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Junior Aguilon Munoz is the new cultural liaison at Pipestone Area Schools. He will be helping make connections with Latino and Hispanic families in the school district, and providing translating and interpreting services to assist Spanish speaking students.
Contributed photo
Pipestone Area Schools (PAS) now has a cultural liaison. Junior Aguilon Munoz was hired to fill the new position last month.
Superintendent Klint Willert said the position is funded by achievement and integration aid from the state. According to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), the purpose of the achievement and integration program is “to pursue racial and economic integration, increase student achievement, create equitable educational opportunities, and reduce academic disparities based on students’ diverse racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds in Minnesota public schools.”
In the past, PAS has used the funds for a math interventionist and specialist. Willert said the school district decided to use it for a cultural liaison this year in an effort to better connect with and engage a growing Hispanic and Latino population. He said the core responsibilities of the liaison position include community connection and outreach. Munoz will also provide interpretation and translation services, and help address student attendance and academic needs.
Munoz introduced himself to the PAS School Board during its April 28 meeting. He said he recently moved to Pipestone and is also the pastor at the Iglesia Manantial de Agua Viva (MAV) Church in Pipestone. He said most of the kids from the church attend PAS, so the liaison position provides an opportunity for him to connect with them and also help the school.
“I don’t have a degree in teaching or anything like that, but I have a degree of 28 years being a Latino, growing up in an immigrant home,”Munoz said. “I was 7 and I was translating to my mom in the grocery store or going to the appointments to be able to communicate, so I completely, 100 percent, understand the students who don’t know how to communicate with a teacher. It’s great that Pipestone is actually taking that step, knowing that they have a Latino culture here that does need help. That feels really good.”
Munoz said he’s seen a need for the position in the short time he’s been at the school. He said students had been stopping in at his office for help and he’d been translating assignments and other materials for teachers. Willert said Munoz had also made helpful connections with parents.
“It gives a familiar face, somebody who speaks the language, and I think it’s been just wonderful in the couple of weeks and I look forward to what’s to come,” Willert said. “It’s been really really positive and the feedback that I’ve received has been universally positive.”
Middle and High School Principal Sonja Ortman, Elementary Principal Jennifer Moravetz, and Coordinator of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Lisa Pease provided some positive feedback of their own during the school board meeting, expressing their appreciation for the work Munoz had done since he started working at the school.
“I’ve seen a difference in a lot of our students who maybe feel frustration and are maybe feeling a little less frustration now that he is here helping them,” Ortman said.