So she spent Wednesday night at Westerville South High School learning how to apply for the many scholarships available to district students.
But unlike most of the 120 parents attending the meeting, the Dominican Republic native got the information in Spanish. An interpreter translated the presentation, which was transmitted to headphones for Spanish-speaking parents.
"I feel very welcome," Samboy said through an interpreter. "I feel our Latino community is growing, and it's good for us, the parents, to come here and give our kids better support."
In the past year, Westerville school officials have had interpreters on standby during parent meetings -- part of the district's efforts to build ties with its growing number of Latino and Somali families.
"We all agreed that family engagement is critical to students' success," said Amy Miller, who coordinates Westerville's diversity and family-engagement efforts. "We wanted families to feel part of the system. But access and breaking down those barriers are so hard."
The district hired parent liaisons last year to work with Latino and Somali families, two populations with large numbers who aren't fluent in English. Last year, 49 percent of the district's English-as-a-second-language population spoke Somali or Spanish. The liaisons connect parents with adult English classes, help them find jobs, educate them about medical services and assist them with housing issues. They also have brought workshops, such as how to navigate a parent-teacher conference, to apartment complexes.
The district has been able to bolster its outreach efforts during the past year thanks to a partnership with OhioHealth. Westerville's enrollment center is located on the OhioHealth Westerville Medical Campus, giving parents a central site to sign up their kids for school.
The office also houses staff members from the district's English-as-a-second-language, community relations and parent education departments to better serve limited-English-speaking families.
"It's become much easier for them to ask for help," Miller said. "Also, by being off-site, it allows parents to ask more personal or difficult questions in a safe environment."
OhioHealth wanted to work with the district to better educate students on health-related issues, connect with parents and improve families' access to health care such as immunizations and physical exams, said Jean Halpin, director of the Westerville Medical Campus.
The efforts have made a difference.
"Two years ago, there would have been no one from Somali and Latino populations" at districtwide parent meetings, Miller said. "Now, we usually have a dozen, which is a step forward."