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Latino group pushes for school choice to boost children's academic results More than 2000 Texas-based Hispanic parents and children aboard 80 buses rolled into their state capital last month to show their concern at the large number of low-performing Texan public schools serving Hispanic students. We profile the school-choice organisation behind the rally. The 'Passion in Action' School Choice rally was organised by the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options (Hispanic CREO). It was the first major rally Hispanic CREO had organised since its national launch last year and is evidence of its rapid strides towards maturity as a major social-justice group in the US. The Austin, Texas event is perhaps the most visible sign to-date of the organisation's mission to improve educational outcomes for Hispanic children by empowering families through parental choice. It generally does its daily work at a grassroots level, working with local parent leaders and community organisations to help inform parents about local educational options.
"In the US, parents are called upon to actively engage with schools… and our role is to help them, providing local support and the information our parents need," Ms DeCarbo said. A recent programme saw more than 3,200 parents trained in aspects of the No Child Left Behind legislation, specifically about supplemental services and public school choice options. "We are also building positive working relationships with school boards, superintendents and schools to work with Latino parents and empower them in their children's education," Ms DeCarbo said. At the 2000 Census, 12.5 percent of the U.S. population were of Hispanic origin (an increase of 57.9 percent from 22.4 million in 1990 to 35.3 million). Hispanic school dropout rates have remained between 30-35 percent over the past 25 years - 2.5 times the rate for blacks and almost four times the rate for white non-Hispanics. For every 1,000 eighth grade students who are of Hispanic origin, 142 earn a bachelor's degree within eight years of scheduled high school graduation. By comparison, 318 white students achieve the same outcome. Spurred on by such statistics and funded by private foundations and a federal grant, Hispanic CREO is the first nationally-focused organisation to look for answers to the problems of Hispanic education by actively working with parents. Its membership is growing rapidly - last year its annual conference attracted 180 delegates while this year around 500 are expected - and increasingly regular calls to the organisation's national office in Washington DC for information on school choice shows its message is getting through. School choice is a popular policy with many Latino communities. A New York Times poll last year found Hispanics were twice as likely to call themselves Democrats as Republicans, but they identified with Republicans on a host of issues including tax cuts and the use of school vouchers to give choice. With few existing avenues for poor parents to get their children out of failing inner city schools, Hispanic CREO - like its sister organisation, the Black Alliance for Educational Options - says school choice gives children a chance. Hispanic CREO supports a list of options which include traditional public schools, charter and magnet schools, home schooling, private and religious non-profit schools, distance learning, and public/ private school ventures; and it supports school vouchers as proven mechanism to provide students access to these educational options. "Many wonderful public schools exist," said Ms DeCarbo, but "they are not usually located in our barrios." Resources The Hispanic CREO website is at http://www.hcreo.org/ A Subtext Brief on research looking at the type of teacher who supports school choice can be accessed through this link. A Subtext Brief on a survey showing that half the parents in Britain would be likely to send their children to private schools if they could afford it can be accessed here.
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