Arlington — Besides Washington-Lee's Dave Soles and Williamsburg's Will Smolinski, the Arlington Partnership for Children, Youth and Families had awarded three other Arlington Public Schools employees as Connect with Kids Champions.
Each fall and spring, the partnership invites members of the community to nominate individuals, groups, businesses and non-profit organizations because they value, support, and empower young people to make healthy, positive choices.
This year’s Connect with Kids Champions also included:
Robert Garcia, a resource assistant at Washington-Lee High School, who supports minority students there. As the sponsor for the Latin American Student Association, he recruits new members every year, specifically seeking out those who feel excluded from the rest of the student population. He works with them to assimilate into a new culture without losing touch with their traditions or culture.
Javier Gil, or Don Pepito to the students at Claremont Immersion School, shares his knowledge and love of the Spanish language and Hispanic culture and traditions with students through Adelante (Forward), a group he started at the school. He reads to more than 200 children every Tuesday and organizes events that feature singing, dancing and poetry for the whole family throughout the school year. He created a group for the parents to help guide them to be more involved in their children’s studies. “
Lourdes Rubio, the High Intensity Language Training resource counselor at Washington-Lee High School, guides children every day and makes herself available to anyone whenever they need help or support. A group of nearly 40 students organized themselves to nominate her because of how she seeks to understand and listen to them.