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Hispanic educators motivate students at Phoenix school
By J.D. Long-García, The Catholic Sun
September 20, 2007
Michael Guerra used to help his uncle clean classrooms at St. Matthew School. Now he’s the assistant principal.
“I wanted to give back for all those teachers who really helped me in my life,” said Guerra, who is also the eighth-grade teacher.
“I grew up in this community,” he said. “I went to church here.”
While the rest of the nation started celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month Sept. 15, St. Matthew’s honors Hispanic roots year-round.
Guerra joins principal Gena McGowan and school adjustment counselor Noe Vargas as Hispanics in leadership roles at this inner-Phoenix Catholic school.
Principal McGowan said the school strives to provide the students with good role models.
“In this neighborhood, particularly the boys need good, strong role models,” she said. “Many of their parents work hard and don’t get to spend as much time with their kids.”
McGowan, who came to the United States from Venezuela as a child, estimated that at least half of the students’ parents are working-class immigrants. Many couldn’t afford tuition if it weren’t for charitable grants and scholarships.
“The only way out of poverty is through education,” McGowan said.
“Having a person like Mr. Guerra encourages students to go on to college,” said Fr. Raymond Ritari, the parish pastor. “He’s well-liked. People look up to him.”
Guerra, whose mother is from Juarez, Mexico, knows what it’s like to grow up in an immigrant home.
“They can relate to me,” he said. “I’ve told my kids I will do anything for them.”
Despite having many students from immigrant backgrounds, the school functions strictly in the English language.
“We’re in the United States. We don’t speak Spanish,” McGowan said of the immersion technique the school employs. “We assume students are smart enough to catch on.”
And they do.
McGowan noted a fourth-grader who didn’t speak English at the beginning of a school year, but was comfortable with it by Christmas break.
“The majority of teachers speak enough Spanish to get through a parent-teacher conference,” she added. The school offers English courses for parents in the evenings.
“Learning English is a big priority,” McGowan said, who helps students balance being proud of their Hispanic heritage and being proud Americans.
In addition to her other responsibilities, the principal spends a lot of time fundraising.
“Just because we’re poor doesn’t mean we can’t have what other schools have,” McGowan said. “We just have to be more creative.”
Vargas, the school adjustment counselor, said many Hispanic families struggle with dysfunction, different kinds of abuse and working parents who spend less time with their children.
“People don’t have the time to have dinner anymore,” Vargas said. “Kids talk to their peers about things they should talk to their parents about.”
In addition to guiding students in counseling, Vargas serves as another role model, Fr. Ritari said.
“Mr. Vargas can instill in students the idea that they can be a person who helps others,” he said.
“I want to show the kids that they can become anything they want to become, as long as they work for it,” Vargas said.
“I came to this country from another country, had to learn English, had to suffer through discrimination — but it can be done,” he added. “You have to take it step by step.”
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