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Eduardo Diaz works from his office to help the at-risk and non-English-speaking students.
By Kira Roybal, Staff Writer
GUIDANCE: Poly’s new administrative officer, Eduardo Diaz, will help Spanish-speaking teens adjust to their English-speaking surroundings.
As students, most kids live fairly normal lives. They come to school, attend their classes, participate in sports and clubs, use phones and computers for school projects and social networking and communicate with teachers and friends in English.
On the other end of the spectrum are kids who are not fortunate enough to have these privileges. The language barrier sets them apart. This is where Poly’s administrative staff for at-risk and non-English-speaking teens, headed by Lisa Carrera, steps in to help Spanish-speaking students integrate into their new English-speaking environment.
The newest addition to this program is Eduardo Diaz. Though Diaz is new to the administration, his demanding duties have already begun. From collecting information about each student in the program to guiding the Spanish-speaking students through their high school years, Diaz is well on his way to making a positive impact on the school and the lives of these students.
One of the main focuses of Diaz’s work is to create a report about each student in the program. This includes taking a survey of the students’ knowledge of computers; it is key to learn whether or not each student has internet access, or even a computer, in their home. Diaz explains that if a student has these tools, it will make their school life much easier to assimilate into.
This process allows him to become familiar with each student and, therefore, establish an understanding with each of them. “I will make the students feel comfortable, so they can talk to me about problems,” Diaz said.
Despite all the effort put forth to aid the students in transitioning from a Spanish-speaking to an English-speaking atmosphere, Diaz realizes that there will still be challenges for these students to overcome.
It is not difficult for Diaz to sympathize with the students. He recounts that as a child he had to make the same transition from Spanish to English in order to integrate into his new environment. “It was easier for me because I was young. Some of these kids come as juniors,” Diaz said.
He also comments that this is the case for many of the students; it is harder to learn a new language and integrate into new surroundings as a person grows older.
In his first case of the year, Diaz is helping a student by not only being an administrative officer, but also by being a mentor. Of course his main objective is to pull the student past the language barrier, but he is also there as an advisor and friend, to steer the student in the right direction and inform them about the high school experience in general. Diaz explained that he even gave the student his phone number, so he could be reached whenever the student has any problems that cannot be left to chance.
Diaz also believes that this program will not only help the students through high school, but will also benefit them in the future, whether they make the decision to go to college or go straight into the work field. Though the language barrier is a difficult challenge to overcome in high school, it is not impossible when these students have administrators like Poly’s Diaz to guide them through the transition.
Photo by Shelby Clemons/ The Poly Spotlight