CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — MJ Clarete was born in the Philippines but moved to the United States when he was five.
A free after-school program in the Chula Vista Elementary School District helps educate dozens of students — including MJ — about the history and the language of the Philippines.
Filipino Language and Culture School Program (FilCASP) is open to all third grade through sixth grade students at six schools in the district—Salt Creek, Wolf Canyon, Hedenkamp, Heritage, Muraoka and Jeffers. The district helps fund the program.
"I'm learning Filipino words, sentences, dances and songs," said MJ, who is a fourth grader at Wolf Canyon Elementary School.
The program connects students like Clarete to their culture — something Lalaine Perez said reflects how much times have changed.
"We were discouraged from talking in Tagalog or Filipino," Perez said. "I think we are at a time and place where diversity is so embraced that we really need to embrace who we are."
Perez helped start FilCASP in 2018 while she was the principal at Salt Creek Elementary.
"The school is actually a dual immersion school for Spanish," Perez said. "I knew the community embraced multilingualism. We need to bring a program that values our culture, our heritage and our language."
The educators leading the program say the experience is rewarding.
"It's really fun — also connected me to my inner child," said Vida De Leon, who helps teach the students.
"We're happy with the program and we're hoping we can expand it," added coordinator Dolores Balane.
