Runninghead:HIGHDROPOUTRATESFORLATINOS

Cindy L. Torres
High Dropout Rates For Latinos
ETHS 2430
April 28, 2016

HighDropoutRatesForLatinos

ThisresearchpaperfocusesonthehighdropoutratesforLatinostudentscompared
towhitesandAfricanAmericans.TheAmericandropoutratesthatarerecordedyearly
determinehowtheperformanceofoureducationalsystemisfunctioning.Examiningthe
highdropoutratesforLatinostudentsintheUnitedStatestellusthatthisproblemwill
havehugelongtermaffectsonLatinocommunities,oureducationsystem,andtheentire
nationasawhole.ThisreportshowsthatwhilethepercentagesofLatinodropoutrates
havedecreaseinthepassedyears,thisisagroupthatlagsbehindothersacademically.
Latinosarethetopethnicgroupthatspendslesstimegoingtoschoolthuslymakingthem
themostuneducatedpopulation.Latinostudentsaremorelikelytodropoutofschoolthan
otheryouthsthereforeproducingadultswhowillentertheworkforcewithanenormous
educationaldisadvantage.

SupportingReasonsForChange
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TherearemanyreasonswhychangesneedtobemadeinorderhelpLatinoyouths
graduatehighschoolandcontinueintocollege.Firstly,Latinoyouthshavethehighestdropout
ratescomparedtotheirwhitecounterpartsconsequentlycreatingadultswhowillneedtotake
lowpayingjobs.Theselowpayingjobswillrequirethemtoworklonghoursjusttomakeends
meetthuslykeepingthemawayfromtheirfamilies.Secondly,lowerpayingjobsareacquiredby
simplylackingadiplomaorGED.Latinosareunabletoobtainjobsthatwillpaythemdecent
wageskeepingtheminaloweconomicstatusfornothavingahighschooldiplomaorGED.
Thirdly,Latinoteenshappentobecomepregnantmoreoftenthenanyothergroupcausingthem
todropoutofhighschool.Someoftheseteenswilleventuallygobacktoschoolandgraduate
highschoolyetforthosewhodontreturnbacktoschoolfacelowpayingjobsthatwillkeep
themworkinglonghoursinordertoearnenoughmoneytolive.Fourthly,Latinosarethe
secondfastestgrowingminoritiesintheUnitedStates.Withthatsaid,ourAmericanschools
needstoeducateteachersaboutLatinoculturetohelpresolvethissituation.

StrategiesToAddressTheDropoutRate

WiththelargeamountofdropoutratesforLatinoyouthsinoureducationalsystemthere
arestrategieswecanusetoimprovetheoutcomeforthesestudents.Tobegin,Americanschools
canaidstudentswithESL(EnglishasaSecondLanguage)programsthatareinplacefor
individualslearningtospeakEnglish.LearningEnglishisextremelyimportantforthesuccess
ofLatinoyouthsbecauseitisoneofthereasonsthattheydontfinishhighschool.Furthermore,
schoolcounselorsaretheirastrainedprofessionalswhocanguideLatinoyouthswithpersonal,
social,andpsychologicalchallenges.HavingcounselorshelpLatinoyouthsachievesuccessin
schoolanditisapivotalpartoftheprocessforthesestudentsbecausetheyarethegroupthathas
thelargestamountofsuicidesduetolowselfesteem.Americanschoolscanalsohelpeducate
Latinoparentsbyshowingthemthemanyresourcesthatareavailablefortheirfamily.While
therearemanywonderfulresourcesthatareaccessibleforLatinofamiliesunfortunatelytheyare
neverusedbecauseLatinosarenotawareofthem.Inaddition,educatorsshouldalwaysremain
positiveandremindstudentsofthesignificantimpactofobtainingahighschooldiplomawill
haveinthefuture.ExplainingtoLatinoyouthsthatahighschooldiplomacanalmostdouble
theiryearlyincomeandthatitcouldpossiblydeterminewhetheryourgettodriveanewcaror
usedcar.Atthesametimeitisessentialthatteachersusepositivereinforcementdailysincethis
createsapositiveandsafeenvironmentthatcanassiststudentstoperformbetteracademically.
Educatorsshouldalwayssendhomelettersinappropriatelanguagesinordertohelpparentsfeel
welcome.Openingthelineofcommunicationbetweenparentsandteachersbysimplysending
lettershomeinthecorrectlanguagecanhelpLatinostudentssucceedinschool.
Furthermore,makingtimeforLatinoyouthsbeforeandafterschoolmaypossiblereduceissues

withhomework.Toconclude,remindingstudentsthatacademicadvisorscanaidstudents
choosingthecorrectclassesneededtograduate.

PossibleAreasAnd/orPeopleOfResistance

AstheLatinogroupcontinuestogrow,becomingoneofthelargestminorities,
AmericanschoolsneedtolearnhowtobetterassistLatinoyouthssucceedinoureducation
system.TostartwithAmericanschoolslacktheunderstandingthattheLatinoculturecome
fromamultiplexofbackgroundsthatcannotbetaughtsimplybyjustusingoneuniformteaching
system.AsAmericaschoolscontinuetoseealargeinfluxofLatinoyouthseducatorsneedto
haveflexibletestingproceduresthatwillhelpstudentsflourish.SecondlymostLatinoyouths
willattendschoolsthathaveinexperienceornoncertifiedteachers,furthermoretheseschools
donthaveenoughteacherswhoarecertifiedinESL(EnglishasaSecondLanguage).Latinos
liveinlowincomeneighborhoodsthereforetheschoolsthattheyattendareunusuallylow
fundedandlackingexperienceeducators.Thirdly,numerousofurbanschoolshaveonlyafew
LatinoteacherscomparedtotheamountofLatinostudentstheyinstruct.Havingsuchafew

amountofteacherswhoarenotfamiliarwiththeLatinocultureaddstothemounting
disadvantagethisyouthsalreadydealwithonadaytodaybasis.Thisareonlyafewthingsthat
AmericanschoolsandeducatorscandotohelpalleviatetheobstaclesthatLatinoyouthsand
theirfamiliesfacedaily.

StrategiesBridgingTheGapBetweenCultures

AsourAmericanschoolscontinuetobeinundatedwithdifferentdiversecultures,
strategiesforbridgingthegapbetweenculturesareurgentforthesuccessofthisyoungstudents
andtheirfamilies.Firstly,AmericanschoolcaneducatestaffonLatincultureinordertobetter
understandandcommunicatewithLatinoparents.Next,educatorsshouldalwayshavebilingual
supportwhenmeetingwithparentssothatthecommunicationbarriercanbebroken.Having
parentsfeelcomfortablewhenattendingameetingwiththeteachercanhelpLatinoyouthsgain
thesupporttheyneedtothriveacademically.OntopofthatmeetingfacetofacewithLatino
parentsratherthencommunicatingviatelephoneisparamount.Latinosareagroupofpeople
whorathertakecareofmattersinpersonasopposedtohavingacoldcontactoverthephone.

Thirdlyitisessentialthatteachersusenonjudgmentalcommunicationwhenexpressing
yoursupportasaneducatortoparentsabouttheirstudent.Lastly,informingLatinofamilies
aboutthenumerousdifferentresourcesthatareavailabletothemintheircommunity.
Interview

IchoosetointerviewtwoelementaryschoolteacherswhoareemployedwiththeSalt
LakeSchoolDistrict.CatherineWilsonafifthgradeteacherwhofeltthemainchallengesfor
LatinostudentsinAmericanschoolswerethelanguagebarrierandthelackofeducationwith
theparents.ThistwoissuehaveahugeimpactonthesuccessofLatinostudentssinceparents
areunabletoassistthemwithanyoftheirschoolwork.Thisfifthgradeteacheralsosaidthat
shemakesherselfaccessiblebeforeandafterschooltoworkwithherstudents.Lastly,Catherine
Wilsonexpressedthatshenoticesaneedinhavingmoreclubsforstudentstojoinbecausethis
cangivethemasenseofbelonging.
ThesecondteacherthatIinterviewedwasSonceriaZuckermanathirdgradeteacher
whohadatotallydifferentviewaboutwayLatinostudentsarenotsucceedinginAmerican
schools.ShebeganbystatingthatAmericanschoolshavemisunderstoodLatinostudentsand
thattheeducationsystemhasnotmadeaccommodationforthemtosucceedinoureducation
system.GoingontosaythatLatinostudentsneedstability,consistency,structureand
scaffoldingtohelpthemthrivebeyondwhatsomeeducatorscomprehendorarewillingto
providetothem.Asateachershebelievesthatknowingandunderstandyourstudentsiskeytoa
successfuloutcomeintheireducation.Inclosingcreateasafeandwelcomingenvironmentin
yourclassroominordertoaidthesestudentsacculturateandassimilateinAmericanschools.

CostProgramsandResourcesAvailable

Therearemanydifferentprogramsandresourcesavailablethatsupporttheneedsof
Latinofamilies.LIA(LatinosInAction)arecurrentlyserving110schoolsthroughoutUtah,
Idaho,Washington,Arizona,Florida,andTexas.InLIAstudentsserveastutorsandrolemodals
toLatinoyouthsinordertohelpthemsucceedinAmericanschools.Latinayouthshappento
havethehighestnumberofteenpregnancycomparedtoothergroups.PlannedParenthood
(TeenPrograms)andWymanTop(TeenOutreachProgram)supportyoungwomenstayin
schoolandmaintaintheirfamilysizethroughouttheirteenyears.ThePTA(ParentTeacher
Association)isaprogramthatismeanttohelpmakeeverystudentspotentialarealitywiththe
helpofparentsandthecommunity.Finally,learningEnglishclassesareofferedtoparentsat
someelementaryschoolswithoutanycost.Theonlychallengeisthatclassesareonlyoffered
earlyinthedaymakingitdifficultformanyparentstoattendthuslyIproposedauniqueprogram
thatwouldaccommodateparentswhoworkduringthedaycalledLETS(LearningEnglish
TogetherServices).

LETS(LearningEnglishTogetherServices)

OurMission
TohelpLatinoParentslearntheEnglishLanguagealongsideoftheirchildren.
Childrentendtolearnasecondlanguagemucheasierthenadultsthereforehavingtheir
childreninvolveinthelearningprocessmayhelpparentsgrasptheEnglishlanguageata
muchquickerpace.
Where?
Everyschoolhasacomputerlabthatmaybeusedduringschoolhoursorafter
schoolthereforethisisagreatplacetostartlearningEnglish.AlsotheSorenson
RecreationCenterwillallowustousearoomfreeofcharge.
Cost?
Absolutelyfreeofchargeandeducators(volunteers)willbeteachingtheEnglishclasses.
Basedondonationsfromteachersandparentssinceallvenuesareatnocost.
Donationswouldbeusedtobuysnacks,coloringbooks,andcrayonsinordertoentertain
youngerchildrenjoiningparents.

Conclusion

Inclosing,Latinostudentshavemadeprogressinthepastdecadesinoureducation

systemloweringthedropoutrates.Americanschoolshavingabetterunderstandingofthe
Latinoculturewillultimatelybringabrighteroutcomeintheireducation.Parentsandteachers
keepinganopenlineofcommunicationcandefinitelyhaveapositiveimpactacademicallyona
student.Lastly,teachersshouldalwayshaveanopenmindwhendealingwithdiversecultures
otherthantheirown.
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