Education Fair Empowers Thousands of Spanish-Speaking Parents and Students with Knowledge, Hope, and Tools for Economic Prosperity

AUSTIN, Texas (February 8, 2008)—Thousands of students and their Spanish-speaking parents are expected to visit the Tony Burger Center on Saturday, February 16 for the annual Feria Para Aprender. This event debuted last year as the first citywide Spanish language-only education fair, drawing more than 3,500 in attendance. It is the area’s largest one-day education effort with a dual objective to close the Hispanic achievement gap in Central Texas while fueling the economy with a workforce of bilingual, educated graduates. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 3200 Jones Dr.

“In our economic climate, we need to be taking measures that position the U.S. and local regions as competitive hubs for jobs and talent,” said Sylvia Acevedo, founding chairwoman of the Feria and a local education leader and workforce strategist. “We know that cultural misperceptions about the U.S. education system and a lack of awareness among Spanish-speaking parents are the real barriers to success. It’s not a lack of motivation. Since the Feria and several companion programs have debuted, we have seen a high proactive response from the community and the results have been very tangible.”

Martha Garcia, AISD Executive Director of Bilingual Education/ESL and a founding partner of the Feria, said the district is seeing one of the largest levels of participation by Spanish-speaking parents. “Our research shows that we are definitely reaching English-language-learning families throughout the district in a large, meaningful, and impactful way,” said Garcia. “We are extremely excited about the strides ahead and we know that these education milestones will translate into economic gains for our region.”

As to what kind of economic impact a Feria event can make in a region, Kathrin Brewer, Executive Director of Austin Partners in Education (APIE) and a Feria founding partner, said the potential is great. “For every 1000 high school graduates, we infuse $1 billion into our local economy over their lifetimes,”said Brewer. “These are exciting times and we have such an economic opportunity in front of us given Austin’s vibrant demographics, an unprecendented language advantage, and the educational successes.”

At the fair, there will also be a concentrated effort in place to position education as the key to the American dream and achieving economic prosperity within families. A campaign led by Acevedo called Para Una Buena Vida (For A Good Life) will preview at the event with targeted messages centered on graduating high school, graduating college, and staying bilingual to get better pay and jobs.

According to the University of Texas Strauss Institute, which surveyed attendees at last year’s Feria, more than 90% of parents said they felt more informed and empowered to help their children reach academic success. In December, AISD reported that graduates of the district’s English Language Learner (ELL) program had tested higher on standardized tests as compared to test results from the general student body.

“Companies continue to choose Austin because of its human capital,” said Adriana Cruz, Vice President of Global Corporate Recruitment. “A strong educated, bilingual workforce in this region presents a tremendous workforce advantage helping firms compete in the global marketplace. When we look at the the recent corporate relocation of Mexican software company Merkatum, or of major corporate leaders like IndyMac BancCorp, PayPal and Samsung, we know that programs and collaborations to shrink the achievement gap in Austin are definitely working.”

“We have a shared responsibility to focus on metro-Austin’s education and workforce opportunities. We must continue to stay focused and engaged in such efforts if we are to help Austin position itself to attract more companies. We have the potential to offer one of the largest pools of educated bilingual workers,” said Paul Saldaña, At-Large Board Member of the Austin Chamber of Commerce.

Feria key organizers and underwriters include a committee of community leaders from schools, chambers, businesses, and media, including APIE, AISD, Ahora Si, BMP Radio, Community Action Network (CAN), Cricket, CommuniCard, Inc., E3 Alliance, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber, Gates Foundation, United Way, Univision Radio, Univision TV, Wachovia Bank, and others.

Organizers expect more than 5,000 students and their parents to attend. More than 70 nonprofits and universities are also registered to provide free information and tools on site. Attendees will receive free meals, immunizations, books, raffle prizes, and other give-a-ways. Activities will include age-specific information exhibits, reading gardens, computer kiosks, mentoring areas, and celebrity stations.

For information about free bus transportation, call 1-866-620-3935. For more information about the Feria Para Aprender, visit the bilingual site www.feriaeducativa.org.

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