Explores how Latino parents view their children’s education and their own role in it and offers models for literacy practice. Field work among major Latino populations across the United States reveals a number of common themes, including: (1) Latino parents overwhelmingly and consistently expressed the highest hope for their children’s future; (2) for most parents, the home plays an important role in shaping children’s moral development; and (3) most Latino parents want their children to retain their language and culture. Thus, parent involvement programs in schools need to nurture children’s pride in their own families, communities, and heritage. Two effective models are a classroom-based literacy program that invites family and community into the curriculum and a program that works directly with parents; both seek to facilitate and promote dialogue at home in the home language. Underlying these models is the assumption that regardless of level of education, these parents have a wealth of personal experience and family stories they can share, and, in collaboration with their children, they ultimately can write these stories down in their native language. This activity bridges the gap between generations and between school and home.
