It's common knowledge by now; the Hispanic population is rapidly
increasing in the Southwest region of the United States. Within in the
next decade many states will join the state of New Mexico, the first
state to boast a majority Hispanic population. We are beyond counting
numbers, what's emerging before us is evident to all. The Latino
population is quickly overtaking many school districts, which are inept
to deal with specific issues plaguing Hispanics, especially among the
children of immigrants.
An
example is taken from California's Monterey County whose Hispanic
student population is listed at 73%, while Soledad Union School District
Hispanic population lists at 94%. Most school districts similar to
Monterey's are quickly making changes to their educational delivery
systems to meet this growing trend by adapting their curriculum and
hiring more bi-lingual teachers to talk to and orient parents to how
their child's educational system works. Another example is Texas, the
Lone Star State, which now has a majority Hispanic population attending
their schools statewide.
Facing the facts is not easy, especially
for many school districts where the student population is shifting to
reflect more of a diverse demographic, more so than a decade ago. What
educators design and deliver within the next decade will decide
America's future for the next fifty years. So what quality of life and
culture will our children inhabit? Will Latinos be an undereducated and
dependent class or an enlightened and competitive community adding to
the wisdom in the ever-changing global market?
The educational
system cries out for more money to improve education. This has been the
cry for the past 30 years plus, and we've seen no national measurable
results to justify more. We don't need more money, rather, we need
innovative leaders who happen to teach; teachers who are empowered to
innovate and introduce change to transform current systems of learning.
We can no longer wait for problems to arise then counter them with
ineffective measures. We must take a proactive, and at times an
unpopular stance, to affect change and correct the current system.
Therefore, we don't need managers of old systems, what we desperately
need is more innovative leaders to advocate, experiment and introduce
new systems of learning.
This is why we need more courageous
leaders like Dwight Jones, our new Clark County School District
Superintendent; a visionary leader with innovative ideas, who ruffles
the feathers of the status quo establishment. He is currently on circuit
sharing his vision with many local and influential groups, more
recently with the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, for the purpose of
mobilizing support for his vision to change and transform our
educational system in one of the largest school districts in the nation.
There are other advocates like Giselle Fernandez who are striking at
years of establishment thought by hard-hitting research and advocacy.
In
her recent Huffington Post article dubbed The Latino Education
Imperative, she notes, "The stats say it all and cast the same
frightening projection: By 2020, Latinos are expected to represent close
to 25 percent of the country's 18-to-29-year-old population. In ten
years, nearly ten million Latinos will be 15 to 24 years of age,
accounting for nearly a quarter of the total US college-age population.
But only 19% of Latino kids are graduating with an Associate of Arts
degree, and only 12% with a Bachelor of Arts degree. This compared to
39% of whites, 29% of Blacks and 59% of Asians." These facts are cause
for great concern among us. So what are Latino community leaders doing
about it?
What role should Latinos play in our educational system?
At this point a desperate one! We need to summon not just the
educational leaders together but leaders from the various genres of
culture. We need the faith and business communities to step up, and
collaborate to create innovative strategies for new educational systems.
I've always been an advocate for creating learning centers in
faith-based organizations who employ educated staff with a minimum of a
bachelor's degree. Many immigrants and their children attend church
faithfully each week.
Why not create learning and tutoring centers
at these locations? Immigrants have tremendous respect and trust in
their faith leaders, and would follow their vision of education. A
connection and dialogue with the faith community wouldn't hurt education
but add wisdom to the current strategy. In addition business
establishments can also add to learning by inspiring their best
employees to give their time and talent to local educational centers to
mentor, inspire and tutor marginal students.
The business
community can also create learning centers with an internship program to
teach workforce principles. In my experience, Hispanics are more prone
to "hands-on" learning; therefore, an interactive approach to learning
could enhance their learning experience. Education in the future must
seek community oriented solutions rather than the centralized-status-quo
mindset that exists in today's mediocre structure.
Latino Townhall exists to empower Latinos through education,
leadership development and civic engagement to permeate, influence and
transform the 7 Communities of Culture. The 7 Communities of Culture
include Arts & Entertainment, Business & Commerce, Education,
the Faith Community, the Family, Government & Law and the Media.
Those occupying positions of leadership in these 7 Communities of
Culture tend to influence, impact and shape our culture in positive or
negative ways. It is our desire to develop all around leaders with the
upmost character, integrity and leadership competencies capable of
permeating and transforming culture.
