EL RENO - Graduation is a little over a month away for El Reno High School senior Ruby Vazquez.
“I'm feeling nervous,” Vazquez said. “I don't want to graduate just yet but then I'm just like, ‘It's already time.’ I need to graduate already at the same time.’”
She is determined. Vazquez has a post-high school plan and wants to make her parents proud as a first-generation university student.
But before she starts her college career, Vazquez must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA. The application is vital to receiving financial aid.
She is hardly alone. Like most of the nation, Oklahoma’s K-12 schools have seen an increase of English Language Learner, or ELL, students. From 2000-2018, Oklahoma’s ELL students enrollment steadily grew from 6.1% to 8.3%, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Although she has the support of her parents, educators and the school’s staff, Vazquez said the application can be a lot to digest.
“I honestly think it's hard to understand some stuff, like, I haven't even finished it either on my own,” Vazquez said.
How a rural district is helping students
El Reno Public Schools is one of nine rural public school districts in Canadian County.
At El Reno High School, students have a team of four college and career counselors to help themselves and their parents navigate the next steps after graduation. Elizabeth Kinsey is one of those counselors who works with about 250 students at the school.
Kinsey said before answering students’ questions about paperwork, like FAFSA, for pursuits after high school, counselors go through what they need to do and offer that information to parents. She said a common need for students is support.
“An adult or somebody that is there to, you know, guide them,” Kinsey said. “You don't have to make a decision right now, what you want to do in your future, but you do need to come up with some sort of plan. Right?” Kinsey said.
Bilingual staff like ELL instructors help with translation.
Barbara Davola is an ELL aide at the school and said she works with about 50 high schoolers in the ELL program.
“I have a few students every hour of the day,” Davola said. “And, most of the time, I'm eating lunch while translating a test or helping with homework or doing whatever, and that's fine by me, I don't care.”
She has known many of her students since the fifth grade because of her previous work with younger students in the district. Davola remembers helping a fifth-grade Vazquez translate homework and classwork.
Davola said Vazquez consistently works to gain more knowledge. She has seen tremendous growth.
“But now that she's a senior at the end of her senior year, she's amazing. I'm so proud of her. She's doing well. She's doing more than well,” Davola said.
So helping her succeed and get to the next level of higher education is vital.
Higher education for English Language Learners (ELLs)
Although Latino and Hispanic communities have been established for some time in Oklahoma, populations have grown over the last decade. As KOSU reported this past fall, some Oklahoma secondary educational institutions are seeing a need for language resources as well and have increased services.
About 26,000 students attend Oklahoma State University and over 80% of them receive some type of financial assistance. Over the years, OSU has also seen its Hispanic student population increase.
The university hosts informational sessions about college for prospective students and their families – including for an increasing number of Spanish-speaking students. Chad Blew, director of the university’s Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, said his office has a bilingual team member.
“Normally the issue would be that the parents don’t speak English to the level that the student does,” Blew said. “And, of course, those parents are just so happy to be able to talk to her. Now, you know, could we use three more people? Yes.”
Blew said this year also presents special challenges for incoming students. The U.S. Department of Education launched a simpler FAFSA but there have been setbacks causing delays in students receiving their aid packages.
Normally, he said students would know where they stand financially in December but his office is hoping to be able to award federal aid later this month.
“So it’s a major, major issue and it’s not OSU. It’s every school in the country,” Blew said.
FAFSA paperwork is available in Spanish and people can also request an interpreter online. But Davola said high school students or families might have no idea about the forms in Spanish. Also, questions about social security numbers can be intimidating.
“So, I think they're scared. It's a big world ahead of them, you know, and it's scary to some of them,” Davola said.
The future for one El Reno student
The need for student and parent support for FAFSA paperwork in general is expected to grow at El Reno High School. The applications will soon be a requirement to graduate in Oklahoma but students over 18, parents or legal guardians can submit an opt-out form.
Davola said not every student wants to attend college. But, if they don’t fill out the forms they don’t even have an option.
For now, Vazquez isn’t thinking about all that. She’s focused on her next steps.
“I want to go to Redlands Community College to finish my basics and then transfer to you to do dental hygienist,” Vazquez said. “So, that's what I want to do and see where life takes me.”
But until graduation day in May, she has classwork to finish.
This reporting is part of a collaboration with the Institute for Nonprofit News' Rural News Network, and the Cardinal News, KOSU, Mississippi Today, Shasta Scout and The Texas Tribune. Support from Ascendium made the project possible.
