“Raise the bar high and they will reach it!” says Josefina Cabrera of the students she teaches. Too often English language learners are assigned to “special” classes and expectations of them are set low.
“There were hundreds of people as soon as the sun went down waiting patiently for the immigration patrols to change shifts. It was pretty dark already, when all of a sudden a helicopter was flying over our heads, and sand was creating a dark cloud that prevented people from seeing where they were running to. The helicopter was so close to our heads that I can still hear the noise and feel the strong wind it was making. Men, women, and children were all running in different directions. People were running back to Tijuana not being able to escape the Mexican police…others took advantage of the chaotic situation to cross to the US side. To this day, I am grateful that my family managed to stay together.” Once across the border, they hid in a stable outside San Ysidro and went without food for 24 hours until they found their contact. “These are not easy memories to capture and recount,” she says. “The little girl inside of me will always question our society’s inability to support the most vulnerable sectors of our population, especially families and children.” By a stroke of good fortune, the
family settled in Carpinteria. Not speaking a word of English, school became intimidating the once confident student, and she became withdrawn and shy. “I was acting sort of like a recorder that would record every sound, every word, but not ready to emit any sound, not until I was certain that my words would be understood and I would not be ridiculed, or be given more attention than I was ready to receive.” She had some wonderful teachers who were mentors, encouraging her to use the language and embrace her leadership ability. A turning point came when one of them visited her home and asked her mother if Josefina could attend a leadership conference. This ignited an excitement inside her that one day she might do something meaningful with her life. “In a conservative Mexican family, it was not customary to let your daughters out of your sight to go anywhere. Women were supposed to prepare to become housewives and mothers. Anything aside from that was simply a waste of time.” She married young, divorced by age 25, and raised her three children by herself, holding down two jobs but
always working with children. She eventually took classes at Santa Barbara City College and finally, she earned her teaching credential and MAE at Antioch. It was not long before she launched a tutoring program that quickly grew, with almost 45 tutees under her wing. She says that the mission of La Escuelita en Casa is to provide low-cost academic support to K-12 students individually or in groups, and to support families as they navigate parent-teacher conferences and school meetings that can be intimidating for them. Parents need to engage in their children’s education, yet for those who don’t speak English, it’s difficult. She is proud to have joined the Board of Directors of Padres Unidos/United Parents, an organization that helps parents advocate for equity in education and aims to close the gap between white and Latino students. Josefina continues to raise the bar high for herself. She is currently enrolled in the Leadership and Change Ph.D. program at Antioch University and her colleagues and students soon will be calling her Dr. Cabrera.
13