LATINO STUDENTS: VOICES CALLING US TO A BRIGHTER FUTURE

February 13, 2014Nashville, TN

Carmella S. Franco Maria G. Ott Darline P. Robles

Who Are We?

35.2 million2000

2010

2020

51.9 million

63.8 million

Latino Student Enrollment • Nearly 24% or more than 1 in 5 of all pre-k-12

students enrolled in public schools is Latino.• Latinos are by far the largest minority group

numbering more than 13 million in K-12 public schools.

• Latinos are a young population. There are close to 18 million Latinos ages 17 and younger in the US - more than 15% of this age group.

• Latinos represent 1/4 of all kindergarteners.

Their Education, Our FutureBA or better, US Census 2009

13.4%Latino

African American

All

19.7%

29.4%

2010 Census Population Survey on Educational Attainment by Race and Hispanic Origin

Total persons-all ages: 2008 2010• Not a high school graduate 13.4% 13 %• High school graduate 31.2% 29.4%• Some college/no degree 17.2% 16.8%• AA degree 8.5% 9.3%• BA degree 19.1% 15.1% • Advanced degree 10.3% 10.3% • Master degree: 7.6%• Professional degree: 1.5%• Doctorate: 1.4%

2010 Census Population Survey on Educational Attainment by Race and Hispanic Origin

African Americans 2008 2010• Not a high school graduate 17 % 15 %• High school graduate 35.1%

32.6%• Some college/no degree 19.5% 19.9%• AA degree 8.8% 9.4%• BA degree 13.6% 10.4%• Advanced degree 6.1%

8.5%• Master degree: 5.2%• Professional degree: .8• Doctorate: .5%

2010 Census Population Survey on Educational Attainment by Race and Hispanic Origin

Latinos 2008 2010• Not a high school graduate 37.7% 37.3%• High school graduate 29.6% 27.4%• Some college/no degree 13.3% 12.9%• AA degree 6.1% 6.5%• BA degree 9.4% 8.2%• Advanced degree 4.0%

5.7%• Master degree: 2.8%• Professional degree: .5%• Doctorate: .6%

The Power of the Data Dialogue

• What do your data tell you about your system’s perceptions of student potential?

• What patterns of achievement do you see across groups and between groups?

• Is your learning culture one that lifts all up or only those who are ready? …those who follow the rules of our expectations? …those who fit into the box?

• Do we genuinely know and respect what our students bring?

  SCENARIO #1:  ELEMENTARY LEVEL As an elementary administrator, you notice that teachers at your site are recommending primarily Latino students for retention.  How would you approach this situation?  What questions would you ask? 

 SCENARIO #2: SECONDARY LEVEL As the administrator of a large comprehensive high school, you become perturbed as you review the students enrolled in the school’s Advanced Placement classes.  Nearly all students in the classes are White, while the school has a majority of Latino students.  How would you begin to address this obvious inequity?  What hard questions would you ask?

  SCENARIO #3: DISTRICT LEVEL As student expulsion items appear on Board agendas, you are uncomfortable with the fact that the majority of expulsion cases involve Latino students.  Cabinet and some Board Members have made comments about this fact.  What can you do to begin addressing the matter?   What questions will you ask?  

Leadership for Equity

• The Leadership Rubric is a tool to begin conversations focused on issues of equity and access for all.

• Common Core is built on an equity agenda.• Common Core opens the opportunity for

meaningful teacher leadership. Without leadership that engages administrators and teachers in the difficult conversations, little will change.

Is Your District Ready to Have This Conversation?

• Assess District readiness• Assess readiness of staff and capacity to lead

conversation• Engage the Board in this conversation• Look at your data through the equity lens• Commit to face what your data reveal and make

the necessary changes• Aspire and inspire to be an organization that

explores the possibilities without excuses

The Cultural Proficiency Framework Five Essential Elements of Cultural Competence

• Assessing cultural knowledge• Valuing diversity• Managing the dynamics of difference• Adapting to diversity• Institutionalizing cultural knowledge

The Cultural Proficiency FrameworkThe Continuum of Practice

• Cultural Destructiveness• Cultural Incapacity• Cultural Blindness• Cultural Pre-Competence• Cultural Competence• Cultural Proficiency

Adapting to Diversity

Engaging the Community• Engaging the community is powerful in

supporting the work of Common Core and in addressing equity issues.

• Engaging the community must be a reciprocal process.

• Engaging the community is transformative.• Building a powerful learning culture

includes meaningful community engagement.

Next Step

• Conversations must take place across the organization – from the Boardroom to the classroom to parents and to the broader community.

Contact Information

Plase share your efforts with us:

csfranco1@verizon.net

mariaott@usc.edu

dprobles@usc.edu