Yesenia Rodriguez campaigns for Hazleton Area School Board

May 12—Yesenia Rodriguez learned to speak English when she was 14 after her family moved to New York City from the Dominican Republic.

"It was hard for me, but I still did it. I know how hard the transition is because I've lived it," Rodriguez said.

To help Hazleton Area students learn English as their second language, Rodriguez recommends hiring more teachers and paraprofessionals who speak Spanish and English.

As she campaigns for school board, she said Hazleton Area schools have trouble retaining bilingual paraprofessionals because people can make more money in local factories, something that pandemic relief dollars might fix.

"See if we can increase the pay for the paraprofessionals so we can get more people in the job," said Rodriguez, who owns KiKi's Bakery in West Hazleton and is running for school board with Ive Eufracio-Childs.

Rodriguez also suggested starting an after-school program with pandemic funds by purchasing and reopening the Hazleton YWCA/YMCA.

High school seniors could help run the program, perhaps for college credit, and the school district could charge membership fees, just as the Y did.

"I'm sure a lot of families would agree to that," Rodriguez said. "Closing the YMCA was terrible. We had a membership. My son used to go there and play basketball. I knew he was safe and where he was."

Rodriguez has three adult children and three foster children still in school. One of them had more trouble learning from home during the pandemic than her siblings.

"Tons of kids are in the same situation ... Everybody learns differently," Rodriguez said.

To help students learn lessons that they didn't grasp while studying at home, she would try summer tutoring, perhaps with students from local colleges.

They might not learn a year's worth of material in the summer, "but at least they're halfway there," Rodriguez said.

Contact the writer: kjackson@standardspeaker.com; 570-501-3587