“I like everything about Southwark,” said Monica Granados.

Her son Fernando is in 4th grade at the school and has been enrolled since kindergarten. Monica said Fernando enjoys reading and is earning As in all of his classes. He loves the school’s afterschool programming, and he and Monica are grateful that he receives homework help there.

As a parent, Monica also appreciates the supports the school has to offer for her. She frequently attends parent cafes at Southwark, run by local organization Bethanna and coordinated through Beth Dougherty, the school’s Community Schools coordinator.

“I’m learning new things. I’m learning how to treat children, and how to get along with other people,” said Monica, who speaks Spanish and noted that the regular presence of School District translators makes her feel welcome at events. “It really helps – they’re always translating, so we always understand.”

Beth said meeting the needs of diverse families and students at Southwark is one of her particular goals. Often that means partnering with District-provided translators. Across divides, Beth said, “we share raising our children, and we share wanting the best for our kids” – and that is what motivates her work.

Carolotta Stafford, a strengthening families coordinator from Bethanna, said parent cafe topics at Southwark are tailored to interests and needs of families at the school. “Through working with Beth we’ve learned that Southwark parents want to understand their children’s homework, positive discipline techniques, and bullying.”

Parent cafes are confidential and supportive spaces. Parents who speak different various languages gather to share snacks and fruit, and then discuss their own personal parenting experiences. Common home languages at Southwark include Spanish, Burmese, and Chinese. Carolotta said up to 40 parents can gather, but often 20-25 do, and that helps everyone have an opportunity to speak, and listen.

Bethanna has been a Southwark partner since before Beth’s time at the school, and organizing parent cafes is just one of the many ways Beth is serving Southwark students and families.

Beth’s role often involves connecting families and students with resources. Whether families have recently entered the country, need legal assistance, or warm coats for the winter, Beth said she maintains an ever-growing mental directory of who (and what) she can connect families to.
“I’m constantly finding out about new partners,” said Beth. “And I’m constantly finding out about new resources.”

“The real joy of it for me is the direct connection with impacting our families,” said Beth. “It’s so nice to be a part of other peoples’ experiences.”

“Community Schools recognize that we have to be concerned about the other aspects of a child’s life, outside of just school and home,” said Carlotta. “How can we help a parent so they can get their kids to school and keep them in school, because education is important; that’s one of the beautiful things Community Schools are doing,” said Carolotta.

As for Monica, she can’t wait for the next parent cafe and what’s next for her and Fernando at Southwark. “It’s a really good school, they teach them (the students) well. Whenever we come, they treat us well too.”