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Edina cultural liaisons outline expanded resource night for multilingual families
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Summary
Cultural liaisons described a redesigned multilingual resource night that grew from a technology night to include community partners, outreach strategies and plans to expand beyond Somali and Latino families.
Edina Public Schools cultural liaisons described an expanded “Edina resource night” for multilingual families during the Oct. 13 board meeting, saying the event grew from a technology-focused evening into a broader resource fair with district and community partners.
The program began as a technology night to help non‑English‑speaking parents learn district platforms when the district changed systems. "When we switched the platform, we thought that it was a good idea to provide training for parents and and students on how to use it, especially for parents who don't speak the language and don't have the computer skills to to handle the new system," said Blanca Diaz de Leon, Latino cultural liaison. The event now includes partners such as Edina Give and Go, the district transportation team and high school counselors, the liaisons said.
High school cultural liaison Hussein Asman told the board the project combines earlier Somali and Latino family nights and is tied to the district strategic plan’s goal to reduce cultural barriers to success. "This event helped address, as a cultural barrier, to success for our Somali and Latino families," Asman said. The liaisons said pandemic interruptions paused the event for a time and they are now rebuilding it with more resources and communities.
Liaisons explained multiple outreach methods to engage families. For some communities, one‑to‑one phone calls or voice messages and direct personal invitation are the most effective approaches. "Email will not work most of the time. You see that I have to phone call each one by one or do a voice recording," one liaison said. The board asked about reach and identification of families; liaisons said they rely first on the personal relationships they build with families and then on targeted outreach strategies that vary by community.
Board members thanked the liaisons for the work and encouraged expansion. "We've seen tremendous progress over the last few years...we're committed to continuing that progress," a board member said, praising the liaisons’ impact on students and families.
The liaisons said they plan to add more language communities next year (for example, Metro South is expected to participate) and to continue testing outreach strategies to determine what works for each group.
