The nature of the problem with the education of Hispanic Americans is rooted in a refusal to accept, to recognize, and to value the central role of Hispanics in the past, present, and future of this nation. The education of Hispanic Americans is characterized by a history of neglect, oppression, and periods of wanton denial of opportunity.
The successful resolution of what has become nothing less than a crisis is embedded in the collective and collaborative response of the nation; and it must be characterized by the affirmation of the value and dignity of Hispanic communities, families, and individuals.
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The failure to face up to the need for change represents a myopia in America... Clearly, we have failed to recognize the crucially important role that those segments of our society who are out of the mainstream will have to play, if America is to compete successfully in the world economy.
Dr. Tomás Arciniega, |
The Nation's Future
This report demonstrates that Hispanic American students are at risk. The educational achievement gap between Hispanics and non-Hispanics persists. By recognizing the gravity of the educational attainment disparity between Hispanic Americans and the majority population, and by changing the educational conditions faced by the vast majority of Hispanics, the nation can begin to address a well-documented crisis in education for its fastest growing, and soon to be largest, minority population. Data projections based on the 1990 census suggest that Hispanic American children (combining children on the continent and on the island of Puerto Rico) are already the largest minority school-age population.
The magnitude of the crisis is unparalleled. According to every educational indicator, Hispanic Americans are making progress at alarmingly low rates -- from preschool through grade school, from junior high through high school, and on into higher education. The cumulative effect of such neglect is obviously detrimental not only to Hispanics i, but to the nation.
The Hispanic experience is inextricably woven into the fabric of the history and traditions of the United States, as it will continue to be in the nation's future. Elements of the Hispanic American experience have endured and contributed to the dynamic formation of this nation for over 500 years. Yet, on the brink of a new century, the American educational enterprise continues to deny equitable educational opportunity to Hispanic Americans.
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. . . public elementary and high school students . . . suffer daily from the devastating effects that racial and ethnic isolation, as well as poverty, have had on their education . . . .
Chief Justice Ellen Ash Peters, |
Specific factors contribute to educational disparity for Hispanic Americans:
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Equitable treatment of our diverse population and high-quality schooling must be twin goals of our educational system
A Nation at Risk, 1983 |
In the United States, educational attainment has traditionally been regarded as a key to economic prosperity; and it has been well established that there is a strong relationship between low income, low educational attainment, and low economic productivity -- conditions readily evident among most Hispanic communities throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.
The essential purpose of this Call to Action is to compel local, state, and Federal policy makers to take serious and immediate action to improve the educational attainment of Hispanic Americans. To help reach that goal, this report provides an overview of the demographic and cultural composition of Hispanic Americans, and the current state of education for Hispanic Americans. Through specific findings and recommendations, the report responds to the President's charge by providing information to help re-focus the nation's policies and resources, which will be needed to counter the consequences of ignorance and inattention.
When confronted with great challenges, Americans historically have come together to forge solutions. In that tradition, this report presents solutions and recommendations that can be used to formulate stronger partnerships between Hispanic Americans and other Americans who seek to improve schools for all children. The report informs the nation of a profound and threatening crisis in education, resulting in the loss of productive futures for millions of children and young people of Hispanic origin.
Responding to the President's mandate, the Commission held public hearings from coast to coast and in Puerto Rico. Those hearings provided the Commission with the opportunity to witness the rich diversity of Hispanic communities and to listen to constituents address educational issues. Those who spoke shared with the Commission a unifying acknowledgment of their country's persistent neglect toward Hispanic Americans, especially students. They also articulated in many different ways the hope and promise of an unyielding belief: that the United States educational enterprise, working in partnership with local communities, must, and can, ensure high-level educational achievement for Hispanics, from preschoolers to lifelong learners.
Furthermore, the Commission conducted a Federal Agency Inventory, as specified by Executive Order 12900, to assess Hispanic participation in education-related programs, to identify agency plans to eliminate inequalities and barriers to program access, and to increase Hispanic participation in such programs. In November of 1995, two expert panels met in Washington, D.C., to examine bilingual education issues and the impact of testing, assessment, and tracking on Hispanic students. Taken together, our efforts, including substantial research by students and staff assigned to the White House Initiative office, led to several key findings and recommendations discussed below.
While the findings suggest that the substance and scope of the problems and issues are significant, from Puerto Rico to major regions and cities on the continent, the voices of Hispanic community leaders, students, educators, parents, and corporate leaders described effective, community-based efforts that are making a brighter future possible for Hispanic Americans.
The testimony heard across the country has convinced the Commission that there are solutions to what would appear to be insurmountable problems. In city after city, numerous successful efforts were reported and documented, wherein schools and colleges have been successful in providing access and excellence in education to Hispanic youth and their families. Almost invariably, those successful programs were the outgrowth of ongoing partnerships between Federal, state, or local governments and community-based organizations and parent groups. Regrettably, the corporate sector has played what can only be called a negligible role in such efforts.
Recommended Solutions. As congressional actions move large segments of public education funding to block grants, accountability measures must be included, so that states are required to ensure that Hispanics can obtain the same level of educational quality and opportunity as other groups. State governments, through their education agencies, must review policies and practices that have failed to provide a high standard of excellence in the educational experience of Hispanic Americans.
Based on research and consultation, the Commission's report presents the following recommendations to Federal, state, and local policymakers, and to the Hispanic Community:
For these solutions to succeed, Congress, the Executive Branch, state and local levels of government, and the private sector must be committed to changing the status quo. Public school systems must value and affirm the culture of Hispanic students by providing quality education services and becoming more community oriented. School systems need to form viable partnerships with students, families, communities, other educational institutions, and government bodies, as well as, business and corporate leaders. Over the past 20 years, the Federal government has provided for many of the successful initiatives in Hispanic education. As threats to those initiatives arise, progress is threatened. It is not time to stop.
At the Federal level, successful programs targeted to the Hispanic American population must be expanded, and information about successful programs must be widely disseminated. Stable and fair funding formulas must be developed and implemented at the state and local levels, and carefully monitored at the Federal level. As a nation, we must provide excellence in education for all of America's students, and strengthen schools in all neighborhoods. Schools are the first place that youth from diverse backgrounds meet and learn about the world; and it is in schools that the most effective seeds of citizenship are sown.
At the local level, we need to empower all citizens, Hispanic and non-Hispanic, to bring about effective change. Local employee unions, school boards, superintendents, principals, parent organizations, community groups, business leaders, churches, and service organizations can form powerful coalitions to focus upon the continuous improvement of schools and the effective education of all students.
It is the desire of the Commission to remedy the crisis in educational attainment among Latinos. Schools must improve curriculum and standards as well as establish environments that encourage students to succeed in learning and life by engaging them in constructing exciting learning experiences. This challenges students' potential while increasing their propensity to learn, rather than requiring them to attend boring, repetitive, dead-end classes devoid of any real-world application.
All Latinos need to be cognizant of the state of affairs affecting all Hispanic children and the challenges they face, whether they are in urban or non-urban settings, and whether they are in private or public schools. All Hispanic Americans bear the responsibility of all our children and must advocate for those Hispanic parents who cannot advocate for themselves or their children.
The President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans challenges the nation to recognize that it is not in its best interest to treat Hispanic American students as an invisible minority. The problems encountered by Hispanics in the educational arena are not new. Across the country, Hispanic Americans have expressed their frustrations and their fear that yet another generation of Hispanic students face the same unsolved problems. That there is now a President and Executive Branch willing to listen to the Latino community is new.
This Call To Action challenges Federal, state, and local leaders to make the nation's basic principle of equal opportunity a reality for Hispanic Americans. To live up to that ideal, we must work hard to ensure that equal opportunity and resources, and educational excellence are provided for all Hispanic Americans.
Who Are Hispanic Americans?