HispanicTrending

The economic urgency of Latino higher education

July 8, 2009
By Vince Vasquez

Two key papers released last month highlight how shifting demographics will place Latinos front and center in the discussion about our state and nation's economic future. Preparing for the challenges ahead will require not only that Latino teens hit the books, but will also require their parents to advance their own education.

The first of these reports, "50+ Hispanic Workers" from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), revealed unique characteristics of the older Latino workforce. AARP found that Hispanics, on the whole, work longer hours, miss fewer work days and have higher job satisfaction than their non-Latino peers. However, 58 percent of Latinos work in mostly physically-demanding, low-skilled occupations such as construction trades, manufacturing and the service sector, and will find it physically difficult to continue working into their 60s. Few have attained management or professional positions in their later years, resulting in lower earnings potential and a notable retirement security gap.

Older Hispanic workers also receive less wages and benefits than their non-Hispanic counterparts. The median annual earnings for senior Latino males in the workforce was approximately $30,400, far less than the $50,600 and $36,400 made by Caucasian and African-American men, respectively. Fewer than half (49 percent) receive health care benefits, and only 38 percent had access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, while more than 60 percent of Caucasian and African-American workers had access to both. Over a lifetime, this allows for limited opportunities to accumulate wealth; a previous 2007 study found that older Hispanics have a $100,000 shortfall in net worth compared to non-Hispanics.

A lifetime of low pay and benefits also results in the absence of a retirement security net for Hispanic households, leaving them unnecessarily vulnerable to involuntary job separations via layoffs, health problems and family needs. In fact, the AARP report found that Hispanics were the only subset of older American workers who were mostly separated from their job due to layoffs or medical reasons (32 percent and 22 percent, respectively) -- only about a third (35 percent) actually left the workplace to retire. This stands in strong contrast to the majority of American seniors, of which 47 percent leave to retire willingly, while 40 percent received pink slips or had health issues. The reasons behind the Latino retirement security gap are wide-ranging and complex, but some important patterns do emerge that indicate the advanced skill sets lacking among Latino immigrants have economic consequences.

The AARP study found a strong correlation between non-U.S. origins, low education levels and poor English skills, revealing that economic equality is elusive among the 57 percent of older Latino workers who are foreign-born, who principally arrive to America lacking high school diplomas and little mastery of the English language. Overall, 41 percent of senior Hispanics do not hold a high school diploma, and only 12 percent earned a bachelor's degree, all to ruinous results; as the report highlighted, "lifetime earnings are about 20 percent higher for high school graduates than those who did not complete high school and about twice as high for college graduated as high school dropouts."

Most troubling is that lower educational achievement is persisting past first generation immigration. A June 2009 report from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) found that one out of three Latinos fail to graduate high school, while among the overall population the drop out rate is only 25 percent. With Latinos comprising 49 percent of all students enrolled in the state's K-12 system, addressing the drop out epidemic is critical to our state's economic future. As the PPIC authors noted, absent better graduation rates, there "will not be enough young adults with a college education to meet the increase (in) demand for highly educated workers after the baby boomers retire."

Dealing with this challenge does not just require policy changes in the classroom. While a sensitive subject, the use of Spanish at home is also having a detrimental impact on Latino achievement. According to a 2004 paper, "What Holds Back the Second Generation? The Intergenerational Transmission of Language Human Capital Among Immigrants" by Dr. Hoyt Bleakley and Dr. Aimee Chin, "parental English-language skills can account for 60 percent of the difference in dropout rates between non-Hispanic whites and U.S.-born Hispanic children of immigrants." AARP researchers found that the 20 percent of older U.S.-born Latino workers who didn't complete high school also did not speak English well. For the next generation to succeed, foreign-born Latino parents must do their part and attain greater fluency in English.

Low-skill work dries up faster than other occupations; according to May 2009 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate of Americans lacking a high school diploma was more than three times greater than the rate for those with bachelor's degrees and advanced degrees. The future for California Latinos will be through academic achievement and English fluency. Though the message is often repeated, the maxim is never worn -- with higher education come higher earnings and greater job security, particularly in these difficult economic times.

Source: The Daily Transcript

First Hispanic studies Ph.D. awarded at Texas A&M

July 7, 2009
By: Megan Clark

Since the first Hispanic Studies Ph.D. was awarded to Juan Carlos Ureña in 2008, more doctoral graduates are expected, said Alessandra Luiselli, associate professor and the recipient of the 2009 Texas A&M Women's Progress Award.

The graduate program was first conceived in 1997, developed from 1998 to 2003 and approved by the university and Board of Regents in 2004. The first students entered the graduate program in the fall of 2004.

The first Ph.D. candidate of the department was Juan Carlos Ureña. His dissertation, "History and Poetic Structure of Hispanic Popular Song," was introduced in April and Ureña graduated in August of 2008.

Ureña is now an assistant professor at Stephen F. Austin University and plans to continue teaching Spanish and pursuing his career in music.

"I think the completion of his degree has had a positive and beneficial impact on his employment and future career," said Hispanic graduate studies director Eduardo Urbina.

Ureña worked a full teaching schedule while obtaining his doctorate, according to Hispanic Studies professor Nancy Joe Dyer.

He worked all day then took classes at night, while commuting, Dyer said. His positive attitude and lack of complaints made him a role model for future generations of graduate students.

"He earned my admiration for his solid and original contributions to class, high quality work handed in always on time, and the genuine joy he derived from the subject matter," she said.

Family pushed him to reach his goals, Ureña said.

"My parents were the people who made me who I am, my wife enriched my life and goals, and my children have taught me what love is truly about," Ureña said.

Hispanic graduate studies is a very demanding and highly interesting program that makes the students think about the relationship between the United States, Latin America and the Hispanic world in general, Ureña said.

The bestowment of the first Ph.D. in Hispanic studies has allowed for the continuation of the program and for more students to become considered for their doctorates, Luiselli said.

There is an equally important distinction soon to be made in the department of the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in Spanish, she said.

"I am very confident that this honor will be taken by our current undergraduate advisor, Rosalinda Aregullin, whose dissertation I have the pleasure of directing," Luiselli said. "I underline the fact about gender because for me, and for the 2020 Vision Texas A&M, diversity is extremely important, and gender appreciation is one of the aspects we ought to consider when we think 'diversity.'"

Soon Hispanic studies will be pairing Juan Carlos Ureña, from Costa Rica, and Rosalinda Aregullin, from Texas, as their first doctoral graduates, according to Luiselli.

"I do not believe the distinction ends with Dr. Ureña, we still need to see the first woman graduating from our doctoral program," Luiselli said.

Ureña said he will continue to support the program and hopes to see it evolve.

"I know that the program will continue to grow as this relationship [between the United States and Hispanic culture] becomes more important every day," Ureña said. "I hope that this program will produce many more Ph.D.s in Hispanic Studies."

Source: The Battalion Online

The Strengths of Latino Families

July 6, 2009
by Mary Ann Zehr

Did you know that Latino children begin school with strong social and emotional skills that are quite similar to those of children from middle-class white families? Did you know that math scores for first-generation Latinos in elementary school are strong, even though many of these children have limited English skills? Did you know that eight out of 10 Latino toddlers are being raised in two-parent homes?

These are some of the findings reported in a research brief, "The Cultural Strengths of Latino Families: Firm Scaffolds for Children and Youth." The writers of the brief encourage writers and editors to feature some of the strengths of Latino families in stories as well as some of the challenges facing Latinos, such as poverty. It's probably good advice for educators as well to recognize the strengths of Latino families in trying to support Latino children and youths to do well in school.

The brief was released by New Journalism on Latino Children, which is a project of the Education Writers Association and the National Panel on Latino Children and Schooling, based at Berkeley's Institute of Human Development.

A second research brief released at the same time by New Journalism on Latino Children, "Getting Latino Youth Through High School," describes programs that have been effective in helping Latinos stay in school. The reasons that the dropout rate is high among Latinos may include poverty, a lack of literacy skills, and low quality of schooling, according to the brief.

Source: Education Week

UT Chancellor says system lacks minority advancement

July 1, 2009
By HOUSTON CHRONICLE

University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa told Latino leaders Tuesday that the lack of educational attainment, particularly for minorities, is "a gathering storm" that threatens America's competitiveness.

With only three-fourths of U.S. teens graduating from high schools and only 39 percent of high school graduates entering college, the country is losing a competitive student pipeline for professions that include medicine and health care, the UT leader told the Latino Leaders Network.

"We can no longer risk complacency as we face a looming storm," said Cigarroa, who was being honored as the 2009 Nambe Eagle Leadership Award recipient for his contributions to the Latino community and his achievements in medicine and academia. "We must ensure that the student pipeline remains wonderfully competitive, diverse, open and bountiful."

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that minorities are expected to comprise 54 percent of the overall student population in 2050, and Cigarroa said that more must be done to improve their opportunities in health care, medicine and other fields.

"It pays multiple dividends by helping students enter a profession and improving the availability of health care in a chronically underserved region," he said.

A native of Laredo, Cigarroa reflected on his South Texas upbringing in his speech to 400 people at the Capital Hilton. He recalled leaving the mesquite and brush years ago to attend Yale University.

"The most difficult transition in my life was that transition from Laredo to Yale," Cigarroa said to laughter from a crowd of lawmakers, public officials and students.

When he later left a medical residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore to take a position at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, a colleague told Cigarroa he was "committing academic suicide."

But Cigarroa later became president of the University of Texas Health Science Center, and was named chancellor of the entire University of Texas system in January.

Mickey Ibarra, founder and chairman of the Latino Leaders Network, said Cigarroa's accomplishments in surgery and medical research "make him one of the foremost Latino medical leaders in the world."

A pediatric and transplant surgeon, Cigarroa received a bachelor's degree from Yale and his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

In 1997, he was part of a surgical team that split a donor liver for transplant into two recipients, the first time the procedure was performed in Texas.

Source: Beaumont Enterprise

Inspired by mentors, critics, immigrant rises to top

June 25, 2009
by Elahe Izadi

Hyattsville native Ronald Hernandez is like a lot of successful students. He received scholarship money to go to a top university and spends long nights studying to become a computer engineer.

But the path to success for Hernandez, 20, was not easy. He immigrated to the United States from El Salvador as a 13-year-old who didn't speak English and is now a rising sophomore at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

Hernandez was recognized June 11 at the U.S. Hispanic Youth Entrepreneur Education's Hispanic Heroes Award Gala as being a USYEE scholar.

Hernandez said he learned English not only through ESOL classes, but also through efforts he undertook in his free time, like reading and writing English words and listening to music in English.

"Every time I would hear something I didn't know, I would look it up and make sure I knew how to pronounce it," he said.

But the motivation to learn also came from those who doubted him. Hernandez recalled one instance in which a classmate at Kenmoor Middle School in Landover was shocked to learn that Hernandez's grade point average was 3.86. The classmate attributed it to the fact Hernandez was in ESOL classes.

"I wanted to prove myself, that I could do something and I wasn't getting the grades because I was in ESOL," Hernandez said.

He soon graduated out of the ESOL program and was accepted into the Science and Technology magnet program at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt after completing his freshman year at Bladensburg High School. But the possibility of going to college wasn't on his mind until he attended a USHYEE symposium at the campus of University of Maryland, Baltimore County. There, Hernandez learned how to apply for college and scholarships.

It was also there that he met Luis Borunda, president-founder of USHYEE.

Borunda said Hernandez's experience is shared by many youth who attend the now-overnight symposium that spans four days.

"The program puts kids on a college campus, and they sit in college classrooms, they eat college food and they sleep college dorms," Borunda said. "When kids experience that, all of a sudden this institution called ‘college' becomes real and they begin to grasp the idea that they can go to college."

Borunda founded USHYEE in 2004 in response to the high dropout rate of Latinos.

In 2008, the dropout rate for Hispanics in Maryland was 4.61 percent, compared with 3.4 percent for all races, and in Prince George's County it was 3.68 percent, compared with 2.42 percent for all races.

USHYEE hosts programs and mentors Hispanic youth, teaching them networking and business skills and helping them apply for college.

"[Hernandez] is not alone. Although his story is one of overcoming, it's my honor and privilege to see kids like him succeed on a regular basis," Borunda said.

Hernandez is still working toward his goal, and Borunda has become like a mentor to him. He turns to Borunda throughout the year, like when he is exhausted from staying up late studying for exams.

"He would just advise me, give me advice, saying, ‘You can do it. I know you can,'" Hernandez said. "During my freshman year in UVA, he motivated me to keep going… He's my inspiration."

USHYEE awarded Hernandez a $5,000 scholarship last year to help him with his college costs.

"Ronald is a young man who is driven, and he is overcome some challenges that just are remarkable," Borunda said.

Hernandez said many Latino youth may face similar obstacles as he did, and having a mentor or other support can make the difference between academic success and failure.

"They don't know their true potential. They don't know what they're capable of or they never tried. No one has given them a hand," he said.

Source: Gazette.net

Georgia: Hispanics Enrolled In State Colleges Spikes

June 23, 2009
Source: GPB

A report from the Southern Regional Education Board shows that the number of Hispanic students enrolled in Georgia's colleges has grown by almost 150 percent (about 7,700
students)from 1997-2007. The report released on Monday predicts the trend will continue, requiring colleges to develop programs to attract and keep the Hispanic students.

The trend is expected to accelerate as Hispanic students represent a larger portion of Georgias public high school graduates. According to the report, they were four percent of the states graduates in 2005, but are projected to be 24 percent in 2022.

Joe Marks, director of education data services for SREB, says the future for Georgia's colleges will depend on how well they respond to Hispanic students.

LiveSTRONG Launches Campaign for Hispanic Cancer Survivors

June 15, 2009

The Lance Armstrong Foundation today launched a massive 1 month multimedia Spanish campaign reaching out Spanish-Dominant Hispanic cancer survivors, their families and those who take care of them. They are using both traditional and new media to reach all generations and all walks of life. Check out LiveSTRONG’s recently updated Spanish language site @ www.LIVESTRONG.org/espanol

It is an important initiative from my fellow Austinites @ “LAF” as well as a much needed resource for Spanish-speaking Latinos who are fighting this disease. Please help spread the word to everyone you know who might benefit from it. Here is their official press release, “En Español” so you can easily pass it around; print it, email it, facebook it… whatever it takes for them to get it. It’s critical beyond doubt.

LIVESTRONG Lanza Campaña para Hispanos Sobrevivientes al Cáncer

WASHINGTON, DC (15 de junio de 2009) /PRNewswire/ — La Fundación Lance Armstrong, LAF por sus siglas en inglés, lanzó una campaña multimedia en español sin precedentes para apoyar a los sobrevivientes, familiares y a las personas encargadas del cuidado de los afectados por el cáncer entre la comunidad hispana de Estados Unidos, a través de la divulgación y promoción de recursos informativos y de orientación de alcance masivo del 15 al 31 de junio de 2009.

La campaña del programa LIVESTRONG SurvivorCare y LIVESTRONG.org/Español pone en las manos de los hispanos, la minoría más grande de Estados Unidos y la de mayor crecimiento en los últimos años, las herramientas necesarias y la información práctica para apoyar a las personas afectadas por el cáncer y también a aquellas a su alrededor, en momentos en los que la comunidad padece uno de los niveles más bajos de acceso a seguro médico de los Estados Unidos.

"Es un orgullo para mi poder servir de apoyo a la comunidad hispana de Estados Unidos, porque en la lucha contra el cáncer la unión hace la fuerza. Y estoy convencido de que juntos podemos ganar esta batalla", dijo Doug Ulman, CEO de la Fundación Lance Armstrong.

El esfuerzo inédito de LAF hacia los hispano-parlantes de Estados Unidos está apuntalado en una campaña multimedia masiva que incorpora medios tradicionales como la radio y un uso intensivo de nuevas tecnologías y redes sociales de Internet, a fin de alcanzar a hispanos de todas las generaciones, toda vez que el cáncer no discrimina.

Campaña Multimedia

A lo largo de la campaña se difundirán Anuncios de Servicio Público (PSA's) que brindarán información sobre el apoyo disponible a través de la Fundación Lance Armstrong y su programa LIVESTRONG SurvivorCare, con guías para visitar la nueva página del programa, que ha sido rediseñada para ayudar con más eficacia a la comunidad hispana, y donde sobrevivientes, familiares y personas interesadas pueden hacer consultas personalizadas.

A partir del 22 de junio, la campaña incorpora cinco programas de radio "En Vivo" en un número similar de los mercados más importantes para la comunidad hispana de Estados Unidos: Chicago (IL), San Francisco (CA), Phoenix (AZ), Denver (CO) y Washington (DC), donde especialistas en cáncer responderán de manera directa a las preguntas del público.

"Es importante recalcar, que todo aquel que requiera de nuestro apoyo, ya sea sobreviviente, familiar o persona que cuida al sobreviviente de cáncer, tiene a su alcance atención individualizada a través de LIVESTRONG SurvivorCare" agregó Ulman.

La campaña multimedia incluye además un conjunto de mensajes que por primera vez forman parte de un paquete informativo y de orientación de su clase dirigido expresamente hacia la comunidad hispana. Sus principales componentes son:

    * Una mini serie de videos en línea (webisodes) de corte testimonial que presenta algunos casos de los más usuales de sobrevivientes del cáncer y el tipo de ayuda que LAF pone a su alcance.
    * Una serie de cápsulas de audio (podcasts) que se pueden escuchar de manera instantánea o descargar a aparatos de audio portátiles a través del formato MP3 para tenerlos a disposición en cualquier momento.
    * Un dispositivo de ícono interactivo (widget) disponible para descargas al escritorio de computadoras personales para uso frecuente o para compartir con amigos en algunos de los sitios más populares de Internet como Facebook o MySpace, entre otros. El ícono tendrá información actualizada semanalmente y datos para contactar a la Fundación.
    * Un uso intensivo de las redes sociales de Internet como Twitter o YouTube para multiplicar los mensajes, a través de enlaces o páginas dedicadas para recordar a la comunidad que la ayuda está siempre al alcance de la mano con LAF.

"La comunidad hispana podrá, con todos esos recursos, conocer de primera mano información sobre el apoyo emocional y médico que requieren quienes han sido afectados por el cáncer", dijo Ulman, agregando que "estas personas recibirán el soporte para afrontar la vida después del cáncer, información sobre sus derechos como sobrevivientes, recursos para buscar tratamiento si carecen de seguro médico y asesoría sobre grupos comunitarios de apoyo para sobrevivientes".

Acerca de LAF

A través de su programa LIVESTRONG SurvivorCare www.LIVESTRONG.org/Espanol (teléfono 1866-927-7205) la Fundación ofrece consejería y referencias de programas locales, ayuda en temas financieros y de seguros, información actualizada de estudios clínicos sobre nuevos tratamientos para los diferentes tipos de cáncer, recomendaciones para hablar con los seres queridos, además de un amplio abanico de recursos para los sobrevivientes, familiares y quienes cuidan a los afectados por el cáncer.

Para más información o para obtener materiales relacionados con la campaña, comunicarse con Duly Fernandez al 202-360-4052 o duly.fernandez@hcnmedia.com

House calls by Hispanic university president

May 18, 2009
By Joe Rodriguez

David Lopez is a big man driving a huge sport utility vehicle down Story Road in East San Jose, a few blocks from National Hispanic University, where he is president and, these days, chief of student recruitment.

"Maybe I should buy a smaller car,'' he quips with a hearty laugh. "What do other university presidents drive?'' How about a tweedy, green Japanese hybrid? Lopez thought about that for only a little while.

"Nah," he declares, "I like the way this one drives!''

As in his choice of cars, Lopez doesn't think small about Latino higher education, even when the economy is rapidly tanking. In a region filled with top-notch public and private colleges, he's on a rare and special mission to grow his fledgling campus the old-fashioned way — one student at a time. With a blend of academic smarts and bilingual charm, he's seeking out promising students and their families by making highly unusual house calls.

His first stop one recent afternoon was to the home of Beatriz Ayala, an 18-year-old Mexican immigrant who picked up English and perfect grades in four short years. She's a valedictorian at Latino College Preparatory Academy, a high school on NHU's campus. Lopez doesn't want to lose the graduating senior to bigger schools that have already accepted her such as San Jose State University, and UC-Santa Barbara.

"Having her choose NHU over them would say a lot to our brightest students,'' Lopez said. "They'd see us on par with those other schools.''

Founded in 1981, the liberal arts school with an emphasis on Latino studies won full academic accreditation in 2003. I first wrote about Lopez that year, just after he left a secure job at Fresno State to come to San Jose. Since then, I've even taught a few classes at the school.

But back when he came here, it was with a lofty idea that some called impossible. He intends to turn NHU from an alternative college for bright but underachieving Latino youths into a elite institution modeled after Howard University, Spellman and Morehouse — strong historically black academic institutions. At the same time, he'd like to increase enrollment from 700 to 2,500.

Small but special

After pulling up in from of a small, ranch style house on a street crowded with cars, Lopez fiddled with his yellow tie and navy blue suit jacket just before knocking. The Ayala family greeted him with salutations in formal Spanish.

"Encantada de conocerle, Doctor Lopez,'' said Marta Ayala, the girl's mother: Enchanted to meet you.

"A su orden, Senora,'' Lopez replied: At your service.

And before too long, sitting on the sofa, Lopez was speaking to them in Spanish about the importance of parental guidance. After graduating from Rio Grande High in Albuquerque in 1970 with more basketball team letters than high grades, Lopez told his mother he was leaving for San Francisco to become a hippie.

"She asked me, Why don't you stay here and go to college?'' not yet knowing her son had missed all the application deadlines. But his mother knew somebody who knew a top administrator at New Mexico State, who invited the young man in for a chat. Lopez eventually earned his doctorate, dedicating his dissertation to the administrator.

"If he hadn't taken the time to see me personally,'' Lopez told the Ayalas, " I wouldn't be here today.'' Turning to Beatriz, Lopez pitched the advantages of small liberal arts college with a Latino spin: Small classes, more personal attention from professors and counselors, all with a vital mission: "We want to train the next generation of Latino leaders.''

Financial help

When Beatriz said she'd like to become a lawyer and earn a PhD, Lopez said NHU could easily prepare her for law school at Santa Clara University, just up the road, where he's got some academic connections.

The bright young lady perked up, but she wasn't showing her cards, not just yet.

"Doctor Lopez,'' she said in Spanish. "Having a university president visit me and my parents at home is something that isn't going to happen with the other colleges. I want to thank you for being here... But, I'm receiving financial aid offers from the other schools. Can you give me an idea what NHU could offer?''

Lopez smiled.

"I can get you that information right away.'' Back in his truck, Lopez said Beatriz would get a full scholarship, no problem, but he could not guarantee it at the time.

After San Jose State capped enrollment for this fall, Lopez practically set up recruiting offices at Evergreen Community and San Jose City College, campuses swelling with students needing to transfer.

''Where are these students going to go?'' he asks. "I'm here to offer them another option.''

Delicious brownies

Ivory Young, 29, met Lopez when the enthusiastic administrator paid a surprise visit to Young's biology classroom at Evergreen Valley College.

"I was all set on transferring to San Jose State,'' said Young to Lopez while they sat at the young man's kitchen table. "Then you came into my class and I said, "Whoa. Maybe there's something there for me.''

Young is half Mexican, half black. Around the table was his Mexican mother, Connie Young, his African-American wife, Lisa, and their four children. Lisa had baked brownies for the occasion. After downing one, Lopez made his pitch:

"There are 77 black colleges in the country,'' Lopez recites. "Together, they produce 80 percent of the African-American leadership. That's what we want to do at NHU, but we also want to recruit and educate African Americans like yourself. Did you know that black colleges in Georgia are recruiting Hispanic students? That's what we have to do more of, blacks and Latinos working together.''

Young seemed to enjoy what he was hearing. Lopez told him that Emmet D. Carson, chief of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and Morehouse College alumnus, will deliver the keynote address at NHU's commencement in June.

"I gotta have another one of those brownies,'' Lopez says. Then he hands Young a list of courses for a bachelor's degree and teaching credential he could earn in only two years. Lopez invites Young to the campus to meet faculty and financial aid advisers.

"I don't know what to say,'' Young says with a smile. "I'll definitely drop in.'' As he leaves, Lopez bids goodbye to the Young family in English and Spanish, and steps back onto his personal the recruiting trail, this time with a bag of brownies in hand.

Source: Mercury News

University of Texas launching Hispanic Leadership Initiative

April 28, 2009
By Juan Castillo

Promoting the Hispanic population’s growing leadership and readying the next generation of leaders are among the tasks of a new Hispanic Leadership Initiative at the University of Texas.

The Center for Politics and Governance at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, together with the Texas Exes, will launch the initiative May 4 at 6 p.m. at the Etter-Harbin Alumni Center Connally Ballroom.

The event will feature remarks by University Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa, followed by a panel discussion featuring former U.S. congressman Henry Bonilla, former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz, Texas State Rep. Pete Gallego and Travis County District Judge Orlinda Naranjo.

Center for Politics and Governance director Veronica Vargas Stidvent noted that Texas is rapidly moving toward being majority Hispanic. With the center’s home at the flagship university of a state that has produced three of the past nine presidents and a disproportionate number of congressional leaders, she said the center “is uniquely positioned to have a practical effect on the role of Hispanic Americans in the political institutions of our state and nation.”

The launch event is open to the public.

According to the Center for Politics and Governance, the Hispanic Leadership Initiative has five main objectives to be achieved over a three-year period:

* Highlight Hispanic leadership and the emerging role of Hispanic Americans in influencing public policy
* Recognize outstanding achievements in leadership by Hispanic alumni
* Provide mentoring and networking opportunities for Hispanic alumni and students
* Introduce Hispanic undergraduate students to the LBJ School of Public Affairs
* Reconnect Hispanic alumni with the University of Texas on an annual basis

Source: Austin American-Statesman

Black and Latino boys predominate in emotional support classes

Winter 2008 Edition
by Sylvia Morse

African American boys make up 59 percent of students enrolled in “emotional support” programs in Philadelphia but less than a third of the general student population. They are six times more likely to be labeled emotionally disturbed than White girls.

White girls are four times more likely than Black boys to be identified as mentally gifted.

Highlighting similar statistics in her incoming convocation speech in August, Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said, “The research clearly shows us that for young men of color, particularly African American and Latino … a special education label, especially ‘emotionally disturbed,’ becomes a life sentence, causing many … to drop out of school early and enter the criminal justice system.”

Overrepresentation of students of color in special education is a reality nationwide. Many say racial biases among those who refer and evaluate students for special education are a factor.

“When a child of color is bored and they act out, [school authorities] assume it’s a behavioral problem,” says Cecilia Thompson, chairperson of the Right to Education Task Force of Philadelphia. “I believe [the student] could be mentally gifted, but the mindset is on emotional support.”

The tendency to identify disruptive behavior as a sign of more severe disability may result from cultural gaps between teachers and students. White teachers in urban school districts unfamiliar with the language and survival strategies many students acquire outside of school are more likely to make inappropriate referrals, research suggests.

Studies indicate the risk of students being identified with a disability varies by race, even controlling for the effects of class.

Disproportions are most pronounced in the high-incidence or “judgmental” categories: emotionally disturbed, learning disabled, and mildly mentally retarded, which require less medical or psychological professional oversight.

But poverty also contributes to the likelihood of disability. “It’s a multifaceted thing,” says Len Rieser, co-director of the Education Law Center. “There can’t be a single ‘why.’”

The national Civil Rights Project concluded in a 2002 report that unconscious racial discrimination by school authorities, resource inequities, biased methods of evaluation, pressures of high-stakes testing on teachers, and the dynamic between parents of color and school administrators all contribute to ethnic and gender disparities in special education.

An example illustrates how the inequalities associated with poverty can contribute to faulty decisions by individuals and lead to disproportions. A teacher in a stressed, high-poverty school may have more students who need extra attention but fewer resources outside of special education. Special education is then seen as the only supportive environment, and teachers are more likely to make referrals.

A District official observed that often it is the parents who want an evaluation. “We’re still in the mindset that there’s something special about special education,” says Linda Williams, administrator for the District’s Office of Specialized Services (OSS), “that it’s a place and not a service.”

To address overrepresentation, the District has introduced professional development for school psychologists that will “build their skills, especially around areas of culture,” Williams says.

The District is also promoting inclusion and a coteaching model, which integrates students with and without special needs in one classroom led by both a grade teacher and a special education teacher.

Decatur Elementary in the Northeast is “a model school for inclusion practices,” Williams says. The school’s principal, Charles Connor, believes the number of referrals went down when special education was no longer a separate, restricted environment. Because general education teachers remain responsible for the students they refer, Connor says, special education is no longer a way to unload difficult-to-teach students.

Local advocates believe most parents don’t understand that overrepresentation of children of color in special education is a systemwide problem. If they did, parents might be able to make better decisions for their own children.

“It’s the ‘Why me?’ syndrome,” Thompson says. “[Parents] think it’s just them.”

And they don’t always exercise their rights in the process. “They think the psychological evaluation is the beall end-all,” Thompson says. But she adds that parents’ role can be crucial in combating misguided placements if they have the right information.

Source: The Notebook