At RCMA, we don’t just help families get education for their children, we also give them the resources they need to be fully supportive of their children’s educational journey. Simply sending a child to school isn’t enough – providing a nurturing environment and attitude makes a huge difference for their success.
We provide family support through two different programs for parents – one that focuses on the aspects of how they can better provide help at home with their children’s schoolwork, and another that focuses on building an educational foundation they themselves can build from to achieve bigger dreams of their own.
Our Family Programs
Abriendo Puertas / Opening Doors is the nation’s first evidence-based comprehensive training program developed by and for Latino parents with children ages 0-5.
Parent input informs the Abriendo Puertas / Opening Doors curriculum, which uses the “popular education” approach to engage parents in lessons that reflect the culture of the target audience. The ten interactive sessions draw from real-life experiences, incorporate data about local schools and communities, and focus on helping Latino parents understand their important role in the development of and long-term impact on their children’s educational outcomes. Abriendo Puertas / Opening Doors’ train-the–trainer model helps local family service providers improve their outreach and interaction with families, and create a sustainable program that reaches beyond the initial training sessions.
The Child Trends Hispanic Institute evaluated the program – Abriendo-Puertas-Report
RCMA’s Community Learning Centers strive to bring free or affordable quality education to rural low-income communities using technology and caring, culturally sensitive teachers and tutors.
Through Community Learning Centers, RCMA provides basic education services to adults who have not completed their basic education studies, either in U.S. schools or in Mexico.
The Community Learning Centers provide three levels of studies — literacy (basic reading and writing), primary (elementary) and secondary (middle school), and accredits students according to the standards set by the Ministry of Public Education in Mexico. Students also can earn their Florida general equivalency diploma.
More than 250 students studied at RCMA’s Community Learning Centers in the 2004-05 school year; a fifth center opened in 2005.
Among the goals:
- Provide computer training and access to on-line learning.
- Provide basic education classes, in English or Spanish, leading to the attainment of a primary, secondary or higher diploma from Mexico, or GED of the state of Florida.
- Provide courses in English for Speakers of Other Languages.
- Support families in their quest toward personal growth and self-sufficiency, including health and parenting skills, homework help for their children and becoming advocates in the public school system.
Participants
- Institute of Mexicans Abroad
- Mexican Consulates General in Orlando and Miami
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico
- Monterrey Institute of Technology
- National Institute for Adult Education of Mexico