[lg policy] Policy Makers Urged to Think More Broadly About Latino Students

[Harold Schiffman]

Policy Makers Urged to Think More Broadly About Latino Students
By Jennifer Gonzalez

Washington

The nation's success in achieving President Obama's degree-completion
goals depends on its ability to accelerate degree completion by Latino
students. Yet misconceptions about Latinos tend to produce a limited
education-policy agenda. That's according to a new report, "Taking
Stock: Higher Education and Latinos," released today by Excelencia in
Education, a nonprofit research organization, with support from the
Lumina Foundation for Education and Jobs for the Future. The report
won't be available on the organization's Web site until Wednesday. At
a panel discussion on the issue this morning on Capitol Hill, Deborah
Santiago, vice president for policy and research at Excelencia and the
report's author, said public policy is usually based on a very limited
view of Latinos that defines them as immigrants, high-school dropouts,
and English-language learners who do not value education.

"When we approach public policy with those priorities, it marginalizes
us," she said. "I'm not saying that we don't have to address
undocumented students, but the reality is that they make up about 7
percent of students in K-12 and about 2 percent in higher education."
She acknowledged that while Latinos are more likely than members of
other ethnic groups to fit the stereotype, a majority of Latinos do
not. Rather, a majority of Latinos are native-born, are high-school
graduates, speak English as their dominant language, and greatly value
higher education.  Ms. Santiago posited that public policy must be
couched in those terms, and doing so could foster the educational
success of Latino students.

"However, conversations about Latinos in higher education are
generally limited to two topics — Hispanic-serving institutions and
undocumented students," she said. Panel members agreed that changes,
especially in the retention and graduation of Latinos in higher
education, were essential, considering the ethnic group's large
numbers. By 2025, nearly one-quarter of the nation's college-age
population will be Latino. "The math is clear," said Travis Reindl,
state policy and campaigns director at CommunicationWorks. a
public-affairs firm, "The president's goal is completely unattainable
without Latinos."

Data gathered for the report's analysis included focus groups and
interviews with those shaping policies at the higher-education level,
students enrolled or graduating from higher education, and those who
provided direct services to students and communities from 2006 to
2009. Ms. Santiago said that Monday's report release and panel
discussion are just the beginning of the organization's commitment to
Latino student success in higher education. The group plans to hold a
forum in April to discuss public-policy strategies.

http://chronicle.com/article/Policy-Makers-Urged-to-Think/49487/

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 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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