Discussions at the Community Engagement Session centered on two questions: Are human care providers and schools meeting children’s needs in our community? And, what advice do community stakeholders have to offer that will ensure success for our children in the future?

Because the Greater Green Bay area Hmong population were the session’s focus, English as a Second Language prevailed as a dominant grist for the conversational mill.

Primary concerns from Hmong community leaders were getting ESL students into college, with particular regard to failures by these students on college entrance exams in math and science. Hmong attendees said these “Hmonglish-speaking” children simply do not have the requisite language skills to understand complex interrelationships conveyed in science classrooms and textbooks. The attendees asked for more bilingual teachers to help.

"Parents are working very hard to make sure their children have a good education, but there is no support,” a representative of the Hmong community said at the session.

Superintendent Nerad and other school representatives agreed that this was a prevalent problem, and Nerad said the schools are very interested in finding more bilingual teachers, when available. Nerad also pointed out ESL-specific science and math classes currently available in the Green Bay schools.

"I’m hopeful that we’ve turned a corner on this,” Nerad said.

Other areas of concern included:

• The English resolution ostracizing the Hmong population.

• Schools and the general community not valuing the Hmong community.

• Communication gap between the Hmong community and greater Green Bay community.

• General community not understanding and appreciating the Hmong community's belief system.

Two more sessions are planned for April 25 and May 18, and there are likely to be more sessions in the future if attendance levels hold strong. For more information on attendance or planning your own Community Engagement Session, contact Sarah Inman, BCUW community impact manager, at (920) 432-3393 ext. 8618, or write to sarah@browncountyunitedway.org.