Thread: Surging Latino growth has country looking to California scho

Surging Latino growth has country looking to California schools
OTHER STATES STUDY CALIFORNIA FOR LESSONS
By Sharon Noguchi
Mercury News
Article Last Updated: 08/27/2008 08:34:12 AM PDT


Related document
On the Web:
Pew study on Hispanic students (PDF)

Latinos make up nearly half of California's K-12 public school students, and their numbers are surging across the country, underscoring a growing challenge for educators who are looking to the Golden State for ways to adapt to the changing face of America's classrooms.

Almost one in three of the country's Latino students go to school in California. But the numbers, revealed Tuesday in one of the first comprehensive looks at Latinos in public schools, show Latinos now make up the largest minority student group in 22 states.

Since 1990, the number of Latino school-age children nationwide almost doubled and now is projected to swell another 166 percent through 2050. By contrast, whites, blacks, Asians and other non-Hispanics in K-12 edged up just 9 percent in the same 16 years, and will slow to 4 percent growth through 2050, according to the report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

And the report illuminated a significant challenge across the country: More than one-third of Latino students have a parent who hasn't completed high school - considered a bigger factor in student success than English fluency.

The changing dynamics are already playing out in California, where educators are struggling to address an academic achievement gap between Latinos and blacks and their higher-performing Asian and white peers.

Test scores

Test "scores around the country are going to go down," because there will be more children

with disadvantages such as not speaking English, said Marty Krovetz, professor emeritus of education at San Jose State University.
However, the numbers of Latinos who identified themselves as fluent in English were surprising. While 70 percent of Latino students speak a language other than English at home, 82 percent speak English fluently, according to the report based on the Census Bureau's 2006 American Community Survey of 3 million households.

But the low education level of Latino parents is putting a greater burden on schools to educate and guide students toward college and career tracks, experts say.

Without parents who understand the school system, "they are at a startling disadvantage," said Richard Fry, one of the authors of the Pew study. As a result, "you're asking an awful lot of high school guidance counselors, because the parents aren't there to help students."

It also has immediate economic repercussions. Whether students are likely to live in a household earning $50,000 or more is related to the education level of their parents, the survey reported.

Silicon Valley schools are years ahead in figuring what works and what doesn't when it comes to changing demographics.

The biggest challenge for schools is educating immigrant students, especially those who start school at an older age. Students who don't become fluent in English are more likely to drop out. According to a June 2007 U.S. Department of Education report, 37 percent of foreign-born Latinos age 16-24 drop out, while only 14 percent of second-generation and 12 percent of third- or higher-generations Latinos drop out.

"When language is a factor, it becomes extra challenging to meet the high standards," said Manny Barbara, superintendent of the Oak Grove School District in San Jose.

Last year in Oak Grove, 47 percent of the 11,600 students were Latino. And the district has changed as it evolved into a demographic "mini California," Barbara said. "We really want to be culturally responsive in our teaching."

Teacher training

The district offers training in teaching English learners. Barbara convenes a Latino advisory committee, which conducts meetings bilingually, and principals also meet with Latino parents. Schools offer English classes to parents, and also a program to help parents prepare their children for college.

Such outreach, coupled with high standards, has resulted in higher achievement. In 2006-07, Oak Grove's Latino students - and all other demographic groups - met the state's increasingly tougher language and math standards.

High expectations and teacher and parent commitment also are key to success of four small schools in San Jose educating primarily Latino students, Krovetz said.

'Relentless focus'

Those schools - SUCCESS in Franklin-McKinley district and Renaissance, Adelante and LUCHA in the Alum Rock district - "have a relentless focus and high expectations for kids," he said.

So states like Minnesota, Rhode Island, Arkansas, Nebraska and Maryland with growing Latino populations in public schools might be looking at schools here.

"Much of the country," Krovetz said, "is going to have to learn the lesson from pockets of success in California, New Mexico and Texas."


http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_10314026

"Much of the country," Krovetz said, "is going to have to learn the lesson from pockets of success in California, New Mexico and Texas."

Are there really any success stories from those places, or have they become a success simply because the Latinos have taken them over for their people?

The public schools in Los Angeles (in the extremely dysfunctional Los Angeles Unified School District) generally are a disaster. The only lesson for other cities and states from this is to not let what happened to LAUSD happen to them.

People do not want to accept the fact that we are in this mess because of illegal immigration. Latinos don't sprout out from the ground! And the solution certainly not to make all of us learn Spanish.

Education is California's single largest public expenditure and commands 42% of that state’s $150 BILLION budget. The State of California's Legislative Analyst's Office reports that of the state's 6.4 million K through 12 public school students, one out of four is not fluent in English. Of that number, 85% are Spanish speaking (illegal immigrants). Additionally, one out of nine of these (illegal immigrant) students require special education programs.

These children of Spanish speaking foreign (illegal) immigrants increase California's K-12 enrollment by 21.3%, nearly 1.4 million (illegal immigrant) students. At $11,584 each, which is the state’s 2007-2008 budgeted allocation per student, the cost of educating these (illegal alien) students is $15.8 BILLION. Add in the $1.3 BILLION for special programs to accommodate non-English speaking (illegal alien) students, and the cost increases to $17.1 BILLION. The state's current budget deficit is projected to be $16 BILLION.

http://www.capsweb.org/content.php?id=301&menu_id=8

DON'T COPY CALIFORNIA!! We have the worst schools in the USA!!

The best thing you could do for you schools is deport the kids and their parents.

Originally Posted by Populist

The public schools in Los Angeles (in the extremely dysfunctional Los Angeles Unified School District) generally are a disaster. The only lesson for other cities and states from this is to not let what happened to LAUSD happen to them.

Ditto Populist! Also like what CB said regaring the seemingly ambiguous meaning of the term "success" as used in this propaganda piece...

Originally Posted by Bowman

DON'T COPY CALIFORNIA!! We have the worst schools in the USA!!

The best thing you could do for you schools is deport the kids and their parents.

Another excellent suggestion!! anyone listening!

Also:

Almost one in three of the country's Latino students go to school in California. But the numbers, revealed Tuesday in one of the first comprehensive looks at Latinos in public schools, show Latinos now make up the largest minority student group in 22 states.

Those 28 other states that have not been invaded may still have a chance if they act now...

Test "scores around the country are going to go down," because there will be more children with disadvantages such as not speaking English, said Marty Krovetz, professor emeritus of education at San Jose State University.

Illegal aliens are dragging down the education of OUR kids. GET THEM OUT OF OUR SCHOOLS. DEPORT THEM ALONG WITH THEIR ILLEGAL ALIEN PARENTS!

I think we're just beginning to feel the impact of anchor babies. With most of the illegals coming here since Bush was elected, many of their anchor babies are just now of school age and under. Just go to any prenatal clinic here in the South and it will be filled with non English speaking mothers who aren't paying a dime for their care. Five more years and those kids will be starting kindergarten not speaking English.