| Education: A Three Part Series Report (Part
One) The following report was written, revised and submitted
by: Manuel Hernández, Erika Robles and Burt Posner to the
National Hispanic/ Latino American and Migrant Agenda
This report is the culmination of numerous hours of hard
work by the
members of the committee. After a series of regional meetings
and a
national conference, which was held in Chicago last June,
the report was
voted on and approved by the Summit participants. Recommendations
are
made at the end of the report. The report will be included
in its
entirety.
Part One:
The Hispanic/Latino American and migrant preschool, elementary,
secondary and high school population is growing and has now
become part
of an important story of the largest minority ethnic group
in the United
States. Much of the recent rise in minority enrollment in
elementary
and secondary schools may be attributed to the growth in the
number of
Hispanic students.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that Hispanic/Latinos have
recently made
some major gains, disparities still exist in academic performance
between Hispanic/Latinos and non-Hispanic/Latino White students.
Gladly, dropout rates among Hispanic high school students
has declined
somewhat giving testimony that, despite the many social, cultural
and
economic barriers thrown their way, Hispanic/Latino parents
have been
giving the education of their children a high priority. School
delinquency and failure is strongly linked and related to
the length of
time a Hispanic family has lived in the United States and
to the family's
country of origin. Furthermore, educational advancement is
a
correlation of and positively associated with employment and
earnings of
Hispanic/Latino parents, yet earnings and employment rates
are lower
for these individuals than for their non Hispanic white counterparts
with the same amount of education.. There is a positive relationship
between education and salary for all racial/ethnic groups
but the
incomes of Hispanic/Latino men are lower than those of White
men at most
educational levels. About 2 of 5 Hispanic/Latinos 17 years
old and over
participate in adult education.
Interestingly enough, Hispanic/Latino students are less likely
than
their non Hispanic white counterparts to take advanced math
and science
courses but are just as likely to take courses in foreign
languages.
Evidence indicates this may be due to the fact that the mathematical
base is lost at the early stages of primary education. Knowing
the
Spanish language at home is not always a guarantee for these
students to
take what may seem an obviously easy course since the Spanish
spoken at
home is usually different from the “Castellano” taught at
the school.
Hispanic/Latino students have retention and suspension/expulsion
rates
that are higher than those of Whites, but lower than those
of Blacks.
Despite the lower numbers of drop outs, Hispanic/Latino students
still
have higher high school dropout rates and lower high school
completion
rates than White or Black students.
On the other side of the coin, Hispanic/Latino students had
higher NAEP
reading, mathematics, and science scores in 1999 than in the
1970s,
though their NAEP performance remains lower than White students.
1998
Hispanic/Latino high school graduates earned more credits
than did 1982
graduates, especially in academic subjects. They also narrowed
the gap
with Whites on academic credits earned. Hispanic/Latino students
are
more likely than White and Black students to complete advanced
foreign
language classes. More Hispanic/Latino students than in previous
years
are taking Advanced Placement (AP) examinations. Over one-half
of
Hispanic/Latino students speak mostly English at home. Hispanic/Latino
students are about as likely as non Hispanic white students
to make the
immediate transition from high school to college.
The birth rates of Hispanic/Latino female ages 15 to 19 are
higher than
females from other racial/ethnic groups. Hispanic/Latino enrollments
in
colleges and universities increased between 1980 and 2000,
though a
smaller proportion of Hispanic/Latinos complete college compared
to
Whites and Blacks. The most popular fields of study in which
Hispanic/Latinos
earned bachelor's degrees were business, social sciences/history,
psychology, and education.
The role of teachers make a profound difference in educating
children
and the use of bilingual teachers have been part of the tremendous
strides that have been made in educating Hispanic/Latino students.
Research shows that talented and dedicated bilingual teachers
are the
single biggest contributor to the educational development
of these
children especially in areas where role models are far and
few between.
Teachers all too often do not get paid adequately for the
professional
job they do. Worse is the lack of administrative and logistical
support
that they need in order to deliver good academic performance
from their
students. It is a sad state of affairs that there is no comprehensive
reward compensation system for teachers who perform well to
increase
student educational achievements.
We need to recruit quality teachers for high-need schools
and for
subject areas like math and science by offering pay hikes
and also
establish a new teacher corps for recent college graduates.
We also
recommend the implementation of high-quality mentoring programs
that
pair new teachers with experienced teachers in the same subject
area .which
will improve accountability. While every teacher should have
protection
from arbitrary dismissal, no dysfunctional and inept teacher
should
have a lifetime guarantee on their jobs. States should be
encouraged to
develop efficient, prompt and equitable procedures for improving
or
replacing teachers who do not perform well on the job.
We are especially concerned with recent tax code changes
and funding
formulas that are impacting on our capabilities to afford
the many
changes that will become imperative if we are to compete with
the rest
of the world with a highly educated and highly trained work
force.
Careful reconsiderations must be given to the establishment
of
priorities for government spending especially in wasteful
defense
spending, pork barrel projects and tax cuts that is draining
our ability
to intelligently invest in our children’s education.
Parental involvement opportunities programs such as Local
Family
Information Centers would help parents of English language
learners make
informed decisions about their children’s education, such
as which
program of study is best for helping them learn English and
academic
course work.
|
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