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Ms. Trong is a single mother who has four sons. They live with Ms. Trong’s mother in a one-bedroom apartment. Everyone sleeps on the floor except for the grandmother. This is not a conducive environment for learning. Ms. Trong enrolled in our VPEP project. We were able to provide her with biweekly home visits to support her role as a single mother, educate her about the American school system, find her sons after school mentoring/tutoring programs, and accompany her to school conferences. Our Family Support Worker also helped Ms. Trong fill out a lease application, worked with her sons’ school to secure furniture and bedding for the family, and enrolled her youngest son in a free dental care program. Through our assistance, this single mother and her sons, not only have a better understanding of the school system, but also were able to move in a new apartment with furniture. The family continues to face challenges related to their recent arrival in the U.S. However, through this program, we are able to empower and assist them as they successfully acculturate into their second home. |
The Vietnamese Parenting Enrichment Project (VPEP) is a program that works in partnership with low-income parents to ensure the well-being of their children’s educational and social development. Our goal is to empower parents to be more involved in their children’s education. Studies have shown that when parents are involved and engaged in their children's education, children have higher grades, increased motivation, better self-esteem, decreased substance abuse, and greater enrollment rates in post-secondary education. However, according to Montgomery County Public Schools, participation among low-income Vietnamese American parents is poor. Our program attempts to reduce this problem by strengthening family capacities and fostering stronger educational experiences for children.
Up to date, we have worked intensively with over 30 families. Through our involvement with them, we have learned that their daily struggles go beyond parental involvement in schools. In fact, two-thirds of the families are headed by single parents, many of whom face child support and childcare needs; 30% of our families are Amerasians, a disadvantaged group within the Vietnamese American community; most of the parents we work with speak no or limited English; some are even illiterate in their primary language; the majority of the families live in multigenerational households that are often overcrowded, and all the parents report working long hours with low pay; all of our parents speak no our little English. These pressing needs require immediate attention in order for parents to engage in their children’s education.
Through biweekly visits, we provide emotional support to parents, bring them informational resources, model family engagement activities, and help parents with whatever issues that are urgent to the family, issues such as housing, language, difficulties in communicating with their children. Our home visits follows a strict curriculum that covers topics such as (1) how to effectively communicate with their children’s teacher, (2) how to read and understand report cards, (3) how to talk to and effectively discipline children, (4) how to promote healthy diets and behaviors, and (4) how to support healthy sanitation practices. We also work closely with the Literacy Council of Montgomery county and MCAEL to provide literacy training to our families to elminate the language barrier that exist between parents and the school system.
Our goal is to help parents minimize their daily stresses and help them gain skills as confidence as parents. By helping parents, we are also impacting the lives of the children we serve. |
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