Latino students underserved in U.S. Education

Report: Latino students underserved in U.S. Education

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) released "Missing Out: Latino Students in America's Schools," a statistical brief of Latino students from pre-kindergarten through postsecondary school last week. The data presented in this brief suggest that the growing U.S. Latino student population is missing out on many educational opportunities and is not being effectively served by the current American education system. "Our nation's classrooms must be more attentive to the rapid growth of Latino students and the high value that Hispanic families place on education," said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. "This brief presents the statistics that are crucial to understanding who these children are, a first step in creating policies and programs that improve their chance at success." According to the brief, Hispanic children now constitute one-fifth of all school-age children in the U.S., and most are neither immigrants nor undocumented-the vast majority (91 percent) of Latinos under the age of 18 are U.S. citizens.


An overwhelming number (98 percent) of Hispanics believe that education is "important," and more than half (51 percent) report that it is an "extremely important" issue. Still, there are significant disparities in educational success between Latino students and their peers. For example, young Hispanic children, especially those living in poverty, are much less likely (50 percent) to attend preschool programs than their White (60 percent) and Black (62 percent) peers. Moreover, recent figures state that only 58 percent of Hispanic students (and 55 percent of Black students) graduate from high school, compared to 78 percent of White students. Latino and Black students are more likely to attend high-poverty schools and receive fewer resources that would help them succeed in school. The most recent measures indicate that only 11 percent of college students are Latino, whereas 66 percent are White."Young Latino learners are not only changing the face of the American student body, but they will soon change the face of the American workforce," Murguía said. "If we want a well-educated workforce in the future, we need to make investments in Latino students now." For more information about NCLR, please visit www.nclr.org

Education is without a doubt our greatest economic stimulus and we must all ensure that education oppportunities exist for every child.