Thread: Hispanic students on rise in state

When Jose Gonzalez's daughter enrolled in kindergarten in Shelby County five years ago, she was among just a handful of Hispanics in her school.

But now, said Gonzalez, "they just keep coming more and more and more.

And within the past two years, the district's Hispanic enrollment has surpassed its black enrollment.

It's a trend expected to expand statewide, according to a report released last week by the Southern Regional Education Board.

A dozen years from now, one out of four high school diplomas awarded in Kentucky will go to a Hispanic graduate, according to the nonprofit organization, which advises leaders in 16 Southern states. That's up from one out of 33 diplomas this year -- an increase that is among the highest of any of those states.

At the same time, the number of black and non-Hispanic white graduates in Kentucky is expected to drop -- with the number of African-American graduates falling from 9 percent in 2006 to 7 percent in 2018.

The number of non-Hispanic whites is expected to fall from 87 percent to 64 percent.

"Just about every state has seen growth in this area. But Kentucky has one of the more dramatic jumps that we see across our region," said Joan Lord, who helped prepare the reports for each of the member states, which include Tennessee and West Virginia.

Indiana is not a member of the organization. But the same data used in the education board's report for Southern states predicts that the number of Hispanic graduates in Indiana also will rise in the coming years -- from under 1,000 in 1991 to nearly 4,900, or 8 percent, by the 2013-2014 school year.

Black students, however, are predicted to still be the largest minority group in that state.

Kentucky Education Commissioner Gene Wilhoit said he was surprised by the size of growth in the number of Hispanic students being projected.

"It is pretty alarming to me. It causes me to begin to think about what are we doing in Kentucky to get ready for this," he said. "Here we are a culture that has had the luxury of being isolated and pretty homogenous. … We've got to be able to become a school system that is able to educate these students."

Adapting to change
Kentucky has seen growth in its overall Hispanic population in recent years, predominantly around cities like Louisville, Lexington and Bowling Green, according to census data and education officials.

Yet so far, Hispanic students still constitute only 2 percent to 3 percent -- about 12,000 -- of Kentucky's public school enrollment of 656,503.

But the rapid increase in population has helped triple the number of students in English as a Second Language classes.

Schools in several districts have been forced in recent years to cope with more complex classroom demands, rising costs, culture and language barriers, teacher and bilingual staff shortages and lagging Hispanic academic achievement.

Statewide, there now are four times more Spanish-speaking students than the next-highest language group among the state's student population who speak limited English.

Some Kentucky districts, like Shelby County, have begun responding by hiring bilingual staff, training teachers in other cultures and new instruction methods, translating paperwork, offering Spanish lessons and having teachers visit students' homes.

Since 2003, Shelby County has seen the number of students qualifying for language assistance services rise from 253 to 467.

This past school year, the 5,880-student district had a Hispanic enrollment of 609. There were 563 African-American students and more than 4,500 non-Hispanic white students.

The number of English as Second Language teachers and tutors in the district has risen from two to 17 since 1998. And all correspondence with parents usually is sent home on fliers printed in English on one side and Spanish on the other.

At times, teachers also look to students like Ivonne Gonzalez, 9, who will be in fifth grade, to help translate directions to newcomers whose English skills are weak.

"I make copies, and I'll read with four or five kids," said Ivonne, who has been helping teachers this summer at a literacy camp at Clear Creek Elementary School in Shelbyville. Her younger brother, Daniel, 8, is attending the camp.

"I like school. I want to go back," Daniel said last Friday, a day when there is no camp.

More funding needed
This past school year, the state paid out $2.9 million to districts to assist non-English-speaking students. Districts also receive some federal money to assist with those students.

But Wilhoit said the state money "is just the tip of the iceberg of what is needed" if the report's projections hold true.

He said more will be needed to help train teachers, create statewide tests that will allow districts to measure students' English skills and progress, and develop outreach programs for Hispanic families.

Lord said that challenge will be mirrored in many other states, which already have been working to reduce achievement gaps among diverse groups of students.

"If you have growth now in these states, and you have been closing gaps between black and white or Hispanic and white students, will you be able to sustain that progress with a growing population of minority students?" she said. "It's going to be a real challenge for the state to do that, and it's going to mean a real commitment."

And failing to meet that commitment, say educators and others, could hurt Kentucky's economic future.

"That's a serious issue. All growth in America under 45 is minority, and basically more and more of our kids are going to be black and Hispanic," said demographer Ron Crouch, director of the Kentucky State Data Center. "And how well they do is going to determine how well the country does."

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"A dozen years from now, one out of four high school diplomas awarded in Kentucky will go to a Hispanic graduate"

Don't kid yourselves! Hispanics have THE HIGHEST SCHOOL DROP-OUT RATE OF ANY GROUP PERIOD! Part of that rate can be attributed to a REFUSAL TO LEARN ENGLISH! Another part to a REFUSAL TO INTEGRATE!

Look at any state education figures ANYWHERE in the United States--the figures back up the trend. Charging U.S. taxpayers for (failed) Hispanic education is just another fraud perpetrated on the American Taxpayer by politicians who support illegal immigration.

But now, said Gonzalez, "they just keep coming more and more and more.

Ya....an endless supply. And our taxes keep costing more and more and more. Our citizens aren't getting the education they used to get because the illegals keep expecting more and more and more.