Graciela is a 13-year-old 7th grader. She moved to this country about a year and a half ago from Carolina, Puerto Rico. Her father came to the United States first looking for better job opportunities. He had been here approximately 6 months when he sent for the rest of his family. At that time Graciela moved here with mother, her sister Kerys (age twelve) and one of her two brothers, Gensys (age eleven). Her 3-year-old brother Javier stayed in Puerto Rico with his paternal grandparents. Graciela is pudgy, with shoulder length brown hair that she wears in a ponytail, and big brown eyes that appear very dark behind her glasses. Though she is not very communicative in English, she nevertheless projects a determined personality.
Graciela’s father, who speaks some English, works in plumbing and her mother, who does not, is a babysitter. The family members speak Spanish when in the home. They live in a new 3-bedroom, 2 bath house with a medium size yard in the Ruskin area. One nearby neighbor is Puerto Rican, but most are Americans. Though Graciela would like to have a dog, right now the family has no pets. Graciela says her 11-year-old brother speaks English better than she does, but her 12-year-old sister not as well. The family regularly goes to a protestant church. Graciela’s grandmother and uncle live in Gibsonton. For fun Graciela likes to jump on a trampoline and play soccer. She doesn’t watch too much television, but she says her favorite shows are La fea mas bella, the Sweet Life of Zach and Cory, and Hannah Montana. She wants to be a lawyer when she grows up.
Graciela came to America for the last half of 6th grade. She is now in 7th grade. Her sister is in 6th grade at the same school and her brother is in 4th grade. Graciela says that she attended English classes for several years in Puerto Rico before coming to the U.S. The classes lasted 90 minutes a day. Graciela reports that her family does not have very many books at home. Her mother likes to read some, but her father not at all. Graciela reads books in both Spanish and English. Graciela reports that she makes A’s and B’s. She gets up at 7:30am during the week to go to school. She doesn’t always eat breakfast before she gets there. After school she plays with her brother and sister, does her homework and watches a little TV. She is typically in bed by 10pm.
