want their parents to see. We would also do follow-up calls if necessary.<br />
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I like this idea better than what might be customary--maybe a letter that was translated using a machine translator like Google Translate or maybe one that was translated by a human. And then, the teacher waits, frustrated, as the letters don't come back. Or, they find out in a couple weeks that the parents had no idea a letter was sent out. Usually, teachers don't take the time to do calls as well. They don't have the time. However, I think it is a great opportunity for the school to make a connection with the parents. It's difficult to do this when the teacher does not speak the parents language. Also remember that <b>some parents cannot read</b>, so sending out a letter does no good. Sometimes no one in the family can read in Spanish or English.<br />
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This is why Advocate Latino (<a href="http://advocatelatino.com/">advocatelatino.com</a>) suggests you use our services. Having us make these phone calls is now affordable. We will follow up until everyone understands. If we give this extra effort, no families should be left in the dark. Students should do better in school. Parents will feel like they are part of the process. Everyone will feel valued and important.<br />
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Contact us with any questions. Be the first to comment!<br />
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Ary: 715-350-2277<br />
Toll Free (Ary): 800-378-5354<br />
Eric: 715-821-0116<br />
eric@advocatelatino.com<br />
ary@advocatelatino.com<br />
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Thanks,<br />
Eric<br />
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<br />ergoodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783329504530166796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094565674036854729.post-19260923073857199092013-03-17T14:35:00.000-07:002013-03-17T15:38:58.418-07:00Who Are Our Customers?As I think about who our customers will eventually be, I imagine most of them will be from the Midwest--North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Michigan, Kansas, Ohio, etc. We are a Wisconsin-based company, and I am from North Dakota so it makes sense that a lot of our customers would come from this area of the country. Also, there are a lot of rural schools in the Midwest that have small to large populations of Latinos, but at this point they don't have enough students to justify hiring a liaison. Some of them might need a liaison, but do not see the need themselves because they are used to putting out fires, getting reluctant volunteers and Spanish teachers to help, or just leaving the problem unresolved. I make the assumption that states like Texas and Arizona would not need our services as much because they have had large Latino populations for a long time and already have the liaison staffing that is necessary, but I could be wrong. We are obviously willing to help anyone from any state.<br />
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I was just looking at an article in Colorín Colorado (2007). It is called "How to Reach Out to Parents of ELLs" (<a href="http://www.colorincolorado.org/educators/reachingout/outreach/">http://www.colorincolorado.org/educators/reachingout/outreach/</a>). The first suggestion they give is to "use [the parents] preferred language." I don't know how this can be done effectively without having someone dedicated to it. They also suggest that schools find a fully bilingual interpreter, that they translate written communication that is sent home, that teachers learn Spanish, and that parents are put in touch with bilingual staff. Advocate Latino (<a href="http://advocatelatino.com/">advocatelatino.com</a>) does not specialize in teaching Spanish, but we can definitely help school districts with the rest of the suggestions.<br />
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Many teachers and administrators will see this and immediately think that this will cost thousands of dollars to do. There is a good reason for this. Many translating and interpreting companies charge a lot of money for human and machine translating/interpreting.<br />
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However, if they use Advocate Latino, they would be surprised at how little money they spend. Let's say a school district has 10 Latino students. Our base charge is $12/student/month for the $12 per month package. That would be $120 per month. This would include one "check in" call per student per month. I like the idea of a "check in" because it will allow the school districts, the parents, and Advocate Latino to build relationships with the parents and find out about potential problems before they happen. It would also include up to 60 minutes of three party or two party calls per student. Remember that students can share minutes, so that would be a total of 600 minutes of calls for the district for the month. I don't think most districts would go over 600 minutes. That's 10 hours of phone calls for 10 students. The $12 does not cover document translations. The one page document translations are $7 once the district has become a $12 per month customer. So, let's say the district has us translate 10 documents for the year and it has 10 students. That would be $120 x 9 (months) = $1,080 + $70 for documents = <b>$1,150 for the school year!</b> Some phone interpreting companies charge $4/minute. If a school district uses a company like this, <i>$1,150 would get them 288 minutes</i>. <b>With Advocate Latino, it gets a school district 5,400 minutes plus "check in" calls.</b> We will send you a report with every "check in." With us, the school district will also build a relationship with Ary and our other employees. If there is a problem, it can contact the owner (me) directly. My number is 715-821-0116. <br />
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We founded this company to help people. We saw that there is a huge need for this type of service in school districts, especially smaller ones. We want to keep it affordable so that school districts can do a better and more consistent job communicating with Latinos.<br />
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<b>There has never been a time in our history when integrating all students as soon as possible has been this important.</b> Start today! It is a true free trial. We are trying to build our business for next school year so we are willing to help school districts as much as we can for free this spring.<br />
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Call us today!<br />
<span class="font_9">Phone (Ary): 715-350-2277</span>
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<span class="font_9">Cell (Eric): 715-821-0116</span><br />
<span class="font_9">Toll Free (Ary): 800-378-5354 </span><br />
<span class="font_9">ary@advocatelatino.com</span><br />
<span class="font_9">eric@advocatelatino.com</span><br />
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<span class="font_9">¡Tengan cuidado! </span><br />
<span class="font_9"><br /></span>
<span class="font_9">Eric</span><br />
<span class="font_9"><br /></span>
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<br />ergoodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783329504530166796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2094565674036854729.post-1135465785183931752013-03-16T12:09:00.001-07:002013-03-16T21:13:55.197-07:00Welcome to Communicate with ESL Parents!My name is Eric Goodman. I created this blog for two reasons. I want to be honest so I will share my main reason first and then my secondary reason.<br />
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The main reason I started this blog is to promote my new business, Advocate Latino. Our website can be found at <a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/">www.advocatelatino.com</a>. I feel that we need to have a blog so that we can explain what we do. I believe we are different from any business that is somewhat similar to us. We do interpreting and translating for a Spanish-speaking audience, but our main goal is to communicate with Spanish speakers by building long-term relationships with them. In the United States, most of these Spanish speakers are Latinos, but we would definitely help someone from Spain as well. We want to communicate with our clients (English-speaking organizations) and their clients (Spanish-speaking customers, clients, and parents) is the most effective and efficient manner possible. My business partner, Ary, will be doing most of the communicating.<br />
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Most interpreting companies only offer three-party calls. We offer this, but we also offer two-party calls for those situations that do not require a three-party call. An example of this would be a reminder call for parent-teacher conferences. I cannot think of a good reason to make a three-party call to remind parents to go to conferences. If this is what you would like us to do, you could just give us a list and we could make all of the calls. By the way, I have found that participation at conferences is very low if only letters are sent home. Most of the time, parents are a little confused about conferences, and they need a phone call to reassure them. I have also found that one call is not as effective as two. My advice to teachers is to give one call about a week ahead of conferences and then another call one or two days before conferences. I have gotten the best results with this method.<br />
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The secondary reason I started this blog is to open a forum for teachers, administrators, health care professionals, and business leaders to share the methods they have used to communicate with clients, patients, and parents who have limited English proficiency. I believe that limited English speakers need to build strong relationships with organizations, and they need to be constantly engaged with the organization so that it works for them.<br />
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My experience comes from the public school system. I have found that better relationships with parents yield better performance from students in terms of academic achievement and behavior. If the goal is to put out fires, school districts will continually put out fires. It is no way for teachers and students to be productive.<br />
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Please post whatever you wish. <br />
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Remember that we have FaceTime! It is like having an interpreter in the room. Our prices are better than any other company in the field of translating and interpreting. We are also the first or one of the first to have FaceTime. Go to <a href="http://www.advocatelatino.com/">www.advocatelatino.com</a> to see our prices. <br />
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If you are still not sure what we are, here is the best explanation I can give you: We are a cultural liaison/interpreter/translator for schools and other organizations that don't have the number of Latinos they need to justify hiring a part-time or full-time employee to do this type of work. Call us today to get started.<br />
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Eric: 715-821-0116<br />
Ary: 715-350-2277<br />
Toll Free (Ary): 800-378-5354<br />
eric@advocatelatino.com<br />
ary@advocatelatino.com<br />
<br />
Take care,<br />
Eric ergoodmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17783329504530166796noreply@blogger.com0