Spanish-language school choice website released

A local nonprofit working to strengthen Delaware’s education system has launched a Spanish-language website to help families understand and navigate their school choice options with greater ease than ever before.

DelawareCAN: The Delaware Campaign for Achievement Now has created www.MiEscuelaDE.com, or My School Delaware.

“We built this website because we know Spanish-speaking families experience inconvenient, inconsistent, sparing or no access at all to well-translated school choice resources,” said Atnre Alleyne, executive director of DelawareCAN. “Even the state’s school choice platform lacks translated resources and instructions. Parents shouldn’t be expected to guess their way through information they need to make the best choices for their families.”

Across the state, 17 percent of public school students are Hispanic and Latino, according to state enrollment figures, including 22 percent of students in Sussex County, 18 percent in New Castle and 9 percent in Kent.

Earlier this year, DelawareCAN created another first-of-its-kind website called Who Runs Our Schools, which sought to close information gaps between everyday Delawareans and their school board candidates.

MiEscuelaDE.com came about to close the gap between Spanish-speaking families and the school choice process. It provides answers to frequently asked questions translated in Spanish along with school choice application timelines, a school search tool, and a calendar of key opportunities for families and students. The website is part of DelawareCAN’s Juntos Delaware initiative, a monthly forum supported by the Arsht-Cannon Fund for organizations that serve the state’s Latino communities.

Juntos Delaware provides a space for nonprofits to hear policy updates, build their knowledge of Delaware's legislative process, learn strategies for working with lawmakers and explore how to mobilize their communities. “As someone who engages the Hispanic community across the state, and as a mother who used Delaware’s school choice process to find the right school for my children, I know how urgently my community needs access to resources tailored to their needs,” said Erika Gutierrez, coordinator of Juntos Delaware.

Alleyne said, “The basis for great advocacy – for all empowerment, and all change – is knowledge. Information is truly power, and when barriers keep certain communities from the power they deserve, it’s our job to overcome them together. With MiEscuelaDE, we hope parents will feel more comfortable seeking, and finding, the answers they need.”

Launched in 2017, the Delaware Campaign for Achievement Now is a nonprofit organization that empowers, mobilizes and collaborates with everyday Delawareans to advocate for a high-quality education system. Go to www.miescuelade.com for more information.