Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva was in South Yuma County on Tuesday where she met with educators and students.
Grijalva, whose Congressional District 7 stretches from Tucson west to Somerton and San Luis, began her visit at Ed Pastor Elementary School. Students there showed the congresswoman an altar they made for Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) that included a photo of her father, the late Congressman Raul Grijalva.
Adelita Grijalva then dropped in on the Carlisle Head Start program in Somerton that is operated by the Western Arizona Council of Governments (WACOG). Grijalva. who serves on the Education and Workforce Committee in Congress, told KAWC she wanted to focus on visting area schools on this trip.
"I feel very strongly that early childhood education is the critical game changer for a lot of families," she said. "Funding threats for Head Start and other programs like TRIO (U.S. federal outreach and student services initiatives designed to help low-income individuals, first-generation college students and individuals with disabilities) are something I need to be aware of."
"I want to be able to speak firsthand on... what is going right with these programs," Grijalva continued. "We want to protect this funding."
The congresswoman later met with Arizona Western College students including some from the Rural Arizona Advocates college leadership program.
She is running for re-election Nov. 3 against Republican challenger Daniel Butierez.
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Stay tuned to KAWC to hear more from Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva on her latest visit to Somerton and San Luis and from local Head Start program leaders.
