sgrirchlgts hello, and welcome to communidad del valle. i'm damian trujillo. recognizing our educators. this is your communidad del valle.ç we begin with cash for college. there is a lot of it going around, and with us today is sonja ramos and valentine gars wra. they brought a lot of cash with

us to give to our students out in the bay area. welcome to our show. >> thank you. >> we love to have you every year because you always come with good news. at a time when we think that there's no money, how are we going to send our kids to college, you have the answers for us. tell us about your program and what you are doing. >> right now we are in the middle of our cash for college campaign, which runs from january through march 2nd. the cal grad deadline. the workshops throughout the months of january through march are taking place at high schools and community colleges across the silicone valley, sanlta clara county area to help students, specifically seniors and their families, submit and file the free application for federal student aid. >> it can be intimidating. that's why these organizations are here. they're having free workshops throughout the south bay to make sure you do fill them out right and get the money that you should be getting. vallen tina, call it first-time

college students, it's intimidating. >> of course. that's why we have this workshop. we clear all the questions that the parents have. am i going to have to pay this back in a year, two years, three years? no, it's free money. that's why we have this workshop and we have it from usually 3:00 to 8:00, five-hour span so the parents can come after work and they're able to have their questions answered. we definitely take our time with them to make sure that they go without any unanswered questions. >> sonja, how safe with are these funds right now? we all know what's going on in sacramento. the state budget it is what it is. they're trying to find every direction to pull money from. how safe are -- is the financial aid situation in california? >> specifically for the cal grad program which has been from year to year fluctuated in terms of its funding and ability to continue the program itself as it is in its entirety.

we are hoping that the program will not be cut by the budget cut. there is talk that there might be some reductions, not understand whatting that reduction could mean. it could mean students that are previous students that might have previous rewards that are changed or that are reduced to allow students coming into u%iversities and colleges for the first year to have full financial aid, but there is an increase in the cal grant program this year, so students can qualify for up to $11,000 in cal grant money, which are free moans that students and families do not have to pay back. >> that can pay for your entire education if you come from what we call in the silicone valley a severely poor but because if you are getting $11,000, that's -- that can pay for your entire education that year. >> correct. that's just cal grant. you have the pell grant, and you have -- you took your classes at the high school level, you have more money.

that's just a lot of grants valuable also at the university level that provide grants. cal grants equals a lot of dinero. >> i can honestly say that i probably would not be here if i didn't qualify for financial aid. i mean, the situation -- that's what a lot of our students are facing. they feel like college is not for them because they can't afford it. what we're hearing is the increases in tuition from year to year, fortunately, the cal grant is being increased to allow for those increases to be subsidyized by cal grant and other scholarships that the universities and colleges may offer to students. >> and the free workshops are coming up. you have one coming up after today, sunday. you have one at gunderson and over phil high school, and you have add aid fourth one. >> february 28th. friends are welcome to come in any time. >> put the parents at ease. tell them how easy it is to do this. >> it takes about 20 minutes to

a half hour. the families have all of their tax information ready and prepared. our volunteers are trained, well trained. we have financial aid officers and directors from our local institutions here, colleges and universities in the santa clara area who are experts in completing this and will provide the families with all of the information that they need in order to properly answer all the questions on the applications to allow their student to qualify. we really encourage families to apply regardless of whether or not they think they may not qualify. every family situation is very different, and as we know in this economic state, family financial situations are changing every day. that impacts the ability for students to receive and qualify for more financial aid if their family continues to be impacted by this economy. >> procrastination, wee all guilty of it. when is the absolute deadline to fill out these financial aid forms? >> the cal grant is march 2nd. for the fasa itself is ongoing. we push march 2nd because if you

don't send in the paperwork and the cal grant before march 2nd, you don't get the total allotment that you could receive. >> let's show you the information on the free workshops that are taking place in the south bay. there it is on your screen. is that a good web address to give out for more information on what's happening? >> or visit calgrant.org as well, and they can put in their zip code and find the nearest workshop in their city, and they could also call 408-657-6774, and that's our cell phone, so they could text us too if they want to request a new -- workshop near them. >> awesome. thank you for what you do and coming back every year with this great news. >> thank you for having us. >> up next on communidad del valle, we're recognizing our educators. stay with us. bread when you can have pillsbury grands! flaky layers biscuits? the warm, light delicate layers are like nothing else. add a layer of excitement to your next meal. ♪

but i've got a warm, fresh baked strawberry toaster strudel. see the difference? mmmm. i do. (announcer) pillsbury toaster strudel. the one kids want to eat. >> recognizing the educators of the year here on communidad del valle celebrating. with me today is johnny. he is with the newly formed

mexican-american educators of silicone valley. welcome to the show. >> thank you. >> your group, you're statewide, but this chapter is new here in silicone valley. >> we're a statewide organization, and we are the newest chapter of the association of mexican-american educators. i'm the president. we look forward to our big dinner. we have a big dinner coming up. we look forward to our dinner on may 20th. we're going to honor latino educators in santa clara county and at the same time we hope to award $25,000 and 25 students will receive $1,000 scholarship that night also. >> i was part of -- or i used to emcee the ceremony in the silicone valley a while back. i'm glad are you doing it. these are folks that don't ask for the recognition. it's the love of the job. it's the love of the children. the love of education. these are the young unsung

heroes. >> these are educator that is go above and beyond great passion who equipped and power and 4zq5r students to academic success, and those educators, we need to be honoring them because there's a lot of them that do a great job. it's just an honor to be able to honor them at the evening, honoring evening, coming up on may 20th. >> we'll show that information. you know, i could never be an educator because i know that it takes a lot of patience, and here in the news i have about that much patience because we're always on the go, we're on deadlines and things got to get done now. when i visit a classroom and there's 20 or 30 kids, i have no idea how this teacher is doing it because it could be overwhelming. >> it is. it's overwhelming, but i think teachers who have a passion they work with patience and they're resilient, and they know the important part is to get these kids to graduate, get them to be academically successful so they can graduate and go on to college. we want to honor these teachers

and provide scholarships for students so they can get scholarships and become the next doctor, lawyer, and engineers that our students need to become. we need to have brains and those dreams need to be fulfilled. it's through role models that are role models for our kids in the silicone valley. >> why education for you? why was that field in your scope? >> because i grew up in a family that didn't promote that. i think for me that is my passion to get kids to graduate and get them to college and help them become leaders of tomorrow because our kids need that. they need to have dreams, and their dreams can come true, and because we do also a conference call because our kids have to know that they can make it. >> how do you motivate the kids nowadays? i mean, the drop-out rate is not improving that much.

rescidivism is still there, and the achievement gap seems to be either not -- growing or not diminishing. how do you keep them motivated? >> i think the teachers i have seen who moefsh ate kids, i think they do it with their passion. they have teachers that teach math or science, they're good at what they do, and they just -- they inform. they excite kids. they engage our students. those teachers who do that, those are the ones that we want to honor. we look forward to honoring. it's those steechers who have that that inspire and motivate and encourage our students to be successful no matter the odds. maybe it's gangs or lack of parent at home or spanish speaking parent who has a hard time understanding the system. we have students that go above and beyond, and i admire those educator that is do that. >> i know my daughter, melina would want to nominate her kindergarten guard teacher.

a lot of families might want to do the same for their student. how does this process work? do they nominate their teachers? how is this selection process? >> they can get ahold of us on our website, and we can look forward to honoring educators. any educator can nominate. we look forward to nominees from educators throughout the santa clara county, silicone valley so we could honor the best of the best, and those who go above and beyond and whoç have great passion for kids and want them to be successful. they can get ahold of me and we look forward to having them nominate our teachers who are great inspirers of tomorrow's teachers. >> we have the website and phone number for more information. there it is our yoo your screen. there is the website. they can log on there and find out exactly nomination process, write the essay or whatever they need to do. >> they can nominate their educator and look up our scholarship information there also, and they can apply for our scholarship for latino students,

and we look forward to honoring 25 students with $1,000 scholarship so that they can go to college and become a leader of tomorrow. >> that is awesome, and how many educators will be honoring? >> we'll honor ten educators in elementary, middle school, high school, college, junior college, university, and we're going to honor one community. we're looking for nominees or educators to nominate each other, and we know that we have great educators in this area in santa clara county, silicone valley. >> it's a national holiday in mexico. we're honoring them here in the silicone valley may 20th at the -- what's the hotel called now? >> the san jose airport garden hotel. we'll be there may 28th. >> support the college because it's -- we're honoring the teachers, our educators. thank you. >> thanks for having me. appreciate you very much. >> up next on communidad del valle, the national vice president for the united farm workers with an important message. stay with us.

>> she's a national vice president of the yun itd farm workers. she's here with us today on communidad del valle because there is an important message that needs to get out about a lady who suffered a tragic death because of the conditions out in the fields. we've been covering this for years, for decades. we have lived it for that long. we're talking about maya jiminez. tell us about her case. we do have a picture of her and a little bit of a video. >> maria isabel vazquez jiminez died in may 2008 in a field near the lodi stockton area. she had been picking grapes for nearly nine hours. her employer failed to provide the most basic protections that they're supposed to by law, which is water, shade, and training to recognize heat illness symptoms, and so maria passed away, and they also learned that when she passed away that she was pregnant and so the jiminez family has lost

two members of their family due to the negligence of the employer. >> what is it going to take to make these people realize these are dangerous conditions out there in the fields? >> her case is just one example of the horrific violations that occur in the fields. there are 400,000 farm workers that are moving in between 80,000 ranches, and what happens is the laws on the books are not the laws in the fields. >> we're trying to bring attention to maria's case and get justice and set a precedence that sends a message to employers that this sort of negligence and ignoring of the law is unacceptable. >> there was a fear word when i was working in the fields. the contractor. is that what happened in this case? it was the thought of the contractor or the grower or both? >> well, they're both

responsible. i mean, the employer and the labor contractor, those who employed maria isabelle were responsible. in this xik case, those that are being charged are the farm labor contractors, the safety supervisor, and the owner of the contracting company. >> now, the state shut down the contracting company. it's no longer existing. tell us why the united farm workers is upset about the case against the contractor and the growers? >> it's the united farm workers and the families and the community that's upset that there's a plea bargain put forth by the drshgt attorney, james will et, that would give the safety supervisor only 400 hours of community service for the negligence, five years of probation, and a $1,000 fine. the owner of the çmerced farm labor would only get 40 hours of community service and a misdemeanor and four years of probation. >> my understanding was that

before there was this sort of plea deal, that the family of the victim had to be consulted to make sure that they were -- that they agreed with the plea deal. >> well, actually they weren't consulted. her family was not made aware of the plea deal until much after it was already made. >> and so what -- march 9th is when they'll be officially sentenced. you're starting the campaign -- the united farm workers has started a campaign. >> there will be a hearing on march 9th, and the judge can make a decision whether to accept that plea deal or to listen to the family and to the public that have come forward in saying that nothing less than jail time is acceptable for these employers, and we already have over 10,000 emails that have gone into the district attorney with that same message. we know that hundreds of calls have been made from people not just in california, but from throughout the country, and we're also going to have a vigil in memory of maria outside of the stockton courthouse on --

starting on monday, march 7th, leading up to the hearing of her case. >> you on thursday met with the district attorney, but tell us -- well, tell us about that conversation, tell us about the outcome. >> sure, on thursday the family and the united farm workers met with district attorney, and he remains insistent on the deal that he has made, and we're hoping that he will be open to hearing the thousands of people that have came forward with the message that it's an unacceptable deal and it sets a terrible precedent for farm workers. >> is he an elected official over in the central valley? >> he is. well, then we know where the consequence lies. if you feel that this is near and dear to your heart, log on to the usw website for more information. it's the case to fight for maria isabelle vazquez who died a tragic death while working in the fields over in the central valley. we'll be back and talk more about this case when we continue. stay with us. your father is suffering. ♪ [ male announcer ] honey nut cheerios cereal tastes great and can help lower cholesterol. bee happy. bee healthy.

i'm in pain... that's ever happened to cinnamon. introducing cinnamon burst cheerios. 20% daily value of fiber bursting with the delicious taste of cinnamon. new cinnamon burst cheerios. prepare your taste buds. we're honored to be joined by the national vice president of the united farm workers based

out of salinas. before we get back into the case, give us a state of the union, if you will. talk about the organizing efforts and where the ufw stands right now. >> sure. we're mounting a massive campaign here. because the family has asked us to do so, and they need the support from the community, and so we're on-line. we're getting letters at the district attorney's office. you can find the campaign on facebook for all those that are on there. we know that there are over 2,000 postings. you know, really it all comes down to what happens on march 9th, and, you know, we really got to ask because of this plea bargain that's been put forth, what is the life of a farm worker worth? what is the -- obviously in the courtroom of michael garrigan, the life of maria isabelle is not worth very much because of this plea deal that's been put forward, and so the family and the community is asking why. was it because she was a farm work worker? was it because she was 17 and

needlessly died? was it because she was from an immigrant from mexico? yes, she was a farm worker who helped put food on millions of americans' tables, and she deserves justice. that's what we'll be doing in the next couple of months. >> how arcaic is what happened there? how archaic is the way we're treating our workers? i had it easy, i thought, because of what ceasar did. ceasar allowed me to use a long hoe instead of the short hoe. he made sure there was water there available. he made sure that we had port-a-potties in case we needed those facilities. so much was accomplished. yet, we hear about these archaic things that are happening. i guess the more things change, the more they stay the same. >> well, unfortunately, again, the laws on the books are not the laws in the fields. we do have thanks to the work of ceasar and thousands of farm workers and others, farm workers have rights. they have the right to water and shade and train to recognize

heat illness symptoms. they have the right to unionize. they have all of these rights that have been won after many, many years. their problem is they're not implemented in the fields, and so we -- the ufw, over our almost 50 years we have learned that the only ways to insure that the law otz books are the laws in the field is when farm workers are organized because they're not afraid to speak up. if maria isabelle had been organized and informed, perhaps she would be here with us today and so that is really what the ufw amims to do in the end is t show that maria's case and along with the family -- this is one of many examples of the violations that exist, ask as long as the life of a farm worker is not valued, farm workers will be afraid to speak up, and we'll continue to see these deaths in the fields. >> there's a misconception about our legal process that the decision has already been made. that whenever we a sentencing hearing, for example, when the decision has been made, the judge has made up his or her

mind already. how many of a difference do you think farm workers or supporters can make between now and march 9th? >> a tremendous difference. a tremendous difference. every person that emails or writes, the district attorney or is present at the vigil and expresses their disagreement with this decision will make a tremendous difference. alone there's very little that we can do, but together we really believe that we can set a precedent. it would be a historical day for all of us if it an employer who demonstrated such negligence -- this is one employer who in 2006 already committedç a violationf not having a heat illness safety plan in place in 2006. cal osha, they never paid a fine, and cal osha never went back to the ranch to make sure that they were in compliance, and so this would set a new -- this would be a step forward for farm workers in california. >> real quickly, give me the two

scenarios. what would happen -- what precedent would it set if the judge agrees with the d.a. and what would happen -- what press debt would it set if the judge says no, a harsher sentence is needed? >> if the plea deal is taken, the precedent is that farm workers' lives don't matter. employers request continue to violate the laws and face very little consequences. if he rejex the plea deal and charges them to the fullest exat the particular time of the law, farm workers, it will send a strong message to employers to not break the law. there are consequences, and the farm workers cannot -- not to be afraid to speak up because there will be justice. >> all right, marilynn, the international vice president of the united farm workers, and if you would like to help or find out more about what's happening in the fight for maria isabelle vazquez, there is the web address on your screen. log on and, again, tweet, facebook it, whatever you need to do to get the word out about this decision that will be rendered on march 9th. thank you so much for the work that you do, and good luck. >> thank you for having me. >> thank you. now here's what's happening in

your communidad.

here's other web address for next week. make sure to pick up our newspaper and support your bilingual weeklies all across the bay area. we thank you once again for sharing a part of your sunday with us. next week we will have with you la rossa. ring ring. progresso.

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