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Building off its success at its founding school in Unit 5, an advisory group for bilingual parents is looking to expand to serve families of older students in the increasingly diverse district.
The Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee [BPAC] formed in 2010 at Cedar Ridge Elementary School in Bloomington, where over half of students are Hispanic. Unit 5’s Dual Language Program is based at Cedar Ridge, and is required by the Illinois State Board of Education [ISBE].
BPAC arose from a clear need: to close the communication gap that often left bilingual families, particularly Spanish speakers, without timely access to crucial district information.
"The committee is primarily an ISBE [Illinois State Board of Education] requirement for any school that has a bilingual or dual program," said Marianela Diaz, a Unit 5 staffer who serves as a bilingual parent liaison.
BPAC members are volunteer parents who advise the district on the implementation of its bilingual education program and work to ensure that essential information — from calendars to curriculum explanations — is shared in an understandable and culturally sensitive manner. At meetings they address common challenges, such as language barriers, lack of opportunities for bilingual families, and how to maintain both languages while not losing the native tongue.
For BPAC’s founding parents, the motivation was personal. Before it formed, many said they felt isolated from the school system, struggling to understand the complexities of grades, standardized tests, and support services. Since joining, some BPAC members say it’s given them the necessary confidence to advocate for their children's education.
Among BPAC's greatest achievements to date has been instilling a sense of empowerment within the bilingual community and establishing direct, reliable channels of communication with the school administration.
Teresa Cornejo, a parent at Cedar Ridge from the first bilingual generation, was one of BPAC’s founding parents.
"It's a beautiful family experience... a rare person would say something negative because we have all truly felt like part of a community,” Cornejo said.
To ensure all voices are heard — even those of parents who cannot attend meetings — BPAC uses its members as community liaisons, gathering concerns at school events and utilizing accessible digital platforms.
"There is a network of mothers organized by grade level, and there's a mother in each grade who starts a WhatsApp group; there are many avenues of communication—there's Facebook, there's email, there are specific text messages—so these moms tend to replicate all that information on WhatsApp as well," said Diaz.
"The school paperwork that the kids bring home also helps," said Cornejo.
Unit 5 is becoming increasingly diverse. Today around 13% of Unit 5 students are Hispanic, up from 7.4% in 2018, according to School Report Card data. Around 9.5% of Unit 5 students are considered English language learners, up from 4.7% just a decade ago.
Belonging, including inclusive environments, remains one of Unit 5’s core commitments.
"We want our children to be proud of the culture their parents come from. I'm Mexican, I'm Venezuelan, I'm Honduran, I'm Guatemalan, and this is my tradition, and we want them to feel that pride," said Diaz.
"We have been holding the Hispanic Fair during Hispanic Heritage Month for eight years now, and I always have this image of the children when they see the flag of their countries—even if they were born here—seeing a flag of Mexico or Guatemala, seeing their mom come and bring food or present about her country, the smile, the look of that proud child. Wow, that is priceless," added Diaz.
How to get involved
The BPAC's message to parents is to get involved. That not only helps your own child but strengthens the entire community.
"If you're there, it's not just the acronym; it's the unity, the community, the action of being there, seeing each other, saying hello again—whether every three or four months or every year—or maybe I'm here this year and not the next, but that at some point my voice can serve as an experience," said Cornejo.
Looking ahead, BPAC aims for expansion to Unit 5’s high school level. To achieve this, they emphasize the need for more active parent participation at all levels and, crucially, the district's continued commitment to allocating adequate resources for translation and bilingual support.
"As parents, we should be more present or ask questions, because if we don't ask, we will continue to have the same doubts," said Rosa Guido, a Unit 5 parent and BPAC member.
BPAC members want to see the expansion of bilingual programs in secondary schools to preserve Spanish speaking, and they emphasize that children from other cultures will also be able to benefit from those programs.
"Yes, there will be interested children, children born here who only speak English."
"We must always accompany our children in the educational process," Diaz said.
If you are a parent and interested in joining BPAC, please contact diazm@unit5.org or moralei@unit5.org.