First and foremost I would like to thank all of the individuals involved in coordinating and organizing this year’s Puerto Rican Festival. I enjoyed the food, reconnecting with old friends and the entertainment was pleasant. As I walked the enclosed layout of the festival, I kept thinking to myself, why are we here? What are we celebrating? What have I, or my community achieved that we are here celebrating so joyously this weekend? With these questions stuck in my mind I began to think about the upcoming Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs annually from September 15 through October 15. I began to think about what do we do here in Rochester that recognizes the importance and contributions of this nationally recognized month. The short answer… not enough.
Now more then ever Latinos must begin to be a part of the everyday conversation. In fact, according to the most recent projections from the U.S. Census, Latinos are the nations largest ethnic minority at an estimated 46.9 million individuals. Given that, only Mexico had a larger population of Latinos than the United States. To coincide with this President Obama most recently placed the first ever Latina to the highest court in the land. The confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor, a Puerto Rican from the Bronx on August 6, 2009 was a historic moment for Latinos across the country. In my eyes it was a glimpse of hope that opportunities still exist for an often-overlooked population.
I know our community has a lot of struggles some self-inflected and others systematic, but now more then ever we have individuals in positions to impact change. Yes, that includes me! What we have to do now is focus our agenda back on advocating for our community. We have to create opportunities for our community to help one another and be viewed by the larger community as an asset. Whether those opportunities involve community service, health outreach or educational exposure, more must be done. As a community, we should have a unified presence that has resources for all Latinos to look towards as an advocate or beacon of hope, regardless of political affiliations. In an era where many of our youth feel disengaged and the family structure has dismantled. I feel that we need to go back to the basics of educating our population on all we have accomplished and still have yet to do. We should be exposing our community to the various cultural practices that make us so unique and special. Our language, food and family traditions are important and should not be abandoned. As a community we should have monthly events that continue to recognize all things that make us Latino. We should be educating our youth on what it means to be Latino and in turn sharing all of the rich cultural history we have.
I repeat, what we need is continual ongoing events that are both educational and community service based, events that allow us to truly be viewed as entitled to a celebration. So ask again, what do we celebrate?
--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com
Showing posts with label community. Show all posts
Showing posts with label community. Show all posts
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
A New Day
The summer months are often spent relaxing and enjoying time with your family and friends, but for me it’s a time to begin a new journey. In late May, I was announced and appointed the new school principal of East High School a surprise too many outside my family and close friends. With this appointment comes a new day for not only East High School, but for the Latino community. It is the first time in a very long time that the Rochester City School District has more than one Latino male leading a school. This appointment also puts me, a Latino male in a high public position that has direct access to the city's community. It is my hope that with this position I can help bridge the gap with many families who don’t see a direct association with our public school system. In particular, the Latino families who often feel underrepresented, uninformed and misguided by our school system.
As I write this article, I have been at East High School for two and half weeks and what I have seen is extremely promising. I have seen students engaged and orderly throughout the school. I have seen staff and teachers working closely with students to ensure they succeed. I have also experienced award ceremonies that recognize the hard work and dedication of students, student- athletes and the families that support them. I have also been able to interact with phenomenal programs that exist within the school walls at East High School. School programs such as the Firefighter Training Program that provides high school students an opportunity to gain employment in the Rochester Fire Department after successful completion. In fact, five graduates of East High School were just inducted into service. East High School also has an array of National Academy Foundation programs that focus on business, information technology, culinary arts and hospitality and tourism. Too compliment those programs there is also a Teaching & Learning Institute that prepares and exposes high school students to what is required to become a school teacher. Once more, these are just some of the many positive programs often not recognized by the media that exist at East High School.
With that being said, there are still many areas of improvement for my new school and moving forward to next year it is my hope to continue to build upon the successes currently at East. It is my goal to surround myself with dream builders that understand the challenges we have ahead of us. It is also my goal to continue to foster and build upon the strength of the Rochester community. I look to challenge and enhance the current partnerships with local colleges and universities, to ensure they are truly doing their part in educating our children. I look to enhance the educational experience of all my students. I look to create a high performing environment that fosters high expectations for all students regardless of their socio-economic background. Additionally, my goal is to create a school with a top-ranked staff that competes academically, athletically and artistically with those from more affluent environments. The task will not be easy; in fact it will be arduous. I often have to remind myself that the great pyramids of Egypt were not built over night but stone by stone.
--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
It Takes A Village...
Two months ago, the community was hit with another immense setback. The Executive Director, of the Rochester Surround Care Community Corp., formerly known as the Rochester Children’s Zone had stepped down. Thus putting the organization further back and in my opinion completely out of reach of finally producing something that will affect our community. This was not only a huge blow to the fledgling efforts of this organization, which was initiated approximately three years ago by Dr. Rivera who ambitioned replicating what is still going on in Harlem; but it also is a devastating setback to our Latino community. This was the first direct concerted effort that I can remember by various organizations within this community to begin to have conversations around addressing the socio-economic barriers involved in educating our children. Unfortunately, like most initiatives that start with these intentions this effort has resulted in little to no community improvements.
Now my reason for writing about this is not about putting down the organizations efforts, but more about raising awareness that this cause and effort cannot be lost. The old proverb and often-used rhetoric clearly states that it takes a village to raise a child, but right now our village is disconnected. Currently within our village we have only small pockets of individuals stepping up and making educating our children, and specifically our Latino and African-American students a priority. It is my fundamental belief that if we focus on educating our community and specifically those individuals of various ethnic backgrounds who live in the heart of the city that then, and only then will we see improvements in our city. This community needs an individual or leadership that is not afraid to put the critical issues at the forefront. A leader, who understands that the health, well-being and social environment of our students directly effects student achievement considerably. When I visit my grandparents who still live off “La Avenida” and I see abandoned house after abandoned house, or I see local drug dealers hustling just a block away, you can’t tell me that these conditions don’t affect our students abilities to perform let alone dream. The social problems and economic gaps our students live in are real, and must be addressed before we worry about implementing a citywide literacy initiative.
It is my hope that regardless of the outcome of R.C.C.C. that someone or some organization of our community will come together to lead the blended efforts in educating our children. A focus on leveling the playing field for students who have economic and health gaps when they enter our school doors. It is also my conviction that these efforts must be lead by an individual who is specific about the intentions of bettering the lives of African-American and Latino students. A realization that the achievement gap isn’t just about those who live in poverty or are in a lower class, but more importantly a gap that has racial significance. An individual that understands these are issues of access and exposure that our current system is not addressing within our community and schools. Again, we know schools cannot do it alone and that education is the key to opening the doors of opportunity, but until someone is specific and targeted we will continue to have racial achievement gaps and efforts that will continue to die out to bureaucracy. I will leave you with this thought or uncertainty, if not you then who, if not now then when?
--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com
Now my reason for writing about this is not about putting down the organizations efforts, but more about raising awareness that this cause and effort cannot be lost. The old proverb and often-used rhetoric clearly states that it takes a village to raise a child, but right now our village is disconnected. Currently within our village we have only small pockets of individuals stepping up and making educating our children, and specifically our Latino and African-American students a priority. It is my fundamental belief that if we focus on educating our community and specifically those individuals of various ethnic backgrounds who live in the heart of the city that then, and only then will we see improvements in our city. This community needs an individual or leadership that is not afraid to put the critical issues at the forefront. A leader, who understands that the health, well-being and social environment of our students directly effects student achievement considerably. When I visit my grandparents who still live off “La Avenida” and I see abandoned house after abandoned house, or I see local drug dealers hustling just a block away, you can’t tell me that these conditions don’t affect our students abilities to perform let alone dream. The social problems and economic gaps our students live in are real, and must be addressed before we worry about implementing a citywide literacy initiative.
It is my hope that regardless of the outcome of R.C.C.C. that someone or some organization of our community will come together to lead the blended efforts in educating our children. A focus on leveling the playing field for students who have economic and health gaps when they enter our school doors. It is also my conviction that these efforts must be lead by an individual who is specific about the intentions of bettering the lives of African-American and Latino students. A realization that the achievement gap isn’t just about those who live in poverty or are in a lower class, but more importantly a gap that has racial significance. An individual that understands these are issues of access and exposure that our current system is not addressing within our community and schools. Again, we know schools cannot do it alone and that education is the key to opening the doors of opportunity, but until someone is specific and targeted we will continue to have racial achievement gaps and efforts that will continue to die out to bureaucracy. I will leave you with this thought or uncertainty, if not you then who, if not now then when?
--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Fatherhood: It's Never to Late
It was 1990 and I was 13 years old, it was the last time I can remember my father being around for one of my birthday celebrations or better yet any celebration. Now, there are some things you should know about my father and me. First, we share the same name and secondly, we also share the same birthday. Like most, Latinos naming your first-born boy after the father is a tradition. Furthermore my parents were not married, something that has become a negative standard associated with our culture, and as you can imagine contributed significantly to his absence. In fact, my father didn’t live in Rochester he lived in Newark, New Jersey and currently resides in Florida.
Outside of these small intimate rendezvous around birthdays or holidays that was the extent of our relationship. I grew up without his presence. Although my Grandfather did an outstanding job filling the void, it is something that I still am impacted by today. Questions of why and images of doubt still go through my mind as to why my father was never really involved. At the time of his absence I didn’t know what to think of his lack of involvement, or what to say. I thought it was normal, because all of my other Latino and African American friends were also being raised by their single mothers and grandparents, again I knew nothing else.
The point that I am trying to make is that the role of the Latino Male as a father within our community has drastically declined. In fact, according to the 2000 Census Hispanic women had a 36% rate of childbirths out of wedlock. This statistic clearly states that there is a divide within our family structure. A separation that allows Latino males to not step up and take responsibility for not only creating a child but also in raising them. We have lost the value of fatherhood within the Latino family structure. I am not saying that parents have to get married or even that they have to live together, but instead what I am saying is that the today more then ever the father must be involved in raising his child. Involvement doesn’t mean just paying child support or showing up on those special days. It means picking up the phone daily and calling to check on his or her progress. It means spending time reading a book, or coloring with him or her. It means showing that child, that although you are not living with them, you are committed to always being a part of their life. It also means that during good and bad times you will always be there.
Presently, the communication between my father and I is still sporadic, and although we have never had any meaningful conversations about why things worked out the way they did, I do know he is proud of what I have become. I know that he acknowledges the strength of my mother and the commitment of my grandfather to fill his void. I also know that it hurts him knowing that he wasn’t around enough, although he has never told me directly, he has demonstrated it by his renewed attempts to stay in contact. Again, I know that it hurts because he could never go back and change the way things worked out.
Having recently become a father myself I have not taken the role of being a father lightly. I know realize first hand the power and influence I will have on my son as a man. Lastly, if you could take anything from this small vignette of my life, take with you the impact and importance of being a Latino and a father. There is no time like the present to go out and change your approach and ensure you are a part of your child’s future. Ultimately, If you know a Latino father who hasn’t done their part please remind them of how important this moment is and that it’s never to late to start.
--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com
Outside of these small intimate rendezvous around birthdays or holidays that was the extent of our relationship. I grew up without his presence. Although my Grandfather did an outstanding job filling the void, it is something that I still am impacted by today. Questions of why and images of doubt still go through my mind as to why my father was never really involved. At the time of his absence I didn’t know what to think of his lack of involvement, or what to say. I thought it was normal, because all of my other Latino and African American friends were also being raised by their single mothers and grandparents, again I knew nothing else.
The point that I am trying to make is that the role of the Latino Male as a father within our community has drastically declined. In fact, according to the 2000 Census Hispanic women had a 36% rate of childbirths out of wedlock. This statistic clearly states that there is a divide within our family structure. A separation that allows Latino males to not step up and take responsibility for not only creating a child but also in raising them. We have lost the value of fatherhood within the Latino family structure. I am not saying that parents have to get married or even that they have to live together, but instead what I am saying is that the today more then ever the father must be involved in raising his child. Involvement doesn’t mean just paying child support or showing up on those special days. It means picking up the phone daily and calling to check on his or her progress. It means spending time reading a book, or coloring with him or her. It means showing that child, that although you are not living with them, you are committed to always being a part of their life. It also means that during good and bad times you will always be there.
Presently, the communication between my father and I is still sporadic, and although we have never had any meaningful conversations about why things worked out the way they did, I do know he is proud of what I have become. I know that he acknowledges the strength of my mother and the commitment of my grandfather to fill his void. I also know that it hurts him knowing that he wasn’t around enough, although he has never told me directly, he has demonstrated it by his renewed attempts to stay in contact. Again, I know that it hurts because he could never go back and change the way things worked out.
Having recently become a father myself I have not taken the role of being a father lightly. I know realize first hand the power and influence I will have on my son as a man. Lastly, if you could take anything from this small vignette of my life, take with you the impact and importance of being a Latino and a father. There is no time like the present to go out and change your approach and ensure you are a part of your child’s future. Ultimately, If you know a Latino father who hasn’t done their part please remind them of how important this moment is and that it’s never to late to start.
--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Latino Advocacy: Migente Please Stand up!
The majority of my life has been spent here in Rochester, N.Y. and during all my years I have barely seen or heard a large voice speaking for the Latinos within this community. In my opinion, the focus has always remained predominantly on the needs of the African American community, and the media has contributed to this deficit by continuing to paint the issues in black and white. To the credit of the African American community they have realized the importance of being at the table and have positioned themselves in various political functions, which although not perfect has extremely increased the sponsorship within that community. The same cannot be said of the Latino community.
Whenever an issue is presented in this community whether it’s violence, education, or economic we have no public voice. As a community we have not found ways to advocate for our betterment. As a community we continue to sit back and not realize that we have a role in this community, in fact we have a large voice that is yet to be heard. The issues and concerns of Latinos will continue to remain invisible until we begin to understand the importance of advocacy. The only way we will begin to change this unfortunate circumstance is to come together as one. To create unified partnerships with other Latinos and Latino based organizations. We must begin to work more efficiently, and find ways to ensure that we are always a part of the agenda. We must understand that advocacy must begin within our community. We must be willing to go out and support each other in public forums, to stand up for what is right not only for all of those within our neighborhoods, but especially for Latinos. We must begin to understand the role of education in all we do, and especially in it’s role of advocacy.
Advocacy starts with knowledge, and as Latinos we must remain informed as a community. If we are not, we will remain and continue to be marginalized by society. Education, and in fact literacy has been the tool that has helped so many other ethnicities break through barriers within this country. It is the same tool, which has allowed many activists such as Malcolm X, Frederick Douglass and currently President Barack Obama to unite a group of people and bringing about change within their community. Simply put, through education all is possible. It is being informed and having access to different venues that has allowed myself to navigate the system, and it is the same tool that has allowed me to advocate for others and my family. I grew up in a single-parent household in the North Clinton area of Rochester. I was a Latino, who attended city schools who wasn’t supposed to amount too much, but through the advocacy of my mother and grandparents who had ingrained in me from the very onset of my educational experience, that schooling would open new doors for my Latino community and myself. That even though the road would be arduous what would come as a result would be far greater then any of the difficulties that I have faced, it is with this body of knowledge that I am now able to advocate for my community.
Finally, what we need now is a unified coalition of Latinos within this community, a grassroots type effort of Latinos who will work together to ensure that Latinos do not remain invisible or silent. A group of Latinos who will encourage future generations to maximize on their educational experiences for the advancement of the Latino community and themselves, a distinct group of Latino advocates who will ensure that we have a voice and are present when it comes to issues of poverty, violence, joblessness and most importantly education.
--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com
Whenever an issue is presented in this community whether it’s violence, education, or economic we have no public voice. As a community we have not found ways to advocate for our betterment. As a community we continue to sit back and not realize that we have a role in this community, in fact we have a large voice that is yet to be heard. The issues and concerns of Latinos will continue to remain invisible until we begin to understand the importance of advocacy. The only way we will begin to change this unfortunate circumstance is to come together as one. To create unified partnerships with other Latinos and Latino based organizations. We must begin to work more efficiently, and find ways to ensure that we are always a part of the agenda. We must understand that advocacy must begin within our community. We must be willing to go out and support each other in public forums, to stand up for what is right not only for all of those within our neighborhoods, but especially for Latinos. We must begin to understand the role of education in all we do, and especially in it’s role of advocacy.
Advocacy starts with knowledge, and as Latinos we must remain informed as a community. If we are not, we will remain and continue to be marginalized by society. Education, and in fact literacy has been the tool that has helped so many other ethnicities break through barriers within this country. It is the same tool, which has allowed many activists such as Malcolm X, Frederick Douglass and currently President Barack Obama to unite a group of people and bringing about change within their community. Simply put, through education all is possible. It is being informed and having access to different venues that has allowed myself to navigate the system, and it is the same tool that has allowed me to advocate for others and my family. I grew up in a single-parent household in the North Clinton area of Rochester. I was a Latino, who attended city schools who wasn’t supposed to amount too much, but through the advocacy of my mother and grandparents who had ingrained in me from the very onset of my educational experience, that schooling would open new doors for my Latino community and myself. That even though the road would be arduous what would come as a result would be far greater then any of the difficulties that I have faced, it is with this body of knowledge that I am now able to advocate for my community.
Finally, what we need now is a unified coalition of Latinos within this community, a grassroots type effort of Latinos who will work together to ensure that Latinos do not remain invisible or silent. A group of Latinos who will encourage future generations to maximize on their educational experiences for the advancement of the Latino community and themselves, a distinct group of Latino advocates who will ensure that we have a voice and are present when it comes to issues of poverty, violence, joblessness and most importantly education.
--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
RCSD graduation rates on the rise, but what about Latinos?
Today, the Rochester City School District held a press conference releasing the positive news that graduation rates are going up in the school district. In fact they are up 6% from last years 39%. Superintendent Brizard acknowledged the fact that although the numbers are positive there is still much work to do. He spoke of a new web based program that will help schools keep track of their incoming 9th graders and follow them throughout their four years. The web based software program will be the main tool used to identify what supports are needed for students to ensure they complete high school within four years. Superintendent Brizard, also spoke of various programs that will be in place that will allow various non-traditional students, or students with special circumstance the opportunity to graduate on time.
One thing that wasn't talked about at all in the media, was the success of Latino students in the RCSD. Over the past three years their graduation rate has increased, but they are still the lowest of the three major ethnic groups. Latinos also possess the highest percentage of dropouts within the city school district at 35%, a title which they have also had for quite some time. Latino students make up 21% of the student population within the school district but the reflection in teaching staff, and school leadership is not the same. In fact no one except for School Board member, Melisza Campos represents the Latino voice in the Rochester City School District. If you look at the restructuring makeup of Central office and the key positions, you will notice an obvious void or lack of an individual who is Latino and represents the voice of Latinos students and community members within the Superintendents leadership cabinet.
So, I wonder why hasn't the Latino community come forward in outrage? Why haven't they called for immediate action to this crisis affecting our children? Why isn't the Rochester City School District investing in resources or programs to help alleviate this matter? What is being done to ensure Latinos will have the same opportunity to graduate as their classmates of other ethnic backgrounds? What is being done instructionally to allow students dominant in their native language of Spanish to be viewed as an asset rather then a criteria for academic hardship? If it is about every child, then why are they not represented in terms of school and district leadership? As you can tell I am very passionate about this subject and I have many questions, concerns and recommendations when it comes to the education of my people.
If nothing changes, another year will go by and Latinos will continue to fall into the same categories. The time is now to take a stand and bring about change to this crisis. If not me then who? In the words of Dr. King, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?' "
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
--
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com
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