F.I.E.S.T.A.: Helping Hispanic Families Through Community Partnerships

While working within the growing Hispanic population in NKY, Theresa Cruz, Learning Grove’s Hispanic Family Engagement Coordinator and a few members of the Hispanic community recognized that there are gaps in the education and healthcare system that are not being filled. After recruiting other members of the community including community-based organizations, parents, private organizations, higher education and school districts to come together, F.I.E.S.T.A. was born.

F.I.E.S.T.A.: families, inclusion, education, society, traditions and access – all the things that are important to the Hispanic community – is a grass roots community group that focuses on identifying needs in the Hispanic community.

F.I.E.S.T.A. currently meets monthly to plan community events, share resources and brainstorm ways to meet current needs while building capacity and creating leaders within the community.

Through the Statewide Family Engagement Collaborative grant, Learning Grove and with the help of other community partners, F.I.E.S.T.A. has hosted community events such as the Hispanic Parent Leadership Conference of NKY at Ignite Institute and the Celebration of Hispanic Families at the YMCA Camp Ernst. It has also provided ESL and Parent Education classes to families in Boone, Kenton, and Campbell counties.

F.I.E.S.T.A. has participated in the Boone County District Leadership meeting by facilitating a Hispanic Parent Panel to share the experiences of our immigrant families in the NKY school system and has also partnered with ParentCamp to facilitate sessions in Spanish about family engagement and reaching out to the Hispanic community.

F.I.E.S.T.A. is committed to supporting our NKY Hispanic families, reaching into the community and lifting members into leadership roles steering the work and supporting self-sufficiency