Mary Jo Montenegro

During Mary Jo Montenegro’s speech today I was able to realize the need that we have as non-Spanish speakers to receive more training in the cultural aspect and the language barrier. What shocked me the most was to learn that in the Cincinnati area, they have over 70 languages spoken in the Cincinnati School District.  My first though is how can you be prepare for that? I can’t believe that they have only three Itinerant to serve 51 schools and try to educate and train the staff. As Mrs. Montenegro stated, the population keeps growing and we have no more funds or help to add more staff. I really admire her.  You can tell that she has love and passion for what she does, but she is only one person trying to help the 47% of the Hispanic population in her area. I can testify about the stability, illiteracy, and single mom facts mentioned today.  In Springfield I have been in many homes were they divide the rooms by using a blanket and most of the mothers can’t read or write. The challenges are obvious.  Many schools don’t provide information to parents on the target language, and they have transportation issues for summer school. I got a better understanding today of the difference between ELL and LEP and also learned about the testing procedures and rights. It was a very informative session.