BARAJAS BEGINS

New Counselor Cesar Barajas joins PRHS and involves himself in the ELD Program

by Asusena Uribe, Carmesi Editor

Ceasar Barajas, newly hired ELD counselor, knows what it is like to go to school and not know the language coming out of the lips of the teachers and his peers. As a graduate of an ELD program, he reclassified his language skills yearly in tests that determined his English proficiency.

Barajas relates to the experience of students going through the English Language Development program and seeks to give guidance and support.

Barajas came from the town of Terra Bella, California where the population was mostly made up of immigrants—like his parents—who worked in manual field labor. Barajas became a first generation college student who earned a criminal justice and worked at a juvenile hall for seven months. While attending this hall, he also was involved with a nonprofit agency named Wrap Around, focusing his efforts on families. These experiences and passions led him to acquire his masters degree in educational counseling so that he could achieve his goal of helping students find successful paths.

“My passion is working with students to help them reach college, help prepare them, and give them the tools they need in order to be successful,” he said.

Principal Anthony Overton has observed the amount of effort that Barajas has made

Carmesi

in connecting with students and their families in helping them navigate the school system. He also described that according to the Western Associations with Schools and College Accreditation, there were gaping deficits when it came to ELD learners and that Barajas, a counselor solely focused on ELD learners and making them feel supported, was the way to combat these holes.

“We are excited to have him here! We had some support before, but not someone who focused on the sole purpose of making sure these students are welcomed,” Overton said. “He’s already thinking about ways to bring in things, to not only support the students directly but to support the culture and the heritage of our students as well.”

Teacher contact is often Barajas’ strategy for reaching ELD goals.

“I am consistently talking to the teachers. I’m talking to the students as well. I’m monitoring their grades, giving them tools and also communicating with the older students about suggestions they have for their teachers,” he said.

Barajas creates a relationship between the student and the teacher to better understand each other on the best process to learn. However, the program is also controlled by students. Older students are constantly giving suggestions on how to help newcomers. Barajas then gets involved to make helpful changes and interventions.

The goal of his involvement is to get all of his students reclassified, the process where natively Spanish speaking students prove English Language proficiency in academic classes. He hopes to create a welcoming environment where they feel included in the school and advancing toward graduation and next steps.

“I think it’s a great program to help students that, you know, lack those language elements. We get them prepared in order to be successful in their English classes or science classes—and also when they get to college,” he said.

Despite being new to the campus, Barajas has marched into the job of advising the Expedition Club, which he created to connect students from different backgrounds, countries, and cultures.

“I want students to have fun, find new friends, be active in the community, and feel welcome,” Barajas said.

Comienza Barajas

Ceasar Barajas sabe lo que es ir al colegio y no conocer el idioma que sale de los labios de los profesores y sus compañeros. Como graduado de un programa de ELD, sabe lo que es pasar por el proceso de reclasificación de tomar una prueba anual para determinar su dominio del inglés.

Barajas conoce y se relaciona con la experiencia de alguien que pasa por el programa de Desarrollo del Idioma Inglés y busca brindar orientación y apoyo.

Barajas procedía de la localidad de Terra

Bella, California, donde la población estaba mayoritariamente compuesta por inmigrantes, como sus padres, quienes trabajaban en labores manuales como el trabajo de campo. Barajas es un estudiante universitario de primera generación que obtuvo una licenciatura en Justicia Penal y trabajó en un centro de menores durante siete meses. Mientras asistía a este salón, también estuvo involucrado con Una agencia sin fines de lucro llamada Wrap Around, donde se enfocaron en las familias. Fueron estas experiencias y pasiones las

I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE WHERE ALL THE ELD STUDENTS COULD GO DURING LUNCH, AFTER SCHOOL, OR EVEN SOMETIMES DURING CLASS IF TEACHERS LET THEM

PARA SEGUIR LEYENDO EN ESPANOL, ESCANEA EL CODIGO QR

que lo llevaron a adquirir su Maestría en Consejería Educativa para poder lograr su objetivo de ayudar a los estudiantes a crear vidas exitosas.