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Questions over shake-up at Family Resource Center

Posted on July 7, 2017 by Sonoma Valley Sun

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Community members are questioning the recent restructuring of the Family Resource Center at El Verano School and the dismissal of its parent engagement coordinator, Mario Castillo.

That job is being expanded into two part-time slots that will be staffed by parents of current El Verano students. Creation of the Community/Parent Liaison and the Administrative Assistant positions will result in both a cost savings and longer hours, said Winnie Farwell of La Luz, which administers the Center.

But a substantial group of community members, volunteers and school parents question the decision to terminate Castillo, a fulltime employee who has been at the Center since it opened in April of 2015 (shown). Indications are that the facility had been enjoying success, was accomplishing its stated goals as a community school, and had been growing and thriving as staffed.

Claudia Robbins, a retired Early Childhood professor who volunteers in the Family Resource Center as a citizenship teacher, told The Sun, “I have seen first-hand that FRC programs have empowered parents to help their children learn, to recognize their children’s actual academic levels, and to better advocate and partner with their children’s teachers.”

Robbins also mentioned the weekly Elder Salon, created when the Center opened, that brings neighborhood seniors together. “The Center is a model for all communities: a true community school, where parents and other community members meet and work together,” she said.

Parent Bertha Carreras stated that Castillo “worked tirelessly to help her and her children” access many educational opportunities. She also said that she has often seen parents wait to be helped by Castillo, even when other staff was available.

Another El Verano mother, Flor Canela, spoke of the importance of having a man in the position of supporting parents, saying that his experience and strength helped them be stronger leaders, active in their children’s education. She stated that she has “personally seen many people be empowered to be better parents.”

Roxana Fonseca agreed, emphasizing the importance to El Verano parents of having a fulltime coordinator, someone experienced in many areas, including education, health and wellness, and immigration.

School parent Hugo Tinoco added that Castillo had worked tirelessly to help parents become involved in their children’s education. He said that whatever the parents needed, Castillo “never said no.” Tinoco expanded saying, “even though it is a job, one has to have style to be there, and he had what it takes.”

La Luz Executive Director Juan Hernandez stated, “We wish to express our appreciation to Mario Castillo, for his services in helping organize and operate the (Center).” A benefit of the restrucring, he said, is the expansion of mental health services, “as well as a way to improve the potential for increased grant funding in the near future.”

Betzy Chavez will continue as director.

As highlighted in a Sun feature article in 2015, Castillo’s was a pivotal role at the Center. It was the success of a pilot program of parent engagement that was a persuasive factor in the S.H. Cowell Foundation’s original decision to fund a community school at El Verano, in collaboration with La Luz. Castillo originally developed the Parent University program as a parent volunteer.

Subsequently the El Verano Parent-Teacher Organization decided to continue and expand the parent engagement effort, and hired Castillo to do it. When the Family Resource Center opened in April 2015 La Luz hired him as Parent Engagement Coordinator.

The Parent Engagement program, under Castillo’s leadership, has provided the school and district with more parent volunteers than any other District site, including people who in turn have led new groups of parents. These successful numbers have contributed to the S.H. Cowell Foundation’s renewal for 2016 and 2017 of the grant that funds the Family Resource Center. Presenting this spring at a school board meeting, Chavez reported great improvement in test scores at El Verano School, and cited the FRC Literacy Program that helps parents work with their children.

Castillo told The Sun that on the morning of June 19, after starting the day working with parents, he was asked to meet with Juan Hernandez, who told him that his position was terminated. He added that he had never received a negative evaluation or any other indications that his job was on the line, not in weekly team staff meetings that included a check-in with La Luz, nor in his formal annual evaluations.

At deadline, Hernandez was on vacation and not available for additional comment. Maite Iturri, principal of El Verano School, was also not available for comment; She was at Columbia Teachers College in NYC studying to strengthen El Verano’s reading and writing program.



11 thoughts on “Questions over shake-up at Family Resource Center

  1. La luz has surprised dissapinted my good opinion of them, specially what juan Hernandez or Marcelo above him are planning to have parents give an opinion of the new employees when We parents of el verani school weren’t asked about Castillo’s termination. Is this what a good organization helping latino is for?

  2. Decisions like these do not happen over night. I have seen La Luz committed to the most effective support and services. Good to know they will be working in unity with parents. Always a silver lining. The FRC is bigger than one person.

  3. La Luz center does not represent my values!!! They are profiting from the latinos needs!!

  4. no one organization can represent the diverse latino experience.

    Thats the power of Latinos.

    Go La Luz, Go Nuestra Voz, Go ELAC, Go EV FRC, Go Dragones Latinx, Go Quetzale

  5. “Follow the money” and the social connections. The persons responsible for this so-called restructuring are not just the La Luz white elite who run it. The big decisions in the Sonoma Valley are made by persons who are either wealthy or social climbers who want to hang out with the wealthy. They hold public offices, government employment, sit on councils, school boards and nonprofit boards and do favors for each other”

  6. Hum for starters, do you know how many Latino board members La Luz have on their board?

  7. Mark, first I was not responding to you. Also who in the world is NBOP and why aren’t you focusing (since you butin to the conversation) On the the topic which is La Luz’s way operandi?

  8. Since when have people been interested in the hiring and firing of staff at any business in Sonoma? Is this news? If you did your homework, you’d have also mentioned that Mario was previously fired by La Luz about 5 yrs ago, oh but you probably already knew that didn’t you?

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