Hispanic Times Network

Hispanic Education in Crisis: A Very American Problem

(HISPANIC TIMES EDUCATION) - According to an article by Steve Kingstone and Zoe Conway of the BBC News, Latinos from Kindergarten to University levels are falling behind when it comes to education.

They pointed to a White House report published in April which states that less than 50% of Latino children are enrolled in pre-school; just 50% earn their high school diploma on time and, those who do are only half as likely as their peers to be prepared for college. Just 13% have a degree.

Latinos are the youngest and fastest growing group in the country.  The community makes up 16% of the population now and will account for 29% of the population by 2050.  With these numbers, the United States is in for big world of hurt if the education challenge facing Latinos is not addressed head-on.

The unique problems facing the Latino community today as highlighted by the authors are:

1. Difficulty of accessing high quality schooling
2. Language barrier
3. Hispanic mothers have far less education than their counterparts in other ethnic groups
4. Formal education is not as much of a priority in Latin America as it is in the US
5. Parents not pushing their children to succeed or intimidated by the school system
6. Undocumented parents are reluctant to access the full range of support services available for their children out of fear of the authorities

With the Hispanic American population expected to account for 29% of the American population by 2050, President Obama is right when he says,

"This is not just a Latino problem; this is an American problem. We've got to solve it because if we allow these trends to continue, it won't just be one community that falls behind - we will all fall behind together."

To read the full article, click here.

Are Latinos Bringing Down The National SAT College Entrance Exam Scores?

(HISPANIC TIMES EDUCATION) - Scores on the critical reading portion of the SAT college entrance exam fell three points to their lowest level on record last year, and combined reading and math scores reached their lowest point since 1995.

The College Board, which released the scores Wednesday, said the results reflect the record number of students from the high school class of 2011 who took the exam and the growing diversity of the test-taking pool - particularly Hispanics. As more students aim for college and take the exam, it tends to drag down average scores.

The relatively poor performance on the SATs could raise questions whether reading and writing instruction need even more emphasis to accommodate the country's changing demographics.

Roughly 27 percent of the 1.65 million test-takers last year had a first language other than English, up from 19 percent just a decade ago.

Some educators believe that the expanding Latino population was a factor, as well as greater outreach to get minority students to take the test. 

Did You Know That Latinos Have Gone Green Through A Major Coalition?

(HISPANIC TIMES HEALTH) - The National Latino Coalition on Climate Change (NLCCC) was created to address the grave, urgent and growing challenge surrounding climate change, global warming and the need to keep the nation’s leaders aware and accountable to solving this important matter.

Together, led by the National Puerto Rican Coalition, Inc. (NPRC), the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) and the Hispanic Federation – along with other member organizations, the Coalition is working to educate Latino communities nationwide about this global problem and engage them on the federal climate change debate. 

On a recent report titled, "U.S. Latinos and Air Pollution: A Call to Action”, the Coalition found that one out two Hispanic-Americans live in counties that frequently violate air pollution standards.  The report highlighted air pollution in states that are home to more than 75 percent of Hispanic-Americans -- Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas. 

For more on this environment-focused Hispanic leaning Coalition visit their website at www.LatinoCoalitionOnClimateChangeorg.

Colgate-Palmolive Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month With "Haz La U" Scholarship Program

(HISPANIC TIMES EDUCATION) - In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Colgate-Palmolive is reinforcing its commitment to the Hispanic community by presenting "Haz La U" ("Make the U"), an annual scholarship initiative for Hispanic-American students pursuing higher education. In the program's third year, Colgate is partnering with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the nation's leading Hispanic scholarship organization, to award these educational grants.

Colgate-Palmolive is a leading global consumer products company, tightly focused on Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care and Pet Nutrition. Colgate-Palmolive sells its products in over 200 countries and territories around the world under such internationally recognized brand names.

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund works to address the barriers that keep many Latinos from earning a college degree and has awarded over $330 million in scholarships over the past 36 years and has supported a broad range of outreach and education programs to help students and their families navigate collegiate life, from gaining admission and securing financial aid to finding employment after graduation.

For more information about Colgate's "Haz La U" scholarship program, please visit the Company's website at www.colgate.com/hazlau.

New Futuro Launches Innovative Partnership to Get 10,000 Latinos Into College

(HISPANIC TIMES WIRE) - New Futuro, a Chicago-based startup, and Allstate Insurance Company announced the launch of an unprecedented partnership dedicated to helping Latino families get their students into college and beyond. In addition, New Futuro has partnered with other non-profits, education institutions and corporate citizens to ensure the success of the program, which was announced at the National Museum of Mexican Art.

As the title sponsor, Allstate has enabled New Futuro to launch this innovative program and will be awarding nearly $15,000 in scholarships to participating students at a series of free, college-prep workshops that will culminate with a major education summit at the UIC Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Rd., on November 12, 2011. New Futuro and Allstate estimate these events will attract more than 10,000 Latino parents and students from throughout Chicagoland. A dedicated website at www.NewFuturo.com will contain information on the dates and locations of all events, as well as useful bilingual information and resources about preparing, applying to and paying for college and other post-secondary alternatives.

In addition to Allstate, New Futuro is working with other strategic partners to collaborate on a variety of initiatives that will help Latino families and students prepare to enter to college. That list includes prominent national and local organizations such as the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, National Council of La Raza, Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), Teach For America and others.

To learn more about New Futuro, visit their website at www.NewFuturo.com or follow New Futuro at www.facebook.com/newFuturo and www.Twitter.com/newfuturo.

Hispanic College Enrollment Spikes, Narrowing Gaps with Other Groups

Press Release  August 25, 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Molly Rohal mrohal@pewresearch.org 202-419-4318

24% Growth from 2009 to 2010 Driven by a single-year surge of 24% in Hispanic enrollment, the number of 18- to 24-year-olds attending college in the United States hit an all-time high of 12.2 million in October 2010, according to a Pew Hispanic Center analysis of newly available Census Bureau data. From 2009 to 2010, the number of Hispanic young adults enrolled in college grew by 349,000, compared with an increase of 88,000 young blacks and 43,000 young Asian Americans and a decrease of 320,000 young non-Hispanic whites. As a result of these shifts, young Hispanics for the first time outnumbered young blacks on campus, even though young black college enrollment has also grown steadily for decades and it, too, has surged in recent years. In 2010, 38% of all 18- to 24-year-old blacks were enrolled in college, up from 13% in 1967 and 32% in 2008. The Hispanic enrollment increase has been even more dramatic than the black enrollment increase because it has been spurred by a mixture of population growth and educational strides. High levels of immigration and high birth rates have made Hispanics the nation's biggest minority group, comprising 16% of the U.S. population as of 2010. In 1972, just 5% of the nation's 18- to 24-year-olds were Hispanic. By 2010, that share rose to 19%. However, population growth accounts for only a share of the 24% young Hispanic college enrollment spike from 2009 to 2010. During that same period, the total population of 18- to 24-year-old Hispanics grew by 7%. Rising educational attainment is an important driver of these enrollment trends, over the long term as well as in recent years. The rate of young Hispanics enrolled in college rose from 13% in 1972 to 27% in 2009 to 32% in 2010. Young Hispanics are disproportionately enrolled in two-year colleges. They comprised 22% of two-year students but only 12% of four-year students. Young Hispanics continue to lag other groups in completion of four-year college degrees. In 2010 32% of 25- to 29-year-olds had attained a bachelor's degree, in comparison to 13% of Hispanics of the same age. These findings are based on an analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau's School Enrollment Supplement of the October 2010 Current Population Survey (CPS), supplemented by historical time series based on the CPS. The CPS is the standard source for national rates of college enrollment and has collected college enrollment information in a consistent manner since 1947. The report, "Hispanic College Enrollment Spikes, Narrowing Gaps with Other Groups," authored by  Senior Research Associate Richard Fry, is available at the Pew Hispanic Center's website, www.pewhispanic.org. The Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, is a nonpartisan, non-advocacy research organization based in Washington, D.C. and is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Association of Latino Administrators & Superintendents (ALAS) Will Host 2011 Summit On Hispanic Education

The Association of Latino Adminsitrations & Superintendents (ALAS) will host the 2011 Summit on Hispanic Education on October 12 - 15 in San Francisco, California. 

The mission of ALAS is to provide leadership at the national level that assures every school in America effectively serves the educational needs of all students with an emphasis on Latino Youth by building capacity, promoting best practices, and transforming educational institutions.

According to the ALAS summit brochure, the summit is different than a traditional conference, seminar, or workshop.  It offers a structured but freeflowing forum for teams at the local, state, national, and international level to explore and debate a myriad of timely issues.  Attendees can also take advantage of the following benefits:

• Nationally recognized keynote speakers
• Web-based survey of participants will assist in determining breakout topics
• Roundtable discussions with your peers from federal agencies, national organizations, state government, school districts, and  technology vendors will be facilitated
• Insightful panel presentations, case studies, and small group breakout discussions with dedicated time for you and your team members to caucus and plan

To download the 2011 ALAS Summit Brochure, click here.  To visit the ALAS official website, click here.

More on ALAS: ALAS not only serves as an acronym for the Association of Latino Administrators & Superintendents but was intentionally selected as a word in the Spanish language that means wings. It is the hope of the organization that the Association will generate wings to success for Latino educators.

Hispanics Have Lowest Internet Access Usage But Expanding Faster Online

The U.S. Department of Commerce just published the report: “Digital Nation: 21st Century America’s Progress Toward Universal Broadband Internet Access”.

The report confirms that the percentage of Hispanics who do not have Internet access lies at  50.69% in comparison with a 25.68% ratio for  White Non Hispanic.

However, the Hispanic demographic is increasing the adoption of broadband services at home over time.  According to a report on the US Hispanic internet market from comScore, the Hispanic online demographic is expanding more than 50% faster than the overall US online population.

At the end of the day, the Hispanic community has a lot of catching up to do with intenet access, but it appears that the same demographic is the fastest group going online.  

The 2009 Rising Star Awards

Latinos in Information Sciences and Technology Association (LISTA) and Judge Sonia Sotomayor will be two of the recipients of the 2009 Rising Star Awards granted by the New York State department of Labor and Latino Job Service Employer Committee (JSEC).

LISTA will be honored because of its extraordinary success in community activities such as bridging the digital divide for U.S. Latinos and for its continued development of America's next generation workforce.

 

Changing Latino Pathways to Adulthood: More Work, More School - But Gaps Remain

A pair of reports from the Pew Hispanic Center finds that Latino youths (ages 16 to 25) are more likely to be in school or in the workforce now than their counterparts had been in 1970, but that significant gaps remain, not only between the educational attainment of Latino and white youths, but between the high value that Latino youths place on a college education and their more modest aspirations to get a college degree themselves.

To request copies of the reports, please contact Mary Seaborn at info@pewhispanic.org or Paul Fucito at pfucito@pewresearch.org.  Founded in 2001, the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, is a nonpartisan research organization that seeks to improve understanding of the U.S. Hispanic population and to chronicle Latino's growing impact on the nation.  The Center does not take positions on policy issues.  It is funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, a public charity based in Philadelphia.