Report: ‘One-Stop’ Services Help Latino College Students

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

A new report outlines how community colleges can improve retention and completion rates for Latino students — in particular, through targeted financial counseling and assistance.

The report, “Supporting Latino Community College Students: an Investment in Our Economic Future,” was conducted by the advocacy group Excelencia in Education and the program, Single Stop USA.

Excelencia focuses on efforts that build Latino student success at colleges and universities.

Single Stop USA is a non-profit program offered on 17 community college campuses. Eight of the Single Stop sites are Hispanic-serving institutions (where the full-time student population is at least 25 percent Latino), which are predominantly in New York. The program provides student services such as financial and legal counseling, and assistance with taxes.

The report makes several key suggestions.

It suggests that policymakers should use the Higher Education Act reauthorization to provide incentives to colleges to improve student services that encourage retention and completion of degrees. In addition, colleges should create very targeted strategies to better inform Latino and low-income students about financial aid opportunities.

The report also describes how Single Stop works. The program is usually housed in a community college’s office of financial aid or student services. A site coordinator interviews the student and then determines what sorts of benefits may be able to assist the student with staying enrolled. Assistance could include public health insurance, food stamps, legal services and tax services.

The report describes how Julio, a 23-year-old student at Miami Dade College studying architectural design living with his father, used the services of Single Stop to apply for food stamps, Medicaid and disability for his family.

According to the report, about 55 percent of Latino students who have been helped through the program receive aid with preparing their taxes, 23 percent with public benefits, 13 percent with financial counseling, and 10 percent with legal services.

The HSIs that Single Stop serves are Contra Costa College, Miami Dade College, Central New Mexico Community College, CUNY Bronx Community College, CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY Hostos Community College, CUNY LaGuardia Community College, and CUNY Queensborough Community College.

- “Group paves way for Latinos to graduate college,” NBC Latino.

- “New report highlights innovative ways community colleges can help Latino students succeed,” Latina Lista.

- Single Stop USA.

Poll: Texas Education Budget Cuts Hurt Latino Families

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Latinos living along the border between Texas and Mexico reported feeling hurt by the state’s $5.4 billion in state education budget cuts two years ago, according to a new poll by the Texas State Teachers Association and the group Latino Decisions.

About 67% of those polled said they knew about the cuts and as a result noticed negative changes such as fewer teachers, cuts in after-school programs, cuts in transportation and supplies, overcrowding and larger class sizes, teacher pay cuts, and other problems. Most favored accessing the Rainy Day Fund for more school funds.

The survey clearly highlights that education, and not just immigration, is a key issue for Latinos.

“The importance of public education to border area Texans should not be underestimated,” poll director Sylvia Manzano said in a TSTA news release.

Those Hispanics polled also reported being quite engaged in their children’s schools, including by involvement in sporting events, fundraising, and meetings with teachers and principals. Additionally, the poll found most parents want their children to obtain a college degree.

“The results present a clear warning to those who promote blue collar job training for Hispanic students over increased access to a college education,” according to the Latino Decisions report. “When asked if it is better for their children to secure a job full-time after high school, or go to college full time, Hispanic parents chose full-time college over the job 85% to 10%.”

According to Latino Decisions, 400 Latino adults who live in El Paso, Laredo and The Rio Grande Valley were polled in March, with interviews conducted in English and Spanish. These findings are very interesting, but also must be placed into context. Southern Texas has many Mexican American residents and schools that are almost totally Latino, while there are areas further north, such as Dallas, which are predominantly immigrant, and yet the schools overall are more integrated.

- “Poll: For Latinos in Texas, schools are the heart of the community,” NBC Latino.

- “TSTA poll: Hispanics take school cuts personally,” Texas State Teachers Association.

Lawsuit Threatened over Funding for ELLs in Nevada

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Civil rights organizations in Nevada are raising concerns about the scant funding for English Language Learners attending the state’s public schools, and are investigating a possible lawsuit against the state.

The Las Vegas Sun reports that the ACLU of Nevada, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Hispanics in Politics have met to discuss the situation. Hispanics in Politics president Fernando Romero went as far as to say that Latino students have become “collateral damage,” CBS reported, after funding for ELLs was cut by legislators last session.

The discussions come on the heels of a lawsuit filed just last week by the ACLU against the state of California on behalf of six ELL students and their families, alleging that the state has not adequately educated its ELL student population.

However, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval has proposed adding $29 million for ELLs to the budget for use over the next two years.

According to a recent study by the UNLV Lincy Institute, Nevada has severely underfunded services for ELL students. Clark County schools reported serving 53,073 students in its ELL program in February 2013, but 94,771 are defined as ELLs. The report says that Nevada is one of only eight states that does not allocate specific funds to the ELL population (beyond regular base per-student funding). Schools therefore rely on federal funding for additional money.

“The lack of a state vision and action plan for ELL education is especially problematic in Nevada, where despite its higher numbers of ELLs, has no funding mechanism for ELL education nor standards to guide the educational goals and achievement of its ELL students,” the report charges.

According to the study, the Miami-Dade Schools in Florida provides funding of $4,677 per ELL student, while in the Clark County schools in Las Vegas provides just $119 per student.

Just last week, the ACLU, Asian Pacific American Legal Center and the law firm of Latham & Watkins LLP sued the state of California for its alleged failure to provide an adequate education to some 20,000 ELLs. They allege that about 250 school districts say they are providing no to few services to the students. The state has responded that it is committed to making sure ELLs receive appropriate instruction and help.

What sort of funding does your state provide to ELLs? In addition, how are school districts actually using the funding? Are ELL students receiving language services?

- “Latino Students Are “Collateral Damage,”" CBS Las Vegas.

- “Study of a New Method of Funding for Public Schools in Nevada,” American Institutes for Research.

- “Nevada’s English Language Learner Population: A Review of Enrollment, Outcomes and Opportunities,” UNLV The Lincy Institute.

- “Calif. Neglecting Thousands of English-Learners, Lawsuit Claims,” Learning the Language blog. Education Week.

- “California ignoring some English learners, lawsuit says,” Los Angeles Times.

Plaintiff in Historic Texas School Finance Case Remembered

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Demetrio Rodriguez played a pivotal role in the creation of what is known as the “Robin Hood” school funding system in Texas. He was the lead plaintiff in the Rodriguez v. San Antonio ISD case, which was first brought in 1968.

In part, the case centered on inequality and whether children children had a constitutional right to an education.

The issue arose when students attending the poor, almost totally Mexican American Edgewood Independent School District in San Antonio walked out of class, demanding better teachers and resources. They marched to the district’s administration building.

Rodriguez was a veteran and a sheet metal worker who became involved in the Edgewood Concerned Parents Association in San Antonio. According to the Texas State Historical Association, because of the area’s poverty and property tax based funding, the district was only receiving $37 per student, while wealthy children in neighboring Alamo Heights received $413 per child.

In Rodriguez, a federal district judge found the system unconstitutional, but the U.S. Supreme Court later overturned that decision. According to the historical association, Rodriguez responded by saying that “the poor people have lost again.”

However, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund tried another challenge with Edgewood ISD v. Kirby in 1984, and Rodriguez once again joined as a plaintiff. This time, in 1989, Edgewood won, and the funding plan known as “Robin Hood,” in which property-rich districts must send funds to poor districts, was born.

Rodriguez died this week at the age of 87, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

“He was my hero,” said his daughter Patricia Rodriguez, now a third grade bilingual teacher in Edgewood ISD, told the Express-News. “I would like for other people to remember him as a great warrior. Even though he wasn’t well educated, he didn’t let that stop him. It didn’t keep him from fighting for what he thought was right.”

To this day, inequalities between the communities persist. Edgewood ISD is about 98% Hispanic and 97% economically disadvantaged, and Alamo Heights is about 38% Hispanic and 21% economically disadvantaged.

In the 2011-12 school year, the academic performance gap was stark. According to the Texas Education Agency, of 10th graders initially taking the English Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies exams, 80% of Alamo Heights students passed all the exams, compared with 40% of Edgewood students. Keep in mind, there are many other students who dropped out and of course were not tested.

The same year Edgewood had 506 high school seniors enrolled and 791 ninth-graders—quite a gap. Meanwhile, Alamo Heights had 353 seniors and 388 ninth-graders.

And the fight over adequate funding for Texas schools continues to rage on. Hundreds of school districts representing more than one million children have once again sued the state for inadequately funding schools. In February, a judge ruled once again that the school finance system is unconstitutional. According to the Dallas Morning News, the ruling centered on schools being inadequately funded, unequally funded and limitations on districts’ taxing levels. The state has planned to appeal.

During the trial, former Texas state demographer Steve Murdoch testified that more funding is needed, particularly because of the growing number of Hispanic and poor children in the state. Texas’ student enrollment is now about 51% Hispanic and 60% economically disadvantaged.

The Texas Legislature cut more than $5 billion in public education funding in 2011 to balance the budget.

“The debt all of Texas owes to Rodriguez can be best repaid by properly funding the state’s public schools,” wrote the editorial board of the San Antonio Express-News.

Clearly, Rodriguez’s battle is not over.

- “Rodriguez was a warrior for equity,” San Antonio Express-News

- Rodriguez v. San Antonio ISD, The Handbook of Texas Online.

- “Judge: Texas school finance system ruled unconstitutional,” The Dallas Morning News.

- “Latino-Majority Texas School System Faces Funding Challenge,” Latino Ed Beat.

Activists Protest Philadelphia School Closings

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Plans to close 37 Philadelphia schools have set off an emotional firestorm and allegations of discrimination.

This week, the U.S. Department of Education confirmed that it was looking into complaints that school closings in Philadelphia, Detroit and Newark discriminate against Latino and black students, the New York Times reported. Officials are also looking into the impact on students with disabilities. About 19 percent of the school district’s students are Latino and 55 percent are black.

The Philadelphia plan aims to rid the system of a $1.1 billion deficit and cut the number of underused and low-performing schools. Final approval on the closures is scheduled for March.

The situation is complicated. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that there are about 53,000 empty seats in schools in the city, most heavily in the north and west part of the city. Meanwhile, the schools with greater numbers of white students are more likely to be at or over capacity.

If the activists are able to win over the U.S. Department of Education, that would be a big change. The Huffington Post reports that the Office of Civil Rights has investigated 27 school closings between October 2010 and January 2013, but found no violations in any of the cases. The office has 33 open cases in 22 states.

How much do school closings impact children’s education? If your district is considering closing schools, what are the demographics of that campus versus the entire district?

- “City school closings target vulnerable students, critics say,” The Philadelphia Inquirer.

- “School Closures Violate Civil Rights, Protestors Tell Arne Duncan,” The Huffington Post.

Latino Students Play Pivotal Role in Texas School Funding Case

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

As Texas’ school funding system went on trial this week, former state demographer Steve Murdock testified in court on Tuesday that the significant challenges ahead facing Latino children require a greater investment from the state.

The Legislature cut more than $5.4 billion from the education budget last year, representing a cut of $500 per student, reported the Dallas Morning News. At the same time, the state has phased in more rigorous standards and tougher exams. Hundreds of districts sued the state, demanding more adequate funding.

About 53 percent of Texas public school children are now Latino. They also are much more likely to come from poor families, requiring greater investment from the state, Murdock argued.

“Our future is increasingly tied to the minority population–how well they do in terms of education will determine how well Texas does in the future” Murdock said, according to a report in the Morning News.

Murdock listed off the demographic changes the state is experiencing: over the last decade the white student population dropped by 10 percent and the Hispanic population increased by 50 percent. By 2050, he estimates that Texas public school students will be about 64 percent Latino and 15.5 percent white.

As Texas students become more Hispanic, they also are becoming poorer and more in need of academic and financial support. About 27 percent of Texas Latinos live below the poverty line–compared with 9.5 percent of whites.

Murdock has played a key role in Texas for years as a figure who has called attention to the fact that the educational outcomes for Latinos must improve for the state to stay economically strong in the future. He once told the Texas Tribune that given the state’s demographics, “the Texas of today is the U.S. of tomorrow.”

- “Demographer warns of increasing education costs as Latino population rises.” Austin American-Statesman.

- “Texas public schools require more funding to serve Hispanics, expert testifies in finance trial.” The Dallas Morning News.

- “Texas, school districts square off in finance trial.” The Dallas Morning News.

Latino-Majority Texas School System Faces Funding Challenge

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

The Texas Tribune reports that the Lone Star State reached two milestones in 2011–public school students became majority Latino, and the state did not fund enrollment growth in schools.

Amidst a massive demographic shift, the schools face more challenges than ever before on a tight budget. Latino children in Texas are more likely to come from poor backgrounds than other children, requiring more investment in educating them.

Texas legislators cut more than $5 billion in public education financing to balance the state budget last year, the Tribune added. Many school districts resorted to teacher layoffs, resulting in increased class sizes.

The Texas State Teachers Association called the growing class sizes “a serious erosion of educational quality standards,” reported The Dallas Morning News.

Former state demographer Steve Murdock has warned state leaders for years that educational outcomes for Latino children must improve for Texas to have a strong economic future. Gaps in achievement between white and Latino students are narrowing–but not by enough, he says.

“It says I need to run fairly quickly from here to the finish line or maybe I won’t get to the finish line,” Murdock told the Tribune.

- “Waiver to Texas class size law triple, thanks to funding cuts.” The Dallas Morning News.

- “Hispanics now majority of Texas public school students.” The Dallas Morning News.

Study: Federal Loophole Means Minority-Majority Schools Get Less Funding

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

A recent report by the Center for American Progress asserts that the promise of equality made by the landmark Brown. v. Board of Education ruling has been broken. Latino and black children tend to be clustered in schools that receive substantially less per-pupil funding than schools with primarily white students. The result is that black and Latino students often receive a separate and unequal education.

CAP places the blame for this disparity on a federal loophole. To receive Title 1 money, the federal government requires districts to provide “comparable” services between poor and wealthy schools. But teacher salaries are excluded from complying with the requirement. As a result, less experienced, lower-paid teachers are clustered in poorer, high-minority schools.

As Ary Spatig-Amerikaner, the author of the CAP report, writes:

“School districts across the country routinely tell the federal government that they are meeting this requirement. But the law explicitly requires districts to exclude teacher salary differentials tied to experience when determining comparability compliance. This is a major exclusion because experience is a chief driver of teachers’ salaries. This misleading process leads to a misleading result—districts think they are providing equal spending on high-need schools and low-need schools, even though they aren’t. This problem has been frequently called the comparability loophole.”

CAP recommends closing the loophole, and wants to see TItle 1 schools receiving at least as much money as other schools when taking into account teacher salaries. The group backed up their conclusion of inequality with some striking numbers. Researchers analyzed 2009 data from the U.S. Department of Education and found that schools with a white population of more than 90 percent spent $733 more per student than schools with a 90 percent or more non-white enrollment. Across the entire country, schools spent an average of $334 more dollars on each white student than non-whites. While several hundred dollars may not appear to be a huge funding gap, it’s important to remember that this is a per-student dollar figure. When you take into account a school’s total enrollment the numbers become significant.

The study’s authors point out a scenario in which a 90 percent minority school would see a $440,000 increase if funding was equalized. The researchers say this could represent 12 more first-year teachers or nine veteran teachers. It could also mean the difference between being able to afford technology, counselors, or more teachers. Less funding also often means lower-paid and less experienced teachers and staff.

If you are searching for local data, the group has compiled a state-by-state analysis. Some states were outliers in which a larger minority population meant more funding. But the states with the most Latino and black students–Texas and California–showed funding disparities. However, this study makes me pose the question: Even if the loophole is closed, will more experienced higher-paid teachers be willing to teach in the poorer, more challenging schools?

Writing for Voxxi News, former teacher Cammy Harbison said teacher pay must shift to a merit-based system to attract talented teachers to poorer schools. Would higher pay for teachers in poorer schools make any difference in teacher quality?

- PDF of CAP Report. - “Unequal education: low funding is not the only problem with high-minority schools.” Voxxi.

- “Study: No Child loophole can mean fewer dollars for poor schools.” McClatchy Newspapers.

Report Finds Federal Funding for ELLs Not Keeping Pace with Need

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Federal funding of English language acquisition state grants is not keeping up with the pace of inflation, a new report has concluded.

The grants offer states and school districts help with developing curriculum and expanding teacher training for English language learners, among other things.

The “Children’s Budget 2012″ report from the First Focus advocacy organization expresses concerns that President Obama’s fiscal year 2013 budget freezes funding for such programs at about $732 million. Although that funding level is the same as the previous year, the report concludes that it represents a roughly 2.2 percent funding decrease over the previous year when inflation is considered. Between 2008 and 2012, the highest funding level was in 2010, at about $750 million.

“Given that achievement gaps still persist between ELL and non-ELL students, leveling the funding fails to adequately meet the need of the rapidly growing ELL population,” the report says. “Therefore, as the President’s request misses an opportunity to move the nation closer to meeting the needs of these students and the schools serving them, a more significant investment remains essential.”

The study looks at federal investment in numerous programs that affect children, including education, housing, health, safety and child welfare. The president’s 2013 fiscal year budget would increase federal spending on programs affecting children by about one percent from the current level.

The news isn’t all negative: First Focus found that government spending on children increased by about 17.5 percent between 2008 and 2012 in real terms. Part of that increase is due to passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

- Early Education Initiative. New America Foundation.

- “Kids Count 2012.” The Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Report Outlines Education Agenda for Latino Students in Illinois

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Nearly one in four Illinois public school students is Latino. And their story is no longer confined to the Chicago Public Schools, where Hispanics are 43 percent of the enrollment. Most of the state’s Latino student population is now in the suburbs and rural areas.

A new report by the Latino Policy Forum lays out the challenges facing the population. Only one in three Latinos are enrolled in preschool. By the time they reach the third grade, these Latino students lag white students by 31 percentage points in reading scores. English Language Learners, 86 percent of whom speak Spanish, lag 48 points in reading by third grade.

“Such statistics are alarming, and these trends left unchecked will have devastating implications for Illinois: ensuring positive outcomes for their community is no longer simply a Latino issue,” the Shaping Our Future report says. “The well-being of Latinos–whose population has increased by nearly 500,000 over the last decade–is inextricably linked to the well-being of all of Illinois?”

So, what can be done?

The report identifies areas of interest and specific action items to be taken on:

Raising Academic and Instructional Standards:

The report suggests providing linguistically appropriate tests for students, such as increasing students’ time to take tests and allowing students to respond in Spanish. In addition, it advises that students complete college prep coursework and be provided programs such as dual-language instruction.

Preparing Teachers and Academic Leadership:

The Forum urges racial diversity among the teacher and administrator workforce. It urges that bilingual and mainstream teachers have proper training to deal with the diverse student population. In addition, it seeks to promote Latino students’ access to highly qualified teachers.

Addressing Funding and Facility Concerns.

The state’s heavy dependency on property taxes to fund schools has perpetuated continued unequal funding districts, with high-minority districts receiving about $1,595 less per student than low-minority districts. The Forum promotes advocating for increased funding and new strategies for distributing funds. In addition, it suggests building schools to be able to prevent overcrowding and increasing students’ access to technology.

Fostering Partners in Education.

The organization has planned the Acuerdo group geared at bringing Latino organizations and leaders together to advocate for the community’s needs and push initiatives forward.

Partners with schools, classrooms and school districts can include community-based organizations, foundations, businesses, faith-based organizations, health organizations and families. They can provide resources for issues such as funding support and providing support such as gang prevention programs.

The report also stresses the importance of family involvement initiatives, such as sharing with parents school information such as the benefits of preschool. Schools can also be educated themselves about how to go back to school and learn English. In addition, the report points out that suburbs often have fewer community organizations that provide services than Chicago, and are in need of more partners.

***

The Latino Policy Forum also hosted a discussion today along with leaders from the National Council of La Raza, Chicago Public Schools and Illinois State Board of Education in conjunction with the report’s release. WestEd’s Aida Walqui, an expert on ELLs, also spoke about the common core standards.

- Education Acuerdo.

- Latino Policy Forum

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