Special Report
Special Report

Trailing Behind, Moving Forward

Latino Students in U.S. Schools
June 7, 2012
  • Education Diplomas Count 2012 Release Event
    Education Week Presents Diplomas Count 2012: Trailing Behind, Moving Forward - Latino Students in U.S. Schools
    June 6, 2012
    Education Methodology
    How Does the EPE Research Center Calculate Graduation Rates?
    June 1, 2012
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    1 min read
    Equity & Diversity Graduation Rate Rises, Strong Gains Among Latinos
    The latest analysis from the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center finds that 73.4 percent of the class of 2009 graduated on time—a 7.4 percentage point increase over 10 years.
    Christopher B. Swanson, June 1, 2012
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    6 min read
    Federal 44 States Now Using the Same Grad.-Rate Formula
    An original analysis by the EPE Research Center shows that most states are keeping pace with federal requirements to phase in new cohort graduation rates.
    Sterling C. Lloyd, June 1, 2012
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    5 min read
    Marlyn Martinez, 17, practices the reading she will do later before the start of Sunday Mass at San Carlos Borromeo Catholic Church in San Francisco, where she is a junior minister. Martinez moved to the United States from Guatemala a little over two years ago.
    Marlyn Martinez, 17, practices the reading she will do later before the start of Sunday Mass at San Carlos Borromeo Catholic Church in San Francisco, where she is a junior minister. Martinez moved to the United States from Guatemala a little over two years ago.
    Ramin Rahiman for Education Week
    Federal Guatemalan Transplant Thrives in Cross-Cultural School
    After San Francisco International High School, Marlyn Martinez wants to study civil engineering.
    Jaclyn Zubrzycki, June 1, 2012
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    2 min read
    Equity & Diversity Advice From Miami-Dade Educators: Embrace Diversity
    When it comes to educating Latino students, the nation's fourth-largest school system has a long track record.
    Christina A. Samuels, June 1, 2012
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    11 min read
    Valerie Sanchez, 15, works on a writing assignment during reading class at the Thomas A. Edison Middle Learning Center in Dallas. The eighth grader is working to become the first in her family to attend college.
    Valerie Sanchez, 15, works on a writing assignment during reading class at the Thomas A. Edison Middle Learning Center in Dallas. The eighth grader is working to become the first in her family to attend college.
    --Allison V. Smith for Education Week
    Equity & Diversity Hispanic Girls Face Special Barriers on Road to College
    A cultural emphasis on loyalty to family leads some Latinas to pass on college or only pick schools close to home.
    Katherine Leal Unmuth, June 1, 2012
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    5 min read
    Lisbet Ascon, 18, back center, does warm-up exercises during beginning-choral class at Miami Coral Park High School in Miami. The junior, who is Cuban-born, grew up in Cuba and Chile before moving to the United States when she was 16.
    Lisbet Ascon, 18, back center, does warm-up exercises during beginning-choral class at Miami Coral Park High School in Miami. The junior, who is Cuban-born, grew up in Cuba and Chile before moving to the United States when she was 16.
    Josh Ritchie for Education Week
    Equity & Diversity Cuban-Born Student Readjusts to Miami's Cuban Culture
    Lisbet Ascon came to Miami-Dade schools by way of Chile.
    Christina A. Samuels, June 1, 2012
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    3 min read
    Roger Sanchez, a junior at Bell Multicultural High School in Washington, rides the school bus to a baseball game. The 16-year-old arrived from the Dominican Republic in 5th grade and now has a 4.3 grade point average at Bell.
    Roger Sanchez, a junior at Bell Multicultural High School in Washington, rides the school bus to a baseball game. The 16-year-old arrived from the Dominican Republic in 5th grade and now has a 4.3 grade point average at Bell.
    Nicole Frugé
    Equity & Diversity Dominican-Born Student Straddles Two Cultures
    Roger Sanchez's 'Afro-Latino' heritage spurred questions from his new U.S. classmates.
    Jaclyn Zubrzycki, June 1, 2012
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    2 min read
    Lisnanlly Guaba, 18, discusses college applications with Assistant Principal Jenny Rodriguez, right, during a mentoring session at Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School in New York City, where 98 percent of students are Latino. Most members of the senior class will be first-generation college students.
    Lisnanlly Guaba, 18, discusses college applications with Assistant Principal Jenny Rodriguez, right, during a mentoring session at Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School in New York City, where 98 percent of students are Latino. Most members of the senior class will be first-generation college students.
    --Melanie Burford/Prime for Education Week
    Equity & Diversity For Many Latino Students, College Seems Out of Reach
    But some K-12 schools, colleges, and nonprofits are helping Hispanic students make the leap from high school to higher education.
    Caralee J. Adams, June 1, 2012
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    12 min read
    Preschoolers play inside a tube tent during indoor recess at Ignacio Cruz Early Childhood Center in Perth Amboy. The New Jersey district, which serves mostly Hispanic students, has managed to enroll 100 percent of eligible 4-year-olds in preschool.
    Preschoolers play inside a tube tent during indoor recess at Ignacio Cruz Early Childhood Center in Perth Amboy. The New Jersey district, which serves mostly Hispanic students, has managed to enroll 100 percent of eligible 4-year-olds in preschool.
    --Emile Wamsteker for Education Week
    Federal N.J. District's Preschool Programs Draw Latinos
    Nationally, Hispanics are less likely than some other U.S. population groups to enroll their children in preschool. Not so in Perth Amboy.
    Lesli A. Maxwell, June 1, 2012
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    9 min read
    Adiel Granados, 17, reviews a quiz in his Advanced Placement Chemistry class at Wheaton High School in Silver Spring, Md. Born in El Salvador, the junior plans to go to college and become an engineer.
    Adiel Granados, 17, reviews a quiz in his Advanced Placement Chemistry class at Wheaton High School in Silver Spring, Md. Born in El Salvador, the junior plans to go to college and become an engineer.
    --Nicole Fruge/Education Week
    Federal Student Travels 3,000 Miles to Reunite With Parents
    Language was Adiel Granados' biggest hurdle after his long journey from El Salvador to Silver Spring, Md.
    Jaclyn Zubrzycki, June 1, 2012
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    2 min read
    Eighth grader Alisa Rodriguez, left, talks with classmate Diana Huerta after school ends at the Family Life Academy Charter School. Alisa is one of the few students of Puerto Rican descent at the mostly Latino school in New York.
    Eighth grader Alisa Rodriguez, left, talks with classmate Diana Huerta after school ends at the Family Life Academy Charter School. Alisa is one of the few students of Puerto Rican descent at the mostly Latino school in New York.
    --Parker Eshelman for Education Week
    Equity & Diversity Native New Yorker Finds Spanish a 'Lost' Skill
    A second-generation Puerto Rican, Alisa Rodriguez rarely uses her parents' native tongue now.
    Lesli A. Maxwell, June 1, 2012
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    2 min read
    Luis Mis Mis, 18, attends an English-literature class at Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco. A fifth-year senior, he spoke Mayan—not English or Spanish—when he arrived in the United States at age 14.
    Luis Mis Mis, 18, attends an English-literature class at Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco. A fifth-year senior, he spoke Mayan—not English or Spanish—when he arrived in the United States at age 14.
    --Ramin Rahimian for Education Week
    Federal Language Learning Twice as Hard for Mayan Student
    Luis Mis Mis had to learn two languages—Spanish and English—when he moved to the United States from Mexico.
    Lesli A. Maxwell, June 1, 2012
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    2 min read
    Equity & Diversity Raising Latino Achievement Seen as 'Demographic Imperative'
    By 2020, one in every four U.S. schoolchildren will be Latino; their success is key to the nation's economic prosperity.
    Lesli A. Maxwell, June 1, 2012
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    10 min read
    Twelve-year-old Juan Pablo Pacheco, his mother Maritelma Ixmatlahua, father Juan Pacheco, and sister Ruby Pacheco, 7, pose in their neighborhood in Foley, Ala. They are among the many Latino families in their rural community that are feeling the fallout from a new state law targeting illegal immigrants.
    Twelve-year-old Juan Pablo Pacheco, his mother Maritelma Ixmatlahua, father Juan Pacheco, and sister Ruby Pacheco, 7, pose in their neighborhood in Foley, Ala. They are among the many Latino families in their rural community that are feeling the fallout from a new state law targeting illegal immigrants.
    --Nicole Fruge/Education Week
    Equity & Diversity Ala. Immigration Law Casts Pall Over Community's Schools
    The toughest of a wave of state laws targeting illegal immigrants, Alabama's statute is affecting learning for all the Latino students in Foley, Ala.
    Lesli A. Maxwell, June 1, 2012
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    11 min read
    Education Heritage Profiles
    Diplomas Count 2012 profiled individual students from the six largest Hispanic heritage groups represented in U.S. schools.
    Chienyi Cheri Hung, June 1, 2012
    Education Graduation Rate Trends 1998-99 to 2008-09
    An interactive map that allows users to explore changes in state graduation rates over the past decade.
    Chienyi Cheri Hung, June 1, 2012
    Education Sources & Notes

    DEFINING READINESS


    College-readiness definition: State has formal expectations for what students will need to know and be able to do in order to be admitted to state's two-year and/or four-year institutions and enroll in credit-bearing courses. State approaches to defining college readiness have been classified into the following categories: courses, skills, standards, and tests. Some states' definitions may include elements that do not fall into categories established for this analysis. EPE Research Center annual state policy survey (2011-12 school year), 2011.
    June 1, 2012
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    3 min read