Ana Bonilla-Galdamez with guidance checklist for parents. Photo by Vernon Miles.
When Tammy Cavozos graduates from the University of Virginia, she says it will be because Ana Bonilla-Galdamez got her there. Cavozos is one of the students Bonilla-Galdamez, a social worker in Alexandria Public Schools, has helped push through economic and social barriers. Because of her work with students like Cavozos, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has selected Alexandria Social Worker Bonilla-Galdamez at the recipient of its 2014 National Social Worker of the Year.
“Overwhelming, I felt so honored, but more importantly it’s an opportunity to shine a spotlight on school social work,” said Bonilla-Galdamez.
It’s been a long road for Bonilla-Galdamez, whose experience in the United States started when her parents told her that they were leaving their home in El Salvador for a Christmas vacation.
“There’s an ideal of the United States,” said Bonilla-Galdamez. “But when you get here, it’s not what you were told.”
Bonilla-Galdamez said she internalized the same anger many immigrants to the United States feel. In her middle school and high school experience, Bonilla-Galdamez says she frequently ran into trouble, skipping classes and sometimes getting into fights. According to Bonilla-Galdamez, many young immigrants in Alexandria’s public schools face similar difficulties adjusting to life in culturally unfamiliar schools.
According to the proposed 2016 school budget, 28.3 percent of students in Alexandria Public Schools receive English Language Learner’s services, the largest of any school division in Northern Virginia. Alexandria’s school culture can be as isolating as it is diverse, and Bonilla-Galdamez said this sense of isolation from their peers drives many young immigrants towards gangs.
“Kids want to feel like a part of something,” said Bonilla-Galdamez.
Bonilla-Galdamez’s solution was to bring students at the Minnie Howard campus of T.C Williams High School together in after-school programs to help them identify a passion. For instance, one student ran into trouble with law enforcement for graffiti. Instead of punishing that habit, Bonilla-Galdamez said the key is to focus that into something productive, like getting them involved in making the art for school events. Another student ran into trouble for fighting, he was an enforcer for one of the school gangs, so she made him in charge of peacefully making sure everyone came to the school assemblies.
“These tasks make them feel important,” said Bonilla-Galdamez. “If you can find their passion, you can get them into something positive.”
However, four years ago, Bonilla-Galdamez said she was continually frustrated when she’d encounter students who were entering 9th grade and were already deep into gang culture. Bonilla-Galdamez moved to Charles Barrett Elementary and continued her after-school work, pushing students towards social integration.
Bonilla-Galdamez was also responsible for a mentorship program to help expose students to career opportunities. The organizations started with 12 mentors, and today has 52. The program pairs students with adult mentors, many from education or law enforcement. Recent trips included a visit to Motley Fool’s Alexandria headquarters to participate in a physics experiment and to tour the office. The program also takes students to college, even at an elementary school age, so they can be exposed to that as a possibility.
“We don’t have a lot of financial support,” said Bonilla-Galdamez. “It’s a good program, it works, but it would be great to have more funding for things like that, or like a bus trip to Georgetown.”
“The mentoring program, parent support groups and other initiatives that Ms. Bonilla-Galdamez has brought to our school has allowed us to better support the needs of our students outside of school,” said Seth Kennard, principal of Charles Barrett Elementary. “We have been able to develop closer relationships with all members of our school community as well as with city agencies like the police department and sheriff’s office. As a result of her work our students are may able to come to school ready to learn, and parents are more comfortable working with teachers and staff to support their children.”
Bonilla-Galdamez’s emphasis on exposure to college was one of the primary factors in Cavozos’ decision to attend a four-year university. Cavozos was in 9th grade when she met Bonilla-Galdamez. Cavozos came from a single family household and says her family was basically homeless and Cavozos was taken out of the school system. Bonilla-Galdamez fought to get Cavozos back into school and told her just to focus on grades, not to worry about the rest of it. As Bonilla-Galdamez continued helping her, Cavozos turned around and tried to repay her debt by helping to tutor younger children. While in high school, Cavozos says Bonilla-Galdamez came into one of her classes and pulled her out to ask her about plans for the future. Bonilla-Galdamez encouraged Cavozos to attend a four-year college, and eventually convinced her to attend Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) after she graduated from T.C. Williams. Cavozos says Bonilla-Galdamez is the reason she graduated high school.
After Cavozos transferred from NOVA to the University of Virginia (UVA), Cavozos said she began questioning her future. She knew her family also needed her support at home and considered dropping out, but Bonilla-Galdamez visited her at UVA and made sure Cavozos understood the importance of staying in school. Cavozos was the first in her family to graduate from high school and will soon be the first to graduate from college.
But Bonilla-Galdamez says the responsibility of getting children invested in education can’t rest with social workers alone.
“Our job is not to be the [student’s] savior, parents make the difference,” said Bonilla-Galdamez, but said schools’ handling of parental involvement can be a hindrance. “We need to educate parents and make them form relationships with their children. Parents have to set rules with positive and negative consequences .… Parents want to be involved, but they need afternoon programs or morning programs.”
Bonilla-Galdamez also expressed a hope that PTAs, rather than just addressing the general school population, could have branches that would address the needs of individual communities. According to Bonilla-Galdamez, many parents, especially minority parents, can feel that their voices are lost in the school-wide discussions.
Social workers in public schools face a few ethical dilemmas. First, Bonilla-Galdamez says she has to speak with students about confidentiality, and to make sure they know that anything they say that could put someone in danger is not confidential. Bonilla-Galdamez says she’s sometimes had to testify in court about something a student said, but she said most students she encounters in these situations understand that she’s just doing her job.
“The dichotomy between being a trusted resource for students and families while simultaneously enforcing attendance policies and neglect investigations is certainly a challenge for anyone,” said Kennard. “Ana is able to be highly effective at both through her relationship building and presence.”
The awards ceremony will be held Thursday, April 30, from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.