SISD sixth- through 12th-grade girls and their mother or mother figure attended the 11th Annual Growing Together Mother-Daughter Conference Feb. 4 at Eastlake High School, where they had the opportunity to bond while learning and participating in various activities together.
During the one-day event, a record-breaking number of more than 1,000 attendees explored topics such as career choices, college opportunities, self-esteem, and self-confidence and took part in dance classes and other hands-on activities.
SISD Superintendent Nate Carman, Ed.D., welcomed the participants to the conference.
“The bond between mothers and daughters can lead to incredible and inspiring things and this conference is all about renewing that relationship,” Dr. Carman said. “Moms, thank you for encouraging your daughters to be the best they can be in school and in all their interest to achieve their goals, you are the most important person in their life. Daughters listen to your mother, they know best.”
Guest speakers included Laura Rizo from Rizo Speaks Life and Iris Lopez from Mija, Yes You Can.
“I hope you take what you learned today and grow,” Rizo said. “Remember that as you grow your mother or mother figure is the best person to lean on and talk to because they know what you are going through, they’ve lived it.”
The annual conference attracted mothers, grandmothers, mother-figures, and their daughters. Several participants lined up outside Eastlake High School to sign up in the early morning hours the day of the event.
Elie Penaloza, mother of a student at Americas High School, said this is the fourth time she and her daughter have attended the event.
“We missed attending this event in previous years and are happy it is back,” Penaloza said. “This event is significant because we are able to learn together and spend time more time than usual with one another.”
Millie Penaloza, a senior at Americas High School, said it was great to attend the event again with her mom.
“It’s always important to have a good bond with your parents and to be able to communicate,” Penaloza said. “The information I’ve obtained by attending this annual conference has been essential to me being able to better communicate with my mom.”
The large number of attendees at this year’s event comes after a 3-year hiatus of the conference and was a response not seen in pre-pandemic years, said SISD State and Federal Programs director Adam Starke.
“Today gives (the participants) an opportunity to learn together, spend time together, and overall strengthen or reestablish their bond, which is so amazingly important,” he said.
Starke said home and school life partnership is essential for student success and paves the way for students to succeed later in life as adults.
SISD educators work to make the home-school partnership stronger by conducting events like the mother-daughter conference. The conference helps to reinforce and increase community and parent involvement.
Lexi Ruiz, aunt of a Desert Wind School student, said this was a great event to bond with her niece who just moved to El Paso from California.
“I think events like today are extremely important because now with social media there is a lot of misinformation and I feel that kids don’t bond the same as when I was growing up,” Ruiz said. “It’s important to put aside time, even a few hours of our Saturday, to spend it with our kids.”
Lia James, an eighth-grade student at Desert Wind, said she’s been struggling a lot with changes at home and that today was helpful to learn how to get along with the women in her life and improve her self-worth.
“Today is great to hang out with my aunt,” James said. “It was fun, and I feel really empowered by the speech Rizo gave.”
Sarah Giglia, parent of a student at Sun Ridge Middle School, said she was glad she decided to attend the event for the first time with her daughter.
“This has been a real eye-opening experience,” Giglia said. “It’s not what we were expecting but in a good way because it has been so empowering. It’s been emotional to open that communication between me, as a mother, and my daughter.”
Giglia said academics are important, and so is social-emotional learning for students. She said children should know how to communicate with their parents rather than relying on social media to express themselves.
Sophia Giglia, a sixth-grade student at Sun Ridge Middle School, said was excited to learn with her mother at the conference.
“I feel my mom and I have already bonded so much,” Giglia said. “It’s important to have good communication so I can actually talk to her, instead of getting mad or sad, and now I feel it will be easier with the new skills I’m learning here today.”
2023 SISD Mother-Daughter Conference event photos
Published March 1, 2023
Strategic Direction: Home, School, Community Partnerships