Seven Washington Community School District families recently celebrated a graduation from the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach human science program ¡Salir Adelante!: Pathways for Our Future. This six-week program fosters college and career readiness among Latinx families who have youth in middle school/high school. The bilingual program addresses topics important to families, respects cultural values, builds on knowledge of the families and engages the whole family.
The 2022 course was led as a pilot program for Washington Community School district in hopes to continue each year or every other year based on interest. The course was taught by trained facilitators Natally Guzman, Amy Green and Heather Lujano and hosted at Washington High School with a family meal each week and then breakout sessions for youth, parents and then with the family together. Childcare was offered for youth younger than 8th grade.
“I was excited about this program because of the family aspect and how all worked together to remove barriers for the whole family. It is always exciting to empower kids for their futures and higher education. I saw the program as a key to the kids’ future with that parent support,” said co-instructor Heather Lujano, Washington Community School district bilingual social worker and Language Instruction Educational Program Team Coordinator.
With nearly 100% attendance of all participants, the program was received well. Approximately 35 participants gathered each week for the program. One parent participant commented, “Everything was done well and without a doubt it will help.”
The final evening concluded with program reflection and graduation celebration. Each family was presented a certificate of completion and enjoyed a piñata and dessert.
Amy Green, Washington County 4-H & Youth Coordinator commented, “This team was outstanding to work with. The parents, the kids, the instructors were a joy to spend an evening with each week and everyone was so appreciative of the time, activities, and learning.” Green looks forward to finding community partners and volunteers to continue this program moving forward.
This was the first year Iowa State University Extension and Outreach human science program ¡Salir Adelante! has been offered in partnership with Washington Community School District and other local premier partners including Washington County Extension and Outreach, DUO Compassion, Hills Bank, Washington State Bank and Mi Pueblo Real. For more information about ¡Salir Adelante!, contact Amy Green at the Washington County Extension Office at 319-653-4811.
Final Impact Report
The Salir Adelante program concluded with a celebration and graduation for the seven participating families.