BranDee Trejo, a bilingual home visitor in Clackamas Education Service District’s Head Start to Success free preschool program, describes her role as serving as the bridge between school and home. She supports teachers in the classroom and builds partnerships with families to set goals, secure needed social services and health care, and strengthen skills that improve children’s and families’ wellbeing.

“I get to tell the families about all the wonderful things that their children are doing at school as well as their struggles,” she explains.

A strong ally for families with children who may benefit from special education services, BranDee walks families through what can be a stressful and overwhelming process, from evaluation to disability and services determination, with exhaustless humanity, dignity and care. 

BranDee puts special care into cultivating strong relationships with families so families feel comfortable inviting her into their homes. Fluent in Spanish, BranDee connects with families in their home language, building the trust that is key to families being open about their needs. BranDee can then help families secure needed social services and health care like SNAP benefits and the Oregon Health Plan. 

“As home visitors, we want to help navigate these complex systems because they are so hard,” explains BranDee.

BranDee aims to empower parents by helping them understand their rights and advocate for their children. 

“My passion is parent education,” BranDee said.”I feel strongly about parent voice, educating parents about advocating for their children and how important their role is.”

BranDee is dedicated to meeting the unique needs of each family. For example, earlier this year, she connected a parent of a child who had repeated emergency room visits with a patient advocate at a hospital, leading to the parent being able to get their child the necessary in-patient treatment.

BranDee has made a substantial positive impact on countless families’ lives in her over 20 years of service as a home visitor, and she wins rave reviews from her supervisor.

“I’m in awe of what she does,” says Head Start to Success Program Coordinator Claire Lictenheld.