COVID-19 and the Latino Education Community
On May 5, the National Education Association (NEA) and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) partnered to host a virtual town hall to uplift the experiences of Latino students and educators impacted by coronavirus-related school closures nationwide, as well as share immigration updates from the National Immigration Law Center and mental health tips from the Hope Center for Wellness. When the pandemic forced families into isolation, it’s partnerships like these that make them more relevant to the communities they serve.
“So many [LULAC] councils have stepped up to the plate,” said Sindy Benavides, executive director of LULAC, the largest and oldest Hispanic organization in the U.S, adding that the “heart of LULAC has always been its members.”
For example, a LULAC member and an educator partnered with her local council to get laptops, which they didn’t already have, into the hands of her students so they could access their classroom and online learning.
Lack of technology coupled with lack of internet services has plagued communities of color for decades.
“We, [for years], have been talking about the technology gap between kids that have so much and kids that have so little,” said NEA President Lily Eskelsen García, “and school boards, legislators, people who are very powerful politicians decide which kids get and which kids don’t get.”
She also underscored how some legislators think of technology as “something like CONTINUE READING: COVID-19 and the Latino Education Community - NEA Today