WHO WE ARE

The Visitacion Valley Parents Association (VVPA), a project of CAA, is an education and advocacy group for limited-English proficient (LEP) public school parents. VVPA members live in Visitacion Valley, which is in the southeast sector of San Francisco, and have children attending schools throughout the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). VVPA provides leadership development through parent-run advocacy trainings, educational workshops, and civic engagement opportunities.

KEY ISSUES

VVPA parents identify language barriers as their biggest challenge for meaningful parent involvement in schools. Other issues identified by VVPA parents include improving academic performance, after-school programs, bilingual education, and school safety.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

VVPA provides limited-English proficient parents a voice at school sites, the School District, and the Board of Education. VVPA prepares parents to actively participate in their children’s education and make positive change in public schools.

Our accomplishments include:

Advocacy

• Testifying at the San Francisco Board of Education and other public hearings to increase written and oral translation services in Chinese, Spanish, and other language groups within schools.
• Collaborating with the SFUSD’s Translation Department to identify key documents for translation, such as report cards and parent resources.
• Meeting with the president of the Board of Education and other key district staff to raise concerns and identify needs of LEP parents.

Community Education

• Training LEP parents to become effective advocates for their children and other LEP parents.
• Facilitating neighborhood workshops on issues such as language access, parent involvement opportunities, the student assignment process, mental health, and school safety.
• Conducting media briefings with ethnic and mainstream media to discuss the needs of immigrant parents.

Community Organizing

• Outreaching to voters about the importance of non-citizen voting in school board elections and increased inclusion of immigrant parents in educational policy.
• Conducting a survey with 125 Chinese-speaking families in Visitation Valley to determine prevalence of language barriers to meaningful parent involvement.
• Collecting nearly 500 letters from LEP parents that led to the passage of AB 680 (D-Chan) which requires the state to monitor and notify districts of their legal obligations to provide written translation.

CONTACT INFORMATION

VVPA always welcomes new parents and community collaborators! You can contact us or join our mailing list by calling 415.587.5779 or emailing caa[at]caasf[dot]org.