Lais Martinez has had two sons attend Fairpark鈥檚 fated Mary W. Jackson Elementary School. For her kids, it was a place where they could be themselves and a school where the community was representative and inclusive of who they are.
鈥淥ur youngest is graduating this year, so he spent all his years here,鈥 said Martinez, whose oldest is now a high school junior at the Salt Lake Center for Science Education. 鈥淭he fact that teachers call you 鈥榤ijo鈥, that means something for us 鈥 where it鈥檚 an extension of your home, where they鈥檙e invested in you.鈥
鈥楳ijo鈥 is a Spanish portmanteau of 鈥渕i hijo,鈥 or 鈥渕y son.鈥 It鈥檚 a common way for parents, family members and other adults to endearingly refer to boys in their life.
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