BSP Board Chair: Janna Shadduck-Hernandez
BSP Board Chair, Janna Shadduck-Hernandez of UCLA speaking with colleagues
Janna Shadduck-Hernández, Ed.D. is a project director at the UCLA Labor Center and teaches for UCLA’s Labor Studies major and in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.
She is an educator that has proudly been on Building Skill Partnership’s (BSP) Board of Directors for over a decade. With an interest in education as it pertains to both parents and families, Janna’s research and teaching focus on developing culturally relevant, participatory educational models with first- and second-generation university students, community members, and youth.
Her research and policy work also examine the organizing efforts of low-wage immigrant workers to combat labor and workplace violations. Currently she is expanding her research to explore the educational processes involved in developing parent-workers and school-aged learners as leaders and organizers for educational, immigration, and workplace reform.
Janna (back row, far right) has been working with BSP program participants for over a decade
“I enjoy collaborating with BSP programs because I value educating janitors as parents and workers,” says Janna who has been devoted to the organization’s Parent Engagement and Education programs for years, focusing on giving BSP participants and their children educational opportunities to support academic success.
BSP’s “Parent University” initiatives aim to break the cycle of poverty through guidance on navigating the educational system, childhood enrichment opportunities and scholarships. BSP organizes workshops, trainings, and university visits geared towards informing workers about how they can become involved in their children’s education to help make their college dreams a reality.
A professor at UCLA, Janna enjoys giving BSP families tours of the college campus & inspiring a college-going future
Janna values providing opportunities to immigrant parents and the children of janitors, citing research in conjunction with BSP partner, SEIU-USWW which found 90% of union members said the most important initiatives that they seek are education programs to benefit their children.
“Many immigrant parents come to the U.S. from war-torn countries such as El Salvador and Guatemala to find a better life,” explains Janna. “When they get to this country, they are surprised to see the schools that their children attend are comparable or worse to the countries they just fled.”
BSP families pictured on the UCLA campus
Janna has found that the parents in BSP programs are aware of the iniquities in their children’s schools and her work is devoted to create equity in education. She has collaborated with UCLA and BSP to provide the children of property service workers tutors from UCLA; a university that is highly esteemed on an international scale.
Made possible by the Kellogg Foundation, UCLA tutors come to the low-income communities where BSP families reside and work directly with the children on their studies with age-appropriate educational guidance.
“Making college a reality for deserving children is something that I am passionate about,” says Janna, who has also been BSP’s Mike Garcia Scholarship Chair for serval years and oversees the student applicant selection annually.
With the rising cost of education and diminishing public funding, college scholarships become even more critical. Nearly all of the children of property service workers are first-generation college students. Every night, their parents work hard to keep offices clean and safe for tenants and office workers across the state. The majority dream of their children attending college, but unfortunately the combination of their low-wages and the increasing cost of tuition prevents many from providing the financial support needed for their children to attend college.
BSP Mike Garcia Scholarship recipient
Janna has also been instrumental in BSP’s PC Ed-Tech programs, which were developed by UnidosUS with the purpose of supporting parents to understand their children's shift to distance learning. The program is aimed to foster a strong connection between schools, parents, and their community.
“I always tell students that they are the creators of change, and that they hold the knowledge and skills necessary to create change,” says Janna.
“While many children from low-income communities do not have access to the same opportunities that higher socio-economic students are provided,” she continues. “I encourage learners from working-class households to view their experiences and knowledge as powerful – they can speak two languages, they work part-time jobs throughout school, they are steeped in family and union values, and they are extremely aware and grateful for the sacrifices their janitor parents have made in order for them to have a better life. This knowledge is a catalyst to create change.”
BSP Board Member, Janna Shadduck-Hernandez
About Janna Shadduck-Hernandez
Janna received her doctorate in 2005 from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, School of Education within the Center for International Education. She has published various articles and book chapters on immigration, education, and labor including articles in Labor Studies and Ethnography and Education.