It's never too early to prepare your children for college.

That's what parent Laura Silva, 37, believes.

After completing the Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE), the road to college for her 9-year-old daughter Shelby Silva has never seemed more clear.

Silva is one of 250 parents from Sanchez Elementary School who will graduate tonight from PIQE through the Santa Maria-Bonita School District.

Parents who enroll in the nine-week training program learn skills and techniques to improve their child's motivation and ability to attend college.

They participate in workshops in scholarship and financial aid opportunities, college-approved courses, how the school system operates, how to communicate with their child's teacher and counselors and how to create a learning environment at home.

Parents receive a “diploma” or a certificate for finishing the program.

Advertisement

The children of the parents who complete the program are guaranteed acceptance into a California State University provided that they meet all of the university's admission requirements, including grade-point averages and SAT test scores.

“My daughter sent me to this program,” Silva said with a laugh. “She told me (PIQE) can help her get to college.”

Shelby is a fourth-grader at Sanchez School, where Silva works as a project clerk.

“This program has made me realize how important education can be,” Silva said. “There's a lot of organizations out there that can help you with the college application process.”

Irma Llamas, 38, and her husband Sergio Llamas will also be graduating at tonight's ceremony. She has twin girls, Alejandra and Liliana, both 7, who are first-graders at Sanchez School. Her oldest daughter, Lupita, 16, is a high school sophomore.

Llamas said she and her husband came to the classes every Thursday night after work, no matter how tired they were.

“It's worth it,” she said. “The program is very informative and we've learned so much from it.”

Llamas said she is aware of the right college prep courses her daughters need to take in high school. She said the program was helpful in teaching her about becoming more involved in her children's academic careers.

“Our involvement doesn't end once we drop them off at school,” she said. “We need to be there for them from beginning to the end.”

Llamas and her husband both came from Mexico more than 20 years ago. She only completed junior high school and her husband only completed one year of high school. They both own a janitorial and maintenance service business in Santa Maria.

From her personal experiences and what she has learned in the program, Llamas understands the importance of education.

“That's why we want our three daughters to complete high school and continue with their education,” she said.

Haniel Ortiz, a specialist at Hancock College's Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS), was one of the program's facilitators.

She said the high turnout of parents at Sanchez School was remarkable.

“Many of them came straight to the classes after working long hours of field work,” she said. “Some them showed up without eating dinner or still in their work clothes. That proved how committed and devoted they are to their children's education.”

She said this is the second time PIQE was offered in the Santa Maria area. The first one began last September in the Guadalupe Union School District where 154 parents completed the program.

The classes were offered in Spanish locally, but program representatives say the course is taught in English or any other foreign language that parents speak fluently.

Ortiz said the program not only helps prepare children for college, but it can also encourage parents attending the program to invest in their own educational opportunities.

After completing the program, Silva said she has reconsidered going back to college.

Silva came from Mexico in 1989, after completing junior college. When she moved to Santa Maria, she went to college to learn English and completed some course work in early childhood development.

She said she is four semesters short of completing her bachelor's degree.

“I learned that it's never too late to go back,” she said. “There's always time available.”

For more information about PIQE, call the Los Angeles office at (323) 255-2575 or visit the Web site at www.piqe.org.

Kimberlina Rocha can be reached at 739-2216 or krocha@santamariatimes.com

May 17, 2007