Listening to the Voices of Latino Parent Volunteers

Within low socioeconomic Latino communities, effective parental involvement practices are key to transforming school performance. Educators have struggled for years to find effective ways to improve student achievement, particularly in low-performing schools. These schools are increasingly comprised of students of color and lower socioeconomic status. Today, nationwide, children of color (including Latino children) represent nearly 40 percent of the total school enrollment, with this number anticipated to increase (National Center for Education Statistics 2005).

Marotta and Garcia (2003) pointed out that “Latinos constitute the fastest growing ethnic minority group in the United States, with varying estimates by demographers as to the year in which Latinos will become the largest minority group in terms of number of individuals in the U.S. census.” Unfortunately, many children of color are significantly below their peers on all measures of academic achievement, including standardized test scores, grades, graduation rates, and percentages entering college (National Center for Education Statistics 2005). Worst of all, this gap continues to increase (Haycock 1998).”*

• About 350 Latino underclassmen from 11 northwest suburban high schools explored the campus of Harper College, getting a sample of what their lives could be like if they pursue higher education. 8th annual Latino Summit
• At-risk Hispanic students get a hand up in after-school program at Bonnabel – Louisiana
• Mexican doctors pointed to parents as the reason Mexico leads the world in child obesity, a problem made worse in this country by the lack of sports training.
• “They” Are “Us”: The Devastating Effects of Broken Immigration Policy on Children in Immigrant Families
• Angel Reyes Interview About Child Safety In Cars On Good Morning Texas
• Interview with Children’s Author Lucia Gonzalez – Gonzalez’s latest children’s book, The Storyteller’s Candle, is dedicated to Pura Belpre
• Yeri Lopez: Student loan rules hamper best and brightest
• USDA data shows more Latino children going hungry
• The University of Panama indefinitely suspended classes on Wednesday after confrontations between students and police during a protest against alleged U.S. involvement in plans to build new military installations.
• There are 16 million children in immigrant families in the United States
• Over the last 3 years, high schools that received the lowest marks from the city have been the ones with the highest percentages of poor, black and Hispanic students, despite an evaluation system that was meant to equalize differences among student bodies, according to an analysis by The New York Times of school grades released this week.
• Hispanics are 9% of the Virginia’s schoolchildren, but 5% of gifted students.
• New Report: More Than 2 Million Hispanic Households With Children Face Hunger – Hispanic households with children experiencing very low food security up almost 50%
• AT&T Announces Campaign to Support PADRES Contra El Cancer in Fight Against Childhood Disease
• Experts warned on Tuesday that the rise in health problems due to obesity among Mexican children, which is considered to be an epidemic, threatens “for the first time” to reduce life expectancy rates in the country.
• Young Latino Children Throughout Los Angeles County to Benefit from IBM Donation of Educational Computer Learning Centers
• Deporting undocumented students affects the chances for legal return if Congress doesn’t address it in immigration reform bill
• Interview with award-winning children’s author Lucia Gonzalez
• Lunes Libro for los Chicos Edition : Al Galope
• Hispanic Graduate Students Benefit from Online Education Grant – University of St. Thomas in Houston strives to improve retention and graduation rates for Hispanic graduate students. UST received a $2.8 million education grant to offer two options