Warden teacher earning a following for her efforts to reach migrant students with message that college is possible

WARDEN — Teacher Angie Dorman doesn't think about obstacles such as income level, family background or less than perfect grades when talking to her high school students about going to college.

Most of the students Dorman works with at Warden High School are children of migrant workers.

There are differences in culture, varying perceptions about gender roles, language barriers and the priorities of work that often come before education to take into consideration.

Twenty-one-year-old Edith Martinez is a former student of Dorman's.

In 2003 Martinez graduated from WHS and is now studying at the University of Idaho.

Martinez's father doesn't speak English and is a migrant farm worker who travels to Mexico once a year for work. Her mother works for the Washington State Migrant Council.

Dorman began asking Martinez if she was considering going on to college when she was a junior at WHS.

At the time, Martinez was not optimistic about the idea and knew she didn't have the money to pay for college.

It didn't help that family members were questioning the impact a college education would have on their daughter, such as being far from home in Warden and waiting to marry and start a family of her own.

More than two years later Martinez is in her third year at UI, and carrying a triple major in elementary education, English and Spanish. Her younger brother Luis also attends school at UI.

Upon returning to WHS this semester after a sabbatical leave, Dorman is back in the classroom and says students' perceptions about college are changing.

"You had kids saying 'here, is this good enough to graduate?'" Dorman said.

Now Dorman hears students asking her, "Hey is this a good personal statement, is this going to get me into college?"

Heidi Dominguez and Yaquelin Valdivia are both seniors this year at WHS and have taken classes from Dorman.

They hear about previous

students like the Martinezes and want the same opportunity to attend college.

Valdivia's parents work in potato processing plants.

Dominguez's parents used to be migrant workers and her mom is now the sole income provider.

The two girls have a strong desire to go farther than their parents did educationally and in their careers.

"I want to be somebody in life," Dominguez said.

Dorman admits sometimes she is obnoxious about bringing up the topic of college, but doesn't consider her prodding forceful, as if students should feel they have to or should continue their education.

Reaching the parents of her students is a task Dorman accomplishes by having a positive attitude and treating her students like they were her own.

"I treat these kids just like I treat my kids; I think that really hits a chord with people," Dorman said. "You just talk to kids and say 'What do you want to do the rest of your life?'"