Other states look to California on how to educate growing Latino population

Other states look to California on how to educate growing Latino population
SHARON NOGUCHI - MediaNews
Article Launched: 08/27/2008 01:32:18 AM PDT

Latinos make up nearly half of California's K-12 public school students, and their numbers are surging across the country, underscoring a growing challenge for educators who are looking to the Golden State for ways to adapt to the changing face of America's classrooms.
Almost one in three of the country's Latino students go to school in California. But the numbers, revealed Tuesday in one of the first comprehensive looks at Latinos in public schools, show Latinos now make up the largest minority student group in 22 states.
Since 1990, the number of Latino school-age children nationwide grew 94 percent and now is projected to swell 166 percent through 2050. By contrast, whites, blacks, Asians and other non-Hispanics in K-12 edged up just 9 percent in the same 16 years, and will slow to 4 percent growth through 2050, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.
The changing dynamics are playing out in California, where educators are struggling to address an academic achievement gap between Latinos and blacks and their higher-performing Asian and white peers.
In Santa Cruz County, where Latinos make up 48 percent of 38,000 total public school students, Superintendent Michael Watkins of the County Office of Education said the challenges of addressing the needs of English learners is nothing new.
"In this county, we've been immersed in that reality for a number of years now," he said. "We have ongoing ways to refine our efforts in ensuring that the equity is there for all students."
At the Two-Way Immersion Program at DeLaveaga Elementary in Santa Cruz, teachers offer instruction in both Spanish and English. Migrant Head Start, run by the county office, provides childcare and education for more than 700 children of agricultural workers.
The numbers of Latinos nationally who identified themselves as fluent in English were surprising. While 70 percent of Latino students speak a language other than English at home, 82 percent speak English fluently, according to the Pew report.
But the low education level of Latino parents is putting a greater burden on schools to guide students toward college and career tracks, experts say.
Without parents who understand the school system, "they are at a startling disadvantage," said Richard Fry, one of the authors of the Pew study. At Harbor High in Santa Cruz, parents can take a course in Spanish designed to help them navigate their children's preparation for college. But the biggest challenge for schools is still educating immigrant students, especially those who start school at an older age. Students who don't become fluent in English are more likely to drop out.
Sentinel staff writer J.M. Brown contributed to this report.