ED 461 447

AUTHOR

TITLE

INSTITUTION

SPONS AGENCY

PUB DATE

NOTE

AVAILABLE FROM

PUB TYPE

EDRS. PRICE

DESCRIPTORS

ABSTRACT

DOCUMENT RESUME

RC 021 374

Secada, Walter G.; Chavez-Chavez, Rudolfo; Garcia, Eugene;

Munoz, Cipriano; Oakes, Jeannie; Santiago-Santiago, Isaura;

Slavin, Robert

No More Excuses: The Final Report of the Hispanic Dropout

Project.

Wisconsin Univ., Madison. Dept. of Curriculum and

Instruction.

Department of Education, Washington, DC.

1998-02-00

88p.; For the U.S. Dept: of Education's response to this

report, see RC 021 375.

For full text: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OBEMLA/hdprepo.pdf.

Reports Evaluative (142)

MF01/PC04 Plus Postage.

*Dropout Prevention; Dropout Research; *Dropouts;

Educational Environment; Educational Needs; Educational

Policy; *Educationally Disadvantaged; Elementary Secondary

Education; Ethnic Stereotypes; High Risk Students; *Hispanic

Americans; Parent S,tudent Relationship; Research Needs;

School Community Relationship; School Holding Power; School

Role; Student Attitudes; *Student School Relationship;

Teacher Student Relationship

In September 1995, the U.S. Secretary of Education invited

seven individuals to take part in a special project to study the problem of

Hispanic student dropout. The Secretary's charge to the Hispanic Dropout

Project incorporated the goals of increasing public awareness about Hispanic

dropout issues; developing policy-relevant recommendations at local, state,

and federal levels; and supporting development of a stakeholder network to

continue the project's work. To achieve these goals, the project commissioned

9 papers on Hispanic dropout issues, held open hearings'in 10 cities, visited

school and nonschool sites that were developing promising practices in Latino

education and dropout prevention, held press conferences, and reviewed

relevant educational research. This final project report reflects the

knowledge and views of various individuals and constituency groups that

hosted site visits, presented testimony, and participated in open

discussions. Their evidence confirms that popular stereotypes blaming school

dropout on Hispanic students, parents, or language are untrue. Such

misinformation excuses inaction by turning Hispanic students into victims.

Many findings and recommendations in the report are not new; they reflect

what researchers have been saying for years about school effectiveness,

reform, finance, and equity--messages that the nation, with few exceptions,

has failed to heed. Sections detail findings and recommendations related to

students; parents and families; teachers; schools; school district, state,

and federal policymakers; community-based organizations, business, and the

larger community; and researchers. Appendices overview the project; and list

persons and organizations providing testimony, sites visited, and programs

reviewed in commissioned papers. (Contains 140 references.) (SV)

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made

from the original document.
HD it DM KILL

REm, Repollot of .th©

0 ani mpout o©©

7147/ =AMC DH2CD /

C-2-1

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Once of Educational Research and Improvement ED ATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION

CENTER (ERIC)

This document has been reproduced as

received from the person or organization

originating d.

0 Minor changes have been made to improve

reprodUction Quality

Points of view or opinions stated m thus doccn

ment do not necessarily represent official

OERI posdon or poloy

UN' TICDRECIr
This report was prepared by independent researchers.

The views expressed herein are those of the researchers.
NO MORE EXCUSES

THE FINAL REPORT OF

THE HISPANIC DROPOUT PROJECT

Hispanic Dropout Project Members

Walter G. Secada, Director

Rudolfo Chavez-Chavez

Eugene Garcia

Cipriano Mutioz

Jeannie Oakes

Isaura Santiago-Santiago

Robert Slavin

February 1998
Dear Secretary Riley:

It is with a sense of great urgency that I forward to you the final report of the Hispanic Dropout

Project, No More Excuses. With this report, we have fulfilled the charge that you gave to us in

our letters of appointment to the project and at our meeting on September 18, 1995.

Since we first met with you, thousands of this nation's Hispanic students have left school without

a diploma. Some left because they felt that other life options were more viable; others left

because they felt that they were being pushed out; and still others left because of family obligations. Yet almost all these students left school because no one had established individual relationships with each of them, communicated high academic expectations to them, and provided

them with meaningful opportunities to achieve those expectations.

We mourn their truncated education. We worry about their future lives, their unfulfilled dreams

and aspirations, their access to this nation's most cherished democratic institutions, and their full

participation in the economic, labor, social, and other spheres of life. We share with you a

concern for the impact of their inadequate education on this nation's economic and social systems. And we are outraged at the conditions that made possible such a shocking state of affairs

in the first place.

In our report to you, we note that parents, teachers, and other school personnel have central roles

in supporting this nation's Hispanic youth to complete school and to have a worthwhile education in doing so. What is more, we outline steps that need to be taken by policy makers, the

business community, and the larger voting public to support the work of our nation's schools in

educating and graduating their Hispanic youth. These efforts will require a concerted and longterm investment of human and fiscal resources; the problem of Hispanic school dropout will not

be solved within an election cycle nor within a time frame that lends itself easily to political

grandstanding and sound bite news reporting.

For all of us in the project, it has been an honor to serve the nation in this effort. What is more,

we feel an obligation to the countless people who shared their expertise with us, who testified at

our open hearings, and who hosted our visits to sites around the country. We feel an even stronger obligation to the younger siblings of the dropouts with whom we spoke and, in general, to all

Hispanic students whose educational experiences are less than what should be their due in a

nation that prides itself on the treatment of its children. We stand prepared to support meaningful

follow up to this project. The time for excuses is over; there is much work to be done.

Sincerely yours,

Walter G. Secada

Professor of Curriculum and Instruction

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Director, Hispanic Dropout Project

2
Contents

Background 5

Hispanic Students 13

Parents and Families 21

Teachers 25

Schools 31

District, State and National Policies 41

Community-based Organizations, Business, and the Larger Community 51

Research and Development 55

Concluding Comments 59

Notes 63

Appendix A: An Overview of the Hispanic Dropout Project's Activities 65

Appendix B: People Who Provided Public Testimony and Otherwise Participated in the

Hispanic Dropout Project's Site Visits 67

Appendix C: People and Organizations Who Presented Handouts to the

Hispanic Dropout Project 73

Appendix D: Sites Visited by the Hispanic Dropout Project 77

Appendix E: References 81

Appendix F: Programs Reviewed in the Hispanic Dropout Project's

Commissioned Papers 91

The material in this report that is marked by the icon at left or that is boxed

represents the views of those we heard in thefield and the knowledge of those

whose work we consulted.

3
BACKGROUND

Nearly one in five of our nation's Hispanics between the ages of 16 and 24 who ever enrolled in

a United States school left school without either a high school diploma or an alternative certificate such as a GED, according to the most recently available data from the United States Census

Bureau. If we consider all of this nation's Hispanics, including immigrants who never enrolled in

U.S. schools, the Hispanic dropout rate reaches a staggering 30 percent. While accounting for

just 56 percent of all U.S. immigrants, Hispanics account for nearly 90 percent of all immigrant

dropouts.

While the dropout rate for other school-aged populations has declined, more or less steadily, over

the last 25 years, the overall Hispanic dropout rate started higher and has remained between 30

and 35 percent during that same time period. As a result, today's dropout rate for Hispanics is

2.5 times the rate for blacks and 3.5 times the rate for white non-Hispanics. Moreover, of Hispanics who have ever enrolled in U.S. schools, proportionately more of them seek alternative

high school diplomas than do whites; that is, they may get high school diplomas, but even Hispanics who get diplomas are more likely to leave school in order to do so.' The situation is far

more serious than any of these odds and rates suggest because they apply to a rapidly growing

number of our nation's students.

High school completion rates for all 18- through 24-year-olds, by raceethnicity:

October 1972 through October 1994

Percent

100 -

90 -------------------------------------------

Whte, non-Hispanic 80 Total ----- ---------- ----- Black, non-Hispanic

70

60 Hispanic 5040

30

20

100

1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994

Year

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey, October (various years),

unpublished data.

5
As with other students, the odds of school completion rise for Hispanics with gains in factors such as

family income and parent education. Nevertheless, reports and studies document that gaps in school

completion rates between Hispanic and non-Hispanic students remain even after controlling for the

social class background of students, for their language proficiency, and for their immigrant status.

Regardless of your position in society, ifyou are an Hispanic student, you are more likely to drop out

of school and not earn a diploma than ifyou are a non-Hispanic American in a similar position.2

For students, dropping out forecloses a lifetime of opportunitiesand in turn makes it far more likely

that their own children will grow up in poverty and be placed at risk. For business, this means a lack

of high-skilled employees, fewer entrepreneurs, and poorer markets. For communities, this cumulates

the risk of civic breakdown. The high-wage low-skill factory jobs that lifted generations of Americans

from poverty and empowered them to buy homes, send their children to college, and take care of

themselves and their families are little more than a memory in our age of the silicon chip and global

economy. In economic progress, as in strategic security, education is truly America's first line of

defense. In other words, the career and employment prospects for dropouts are dismal.

Hispanic dropouts are more likely to be unemployed.

Percent

18

Percent Unemployment, by Age, Race,

and Highest Degree Attained: 1994

All Education

Levels

All

25

12

Less than a High

School Graduate

28

15

11 Hispanic All

Age 25

and over

Age

16-19

Age

20-24

Source: NCES, Digest of Education Statistics, 1995.

Hispanic

40

30

20

10

0

"Those who do not complete high school face difficulties in making successful

steps in other transitions to adult life." In National Center for Education Statistics, Dropout Rates in the United States.- 1994 (NCES 96-863), p. 51. Washington, DC: United States Department of Education

6
As Thomas Jefferson said, education is the anvil ofdemocracy. More than ever before, democracy depends not on 30-second sound bites from politicians on the cutting edge of rhetoric, but

on an informed citizenry who can see through the spin and choose effective options to solve our

nation's problems. From toxic waste to environmental protection to economic progress, understanding these issues is fundamental. Dropouts have among the lowest voting rates and among

the lowest levels of civic participation. Lack of an informed, active citizenry is ddngerous to the

American prospect.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Hispanics are projected to become the largest

ethnic minority in the United States by the early twenty-first century. If our country stays on its

current path, the low rate of Hispanic school completion means that a large segment of the

country's soon-to-be largest minority group will be underprepared for employment, for making

personal choices, and for engagement in civic life as is required for this democracy to grow and

adapt as the founders intended it to. Dropouts diminish our democracy, our society, and their own

opportunities.

"Students...see dropping out as wrong; they see it as representingfailure, a

problem. This is of interest because it tells us that these Latino students (who are

still in school) do not want to drop out. This counters the assumption of many who

argue that Latinos are not really very interested in finishing school."

In Rodriguez, C. E. (1992). Student voices: High school students' perspectives on

the Latino dropout problem (pp. 89-90). (Report to the Latino Commission on

Educational Reform). New York: Fordham University.

Dropping out is not a random act. According to some observers, school dropout is the logical

outcome of the social forces that limit Hispanics' roles in society. Many Hispanic students live in

the nation's most economically distressed areas. They attend overcrowded schools in physical

disrepair and with limited educational materials. They see the devastating effects of their elders'

limited employment opportunities and job ceilings. Hispanic students encounter stereotypes,

personal prejudice, and social bias that is often part of larger anti-immigrant forces in this society. For many Hispanics, the United States does not appear to be a society of opportunities. Not

surprisinglyfaced with evidence of lingering institutional bias against Hispanicsthese students figure: The American Dream is not for me. Why bother? And, of course, they drop out.

Hispanic school dropout has been portrayed as all of the above, and more. Although various

aspects of this crisis have been highlighted by different researchers and writers, all agree on one

thing: The Hispanic dropout rate is shockingly and unacceptably high.

If the nation does nothing, this unacceptable state of affairs can only worsen. The Census reports

that because of demographic growth there will be at least a million more elementary students

many of them Hispanicin our schools by the end of the decade. Without quick and concerted

intervention, technology, trade, and changing policy will increase the number of children, many

of them Hispanic, growing in poverty. Without adequate funding that is effectively usedparticularly in the high-poverty schools attended by many Hispanic childrenclasses will become

7
Hispanics were about one of every ten Americans

in 1990and may be one of every five in 2050.

Percent

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Hispanics as a Percent of Total Population:

1980 to 2050

1980 '90 2000 '10 '20

Year

Note: These projections come from the middle of three series of projections.

'30 '40

Source: Bureau of the Census, Population Projections of the United States, by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1992 to 2050, 1992, and Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1995, 1995.

2050

even more overcrowded than we have witnessed recently, instructional materials will be increasingly out-of-date, and schools' ability to attract and hold effective teachers will decrease. Although connection between students and their teachers and role models is important, the number

of minority college students entering teaching is declining. There are shortages of teachers with

meaningful proficiency in more than English. The retirement of the large proportion of current

teachers originally hired to teach the baby boomers will intensify attrition of the teachers with

the most classroom experience.

If the same proportion of Hispanic students is still dropping out tomorrow, America will have

many more dropoutsat a time when education is crucial for employability. America's young

people are not going away. If they drop out at the rates that their older siblings dotoday, the

consequences to this nation and its institutions will be devastating.

This is also an opportunity to make a difference. We know much about what works and can build

on this know-how. Effective teaching and schools change lives. Support and professional skills

development for today's teachers and for the large number of teachers who must be hired in the

next handful of years can make much of the difference.

8

10
If all Hispanic students completed high school,

the lifetime earnings gain would be large.

Nearly equal to the total assets

in 1994 of Disney, McDonalds,

and Microsoft combined

Dollars

(in billions)

Greater than the total assets in

1994 of Boeing, Coca Cola,

Disney, General Mills, Kellogg,

McDonalds, and Microsoft

combedined

100

80

$78.7

$63.7

60 $47.9

40 $3 .0

20 $16.4

0

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Graduating Class of:

Source: Department of Labor, Report on the American Workforce, 1994, and the "Business Week

1000," Business Week, March 27, 1995.

The Hispanic Dropout Project

In September 1995, United States Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley invited seven individuals to take part in a special project to study issues related to the problem of Hispanic student

dropout. The secretary's charge to the Hispanic Dropout Projectas this effort came to be

knownincorporated three broad goals: (a) to increase public awareness about the issues of

Hispanic dropout; (b) to develop a policy-relevant set of recommendations at local, state, and

federal levels addressed to school personnel, families, community, business, and other stakeholder groups; and (c) to support the development of a network of stakeholders interested in this

issue to support actions taken after the project ended. Because the Hispanic Dropout Project is

not a federal commission, we were not invited to make recommendations addressed to the federal government. In spite of this limitation on the project's scope of work, we realize that many

recommendations are more likely to be implemented with supporting action by the federal

government, as well as by state and local governments, school districts, businesses, community

groups, and other interested parties.

9

11
Final Report

This report constitutes the Hispanic Dropout Project's culnlinating activity. It is intended to raise

public awareness of the issues of Hispanic student dropout. This report contains our findings and

recommendations at local, state, and national levels, and is addressed to school personnel, families, and community, business, and other stakeholder groups.

Throughout the entire project, we tried to reflect the knowledge and views of the various individuals and constituency groups that hosted our site visits, provided witness to what is happening

in our nation's schools, and participated in our open discussions on these matters. With their

varied experiences and broad range of views, these students, parents, teachers, volunteers, social

service and business representatives, and other concerned citizens have been working on improving the education of Hispanic students. Their actions and words breathe life into the stolid statistics found in so many research studies. They make the facts matter.

NR:4 "My parents sacrificed a lot for me. That's why I want to make good. For my

kids to start somewhere higher than I did." Student leader at HDP student leader

forum, New York City

What we saw and what people told us confirmed what well-established research has also found:

Popular stereotypeswhich would place the blame for school dropout on Hispanic students,

their families, and language background, and that would allow people to shrug their shoulders as

if to say that this was an enormous, insoluble problem or one that would go away by itselfare

just plain wrong.

"I got throwed out, mainly." Arnie (former 10th-grade student). In Cairns, R. B.,

& Cairns, B. D. (1994). Lifelines and risks: Pathways ofyouth in our time

(p.167). New York: Cambridge University Press.

We in the Hispanic Dropout Project developed a new appreciation for Yogi Berra's "déja vu, all

over again." Much of what we have to report to America is not new. The roots of our findings

run deep through the decades of extensive research gathered in many parts of the nation (see

Appendix E for a bibliography). Much of the work on the education of at-risk and disadvantaged

students, and dropout prevention applies; but then, so does much of the work on effective

schools, school restructuring, school finance, and equity. Over the years, many of our findings

have been repeated by Hispanic and non-Hispanic researchers, practitioners, and advocacy

groups.

What troubles us and adds to our collective impatience in submitting this report is precisely that

so much of this has appeared so often in the research literature and has been urged so often by

those who care about student outcomes. Yet the nation has failed to put this knowledge to work

in more than a few sites. There are lighthouses and beacons of excellence, yet policymakers and

schools keep missing the message, sailing through the daily grind of ineffective and alienating

practices, and piling up on the shoals of failure. Our nation's children, its most valuable resource

10

12
for its future, pay the price. We have tried to mix research that identifies what works in preventing school dropout with our other activities and to synthesize our findings in a form that can

provide a basis for concerted action.

NI "Dropping out is sometimes a healthy response to an intolerable situation."

Speaker at HDP hearings, San Antonio

We were also struck by the misinformation and myths about Hispanic dropouts. These myths

excuse inaction by turning children, parents, and their communities into victims so that educators

dare not aspire to Hispanics' achieving educational excellence lest they be accused of blaming

the victim. These myths also excuse inaction by demonizing Hispanic students and dropouts,

their families, teachers, schools, districts, the state, business, and the communitythereby

undermining the basis for teamwork. The stereotype that demonizes Hispanics raises the question: What can be accomplished with a demon who cannot or will not understand, who does not

want to learn, who is antisocial and untrustworthy, and who just doesn't care?

N "College is for the good, American persons, but not for me. I didn't think that I

could have part of the American dream." Student testimony, Albuquerque

One goal of this report is to debunk these stereotypes, myths, and excuses. Published research,

the testimony we gathered, and the sites we visited clearly show that something can be done

about Hispanic dropout. The nation's task is to ensure that what works for Hispanic excellence in

education is not confined to isolated research studies or limited to a few lighthouse programs.

Each of the following sections focuses on the role of key actors in solving the problem of Hispanic student dropout: the students themselves; their parents and families; their teachers; schools;

policymakers at the district, state, and federal levels; and business and the extended community.

Each section also discusses the excuses commonly used to justify inaction and the ways that our

findings contradict the myths on which the excuses are based. We end each section with a list of

recommendations for that actor.

Change for the better can begin with the actions of any adult player. But the actions of all the

players must work in concert to produce a move forward, to support change in other arenas, and

to achieve longer lasting and more extensive improvements in Hispanic dropout rates than can be

achieved through solitary action.

11

13
HISPANIC STUDENTS

"People need to respect and like children. I have seen teachers say things to kids

that no one should have to put up with." Speaker at HDP public hearings, San

Diego

Hispanic students deserve to be treated as if they matteras if they have abilities and talents to

contribute to our society and as if they can be responsible for achieving excellence given the

chance to do so. The Hispanic Dropout Project has two major findings and recommendations

involving Hispanic students:

Schools and their staffs must connect themselves to Hispanic students and their families,

provide Hispanic students with a quality education based on high standards, and provide

backup options to move past obstacles on the way to achieving those high standards.

Students and their families deserve respect. In order to accomplish the first goal, schools, their

personnel, policy stakeholders, and the larger society must have respect for these children. In

many cases, this means fundamentally changing people's conceptions of Hispanic students and

their families. This country's Hispanic students are ours and they are smart. Hispanic families

have social capital on which to build. Hispanic students deserve meaningful opportunities to

learn and to succeed in later life. They deserve support in school.

NI "They treat you with respect here. They talk with you individually. Not just about

school, but what's on your mind. I get respect from the tutors. I get it and try to

give it back." Student in an alternative placement program, Las Cruces

To think of and portray Hispanic students as poor things who cannot achieveas "pobrecitos"

is patronizing and wrong. Treating students and their families as deviant or deficient blames the

victim and just doesn't work. Neither belief is correct or helpful in designing programs and

intervention strategies.

ti.

"The respect and value in which students were held was [sic] extremely important

in separating the schools with low Latino dropout ratesfrom those with high

rates." In Rodriguez, C. E. (1992). Student voices: High school students' perspectives on the Latino dropout problem (Report to the Latino Commission on

Educational Reform, p. 79). New York: Fordham University.

Some stereotypes that have been used to blame Hispanic students for dropping out of school

suggest that they do not care about school, do not want to learn, do not come to school ready to

learn, use drugs, belong to gangs, engage in violence, cannot achieve, have cultural backgrounds

that are incompatible with schools, do not know English, are illegal immigrants, and in general,

do not merit help or to be taken seriously. Alternative stereotypes portray Hispanic students as

victims who, unable to do much about their conditions, cannot help but drop out of school.

13

14
According to the these latter myths, Hispanic students can do little or nothing about their education because they are poor, are the children of drug users, are victims of violence and abuse, do

not speak (read or write) English well, encounter cultural barriers in school or in the larger

society, or, through no fault of their own, lack some essential ingredient for success.

"My life, my heritage has been a cycle of poverty, of goals thatwere never

achieved. I want to break that cycle. I want to achieve for my family, so that my

parents can be proud of me." Student at HDP student leaders forum, New York

City

Contrary to both sorts of myths, the vast majority of Hispanic students want to learn. They value

education and try hard to do well in school. As is the case for the larger society, there are a small

number of Hispanic youth who engage in antisocial behaviors. We do not condone such behaviors: If such youth are to succeed not only in school, but also later in life, they must change, and

we must help them to change.

"I want to be a change agent. Things don't have to be like these stereotypes."

Student at HDP student leaders forum, New York City

On the other hand, beliefs that paint Hispanics, en masse, as social misfits say more about how

whole groups of people can be stereotyped in our society than they do about the vast majority of

individuals within those groups. The Hispanic students (and their families) whom we encountered did not give up in the face of the barriers rooted in personal and institutional forms of bias

and outright racism that they encounter. Instead, they worked hard to overcome those barriers.

"A persistent theme. . .is the observation that our educational system requires

failure of some in order to assure success for others. . . . We spend enormous

amounts of money and time locating children that we perceive as predestined for

failure, often because they do not meet the expectations of the cultural patterns of

the mainstream." In Trueba, H. T., Spindler, G., & Spindler, L. (Eds.) (1989).

What do anthropologists have to say about dropouts? (pp. 2-3) New York: The

Falmer Press.

Stereotypes hold that much should not be expected of Hispanic children, as if providing them

with challenging opportunities to achieve educational excellence will only drive them out of

school in increasing numbers. Quite the contrary: The Hispanic Dropout Project found that

Hispanic students are most likely to learn when curricular content is challenging and meaningful.

In visits to early childhood, elementary, and alternative high school programs, we observed that

Hispanic students were very engaged when working with such content.

In our visits to less effective schools, many older students complained about being bored and not

challenged in their classes. They complained of dull, dumbed down, and irrelevant curricula. The

clear message they had internalized was one of low expectations, worsened by unpleasant,

adverse physical circumstances and overcrowded classrooms. Students and dropouts alike com14

15
plained that they could not ask questions and get them answered in class, leading them to believe

that their teachers did not really care about them.

Nci "Perhaps the most important step in fostering adolescent development and

achievement is the improvement of education. ... Changes in policy are important

only if they contribute to more effective school and classroom environments in

which students are strongly motivated to work hard at challenging learning

tasks." In Panel on High-Risk Youth, National Research Council. (1993). Losing

generations: Adolescents in high-risk settings (p. 205). Washington, DC: National

Academy Press

The existence of such schools and classrooms raises the question: Why would any rational

person stay in such a setting? Students' reports to the Hispanic Dropout Project and our own

observations during site visits corroborate what is reported in the research on tracking and on the

instructional quality of lower tracksthat is, the everyday in-school experiences of too many

Hispanic students fail to engage their minds. In contrast to their criticisms of their secondary

schools, many students interviewed by the Hispanic Dropout Project praised volunteers and

teachers in their schools and in alternative placements who made course work relevant to their

lives and, thereby, compelling enough to make them want to achieve.

Ng "What is there to hope for? If I get out of school, what kind of a job will I get?"

Speaker at HDP hearings, San Antonio

Students often complete high school because it promises opportunitiessuch as a good job, a

military career, or postsecondary education. For too many Hispanic students, these futures don't

look like realistic options. Hispanic high school students look around themselves only to see that

their siblings and older friends who just graduated are earning less than their classmates who

dropped out and have been working a couple of years. Many Hispanic students often need to

contribute materially to their families, and this need for a paycheck often causes even successful

students to respond to daily crises rather than to maintain a future orientation. If students need

jobs to meet their responsibilities, schools should help them get part-time job placements and

work with businesses to develop effective schedules and learning opportunities that help students, their employers, and the schools. The workplace, in its turn, needs to change from being a

threat to a student's learning and finishing school to being an effective part of a high-quality

education for a non-traditional student.

"In general, there appears to be a powerful economic incentive for students to

finish high school. But is this economic incentive similarfor Hispanics and

Chicanos as for Whites and other groups? Recent data suggest that the answer

may be no...unemployment rates in October 1985 for White youths who dropped

out of high school during the 1984-85 school year were almost twice as high as

for high school graduates from the year before who were not enrolled in college.

But for Hispanics, dropouts had an unemployment rate only slightly higher than

high school graduates." In Rumberger, R. (1991). Chicano dropouts: A review of

15 16
research and policy issues. In R. Valencia (Ed.), Chicano schoolfailure and

success: Research and policy agendas for the 1990s (p. 77). Philadelphia: Falmer

Press.

The point is that schools and adults can help students envision better lives, help open options,

and provide the connections that strengthen learning and build futures that work. To achieve

these goals, the Hispanic Dropout Projectbased on our observations and research review

recommends the following minimum set of guarantees for students:

1. Each individual Hispanic student should have someone who understands how schools

work and who is willing to take personal responsibility for ensuring that the student makes

it in and through school.

Hispanic students who stayed in school (despite peer pressure, economic pressure, and other

factors that pushed out many of their friends) often pointed to someone in that schoola teacher,

coach, some other school staff member, someone from the larger communitywhose personal

interest in their finishing school nurtured their individual sense of self-worth and supported their

efforts to stay in school.

N "Students often say that one significant person took an interest in them." Testimony at HDP open forum, Las Cruces

2. Hispanic students should receive a high-quality education thatguarantees that all students

leave third grade able to read. They should experience curricula that are relevant and

interesting, convey high expectations, and demand student investment in learning. They

should understand the options that are available to them so that they can make informed

decisions about their lives. They should be able to envision their futures with confidence

based on an education that provided them with the tools needed to make their visions into

reality.

"The first task should be to determine what kinds of education and training would

be appropriate in terms of enhancing their ability to live productive lives within

this society. . . . Some of the successful dropouts designed their own curriculum:

they enrolled in a training program for mechanics, got on-the-job training in

supervising others, took a full-time job in a hosiery mill, but found time to complete a GED. For these subjects, the "school" they created for themselves could

tolerate them and they could tolerate the intellectual and attitudinal discipline.

One challenge is for schools to create opportunities within the context of the

standard curriculum...The second and related comment concerns the school and

behavioral problems cited by the dropouts themselves. They typically attribute

leaving school to specific difficulties they had with the standard curriculum and/

or school restrictions." In Cairns, R. B., & Cairns, B. D. (1994). Lifelines and

risks: Pathways of youth in our time (p. 186). New York: Cambridge University

Press.

16

17
Junior high school is too late to begin dropout prevention efforts. Successful experiences must

begin in the early grades and continue throughout Hispanic students' schooling. On the other

hand, early interventions, by themselves, are not enough. Later efforts should build on the successes of early interventions.

N4 "The national investment in Head Start and other early intervention programs,

while laudatory, constitutes only a first step in the solution." In Cairns, R. B., &

Cairns, B. D. (1994). Lifelines and risks: Pathways of youth in our time (p. 193).

New York: Cambridge University Press.

Older students who had dropped out of school often thought that they had no other choice.

School personnel either did not know about or did not tell students about alternative programs

because of fiscal pressures to remain quiet about those programs. A former dropout quit his

original school because, as he starkly put it, "It was eitherschool or dropping out." He entered

an alternative school only because a friend told him about it.

"Interventions must be intensive, comprehensive, coordinated and sustained.

Anything less is naive and will show only marginal results. There is no 'cure all'

or fix the kid' phenomenon. ... When special intervention is stopped before high

school graduation, one can expect high-risk youth who have become successful to

once again be at risk for school failure and drop out." In Larson, K., &

Rumberger, R. (1995). ALAS, Achievement for Latinos through academic success

(Dropout prevention and intervention project targeting middle school youth with

learning disabilities and emotional/behavioral disorders at risk for dropping out of

school. Project evaluation: 1990-1995), p. A67.

A former dropout stated that one reason many Hispanics leave school is that they believe that the

American dream is for someone else, not for them. The effective dropout interventions that we

reviewed included all students in that dream. They provided Hispanic students chances to meet

and talk with Hispanic college students and successful Hispanics, and to visit college campuses.

Successful interventions also helped students to plan for life after high school in work, the

military, or continuing education.

Hispanic youth need to be coached, not rescued. They should be able to take credit for what they

achieve. They need encouragement and opportunities to take responsibility for their learning and

later lives, to set long-range, real-life goals, and to take the steps needed to achieve those goals.

Adults who advocate for students, who encourage students to dream about their futures, who

mentor students on how to achieve those dreams, and who hold students accountable for their

actions can provide needed support for students to make their dreams come true.

3. Schools should be responsive to the behaviors and needs of individual children. They

should target Hispanic students for pro-social roles.

17

18
When respect, responsibility, membership, and opportunities for leadership are denied to students

by their schools, then gangs and antisocial behaviors often fill the gap. The most effective

schools that we visited gave students opportunities to assume important roles in school and in

helping other students. They expected and often received the best from their Hispanic students.

Effective schools also realize that real students have real problems; and hence, they provide

flexibility, support, and backup strategies to turn things around when problems arise. For children, schools and effective support networks can make an important difference.

"Explicit in good practice models is the recognition that young people, like all

people, need to feel a sense of comfort and need to be offered a sense of autonomy

in order to profit from program teachings and experiences. . . . Consistent demonstrations of caring and high expectations for young people are also a prerequisite.

Many programs are also providing young people with choice and 'voice' regarding program operation, and, in response to the racial and ethnic diversity of

adolescents, many practitioners incorporate cultural traditions and values into

programs." In Panel on High-Risk Youth, National Research Council. (1993).

Losing generations: Adolescents in high-risk settings (p. 219). Washington, DC:

National Academy Press.

4. Hispanic students have the right to schools and classrooms that are safe, healthy, free from

intimidation, and invitingthat is, where their language and cultureare treated as resources.

National statistics show that many Hispanic students attend some of the most dangerous schools

in America. Schools should provide students with positive and appealing alternatives to joining

gangs or engaging in other antisocial behaviors. What is more, school should be a place where a

student's language and cultural backgrounds are treated with respect.

"I would have been worse off if I had stayed in school. Others have dropped out

to try to help their own futures." Testimony at HDP forum, Albuquerque

5. Hispanics' schools should have the resources necessary to provide safe environments and a

high-quality education.

Troubled schools lack basic resources. From fights breaking out due to jostling in overcrowded

halls, to filthy restrooms, to long-ignored fire hazards, the basic infrastructure for effective

schooling is too often missing from the schools attended by Hispanic students. Outdated textbooks, laughable lab facilities, antiquated libraries, and the absence of a challenging academic

curriculum and the requisite instructional resources all bear the implicit message that these

children just don't count. America cannot afford this.

"In Maryland, for instance, the one inner-city district (Baltimore) and five rural

districts each spend less than $4,500per student, compared with three suburban

districts that spend $6,000-$7,500 per student. Thus, schools in the poorer Mary18

19
land districts have about $45,000-$60,000 less each year for each classroom of

30 students than schools in affluent districts. Per pupil expenditures directly

affect the availability of textbooks, laboratory equipment, resource rooms, library

books, and a range of other educational resources. . . . In one national survey, for

example, in districts with more than one-third of the students from families below

the poverty line, 59 percent of fourth grade teachers reported a lack of resources,

compared with 16 percent in districts with no students below the poverty line."

In Panel on High-Risk Youth, National Research Council. (1993). Losing generations: Adolescents in high-risk settings (pp. 106-107). Washington, DC: National

Academy Press.

19

20
PARENTS AND FAMILIES

Hispanic parents and families are frequently perceived as being indifferent totheir children's

education, moving too frequently, not speaking or wanting to learn how to speak (read, or write)

English, and being too undereducated to properly educate their children. Likewise, parents and

families are often portrayed as victims unable to do anything about the racism they experience

and unable to understand American cultural norms. Parents are said to be ignorant, poor, products of bad schools, in conflict with their children, and in general, culturally deprived.

The schools that we saw working effectively with Hispanic parents prove that these stereotypes

and descriptions are wrong. Our observations are backed up by the testimony of countless parents, both individually and through the community-based organizations they participated in, and

by the extensive research on the importance of effective parent involvement. Large-scale national

studies and targeted research show that, contrary to stereotypes, Hispanic parents and families

highly value learning and seek to effectively support their children in school. What students told

us reinforced the research.

N9 "There were deep chasms in the relationship and communication between school

and home. School personnel had many negative misconceptions about the motivations and values of parents. There was widespread belief that parents did not

sufficiently value education and that they were unwilling to give sufficient time to

rearing their children and participating in school activities. On the other hand,

we found most parents to be fearful and alienated from school authorities while at

the same time assigning expertise and responsibility to schoolpersonnel for

educating their children. However, when parents were approached with a genuine

desire to serve them and their family, we found that almost all parents were

exceedingly open to suggestion and to becoming more involved in directing their

adolescent and monitoring school petformance. Parents, far more than school

or community personnel, were willing to implement suggestions from project

researchers. " In Larson, K., & Rumberger, R. (1995). ALAS, Achievement for

Latinos through academic success (Dropout prevention and intervention project

targeting middle school youth with learning disabilities and emotional/behavioral

disorders at risk for dropping out of school. Project evaluation: 1990-1995), p.

A66 (emphasis added).

Hispanic students, whether they stayed in school or had dropped out and then returned, almost

unanimously reported that they wanted to "make it" as a way to thank their parents and families

for the sacrifices that they had made on the students' behalf. These students wanted to make their

parents proud of them. They wanted to better themselves and did not want to disappoint their

parents by quitting school. In addition, one-time dropouts spoke about their parents' disappointment in them as well as the love, support, pressure, and encouragement that they received from

their parents at first to stay in school, then to return to school, and always to try hard and to learn.

21

4
The Hispanic Dropout Project's hearings were attended by Hispanic parents who were anxious

about their children's educational futures. Many of them had found out about the hearings by

word of mouth. Their testimony demonstrated their readiness to be involved in their children's

education.

"Many high-risk children and their parents are blamed and not treated with respect by

educators. Highest risk students and their parents are very responsive to genuine and

meaningful offers of help despite cultural, language, and economic barriers."

In Larson, K., & Rumberger, R. (1995). ALAS, Achievement for Latinos through

academic success (Dropout prevention and intervention project targeting middle

school youth with learning disabilities and emotional/behavioral disorders at risk for

dropping out of school. Project evaluation: 1990-1995), p. A69.

Parents said that, in order to be involved, they must often overcome school resistance and hostility to that involvement. At almost every site that we visited, Hispanic parents said that their

children's schools did not take them or their concerns very seriously. One mother recounted

being told of her child's suspension hearing just 30 minutes before it was held. Risking her job,

she rushed to the school, only to wait all morning in the school office and to be told abruptly that

the meeting had been postponed. One father did, in fact, lose his job because of the time he spent

trying to keep his daughter from being, in his words, pushed out. Another mother, in flawless

English, reported how her child's principal would not speak directly to her, supposedly because

her accent made it too difficult for school personnel to understand her.

"Schools also differ on the extent to which parents are involved in school decision

making, conferences with teachers, and home-school instructional programs.

Over the past decade, studies consistently demonstrate the positive effects of such

programs on student achievement, yet parents from low-income neighborhoods,

especially racial and ethnic minorities, are least likely to participate. The reasons

for this lack of participation include not only the lack of funds, but also different

levels of school commitment, cultural and language barriers, and time constraints

and stress on poor working families." In Panel on High-Risk Youth, National

Research Council. (1993). Losing generations: Adolescents in high-risk settings

(p. 108). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Although community groups and activists expressed angersometimes bordering on rageat

how schools treat parents, they also expressed determination to press on with their efforts to

ensure that parental concerns would be heard. What is more, parents found help and strength by

joining and working with such groups.

Hispanic parents spoke eloquently about their dreams and wishes for their children's futures, and

the roles that schools must play in educating their children. In a Head Start program, in community and recreation centers that provided social services for students, and in community action

groupsall visited by the Hispanic Dropout Projectparents volunteered as tutors, instructional

assistants, fundraisers, program implementers, and in many other roles.

22
When Hispanic parents see clear benefits to their children from their participation and when

parents are given meaningful roles and responsibilities, many parents will do more than asked to

do. One of the few longitudinal studies of a successful dropout prevention program reported that

Hispanic parents cooperated much more readily with the program's recommendations than did

the schools and the teachers.3

Strategies That Families Use

To Keep (Hispanic) Adolescents in School

1. Maintain parent in charge;

2. Recognize a two-way influence [between parents and their children];

3. Set limits;

4. Monitor [their children's] actions, whereabouts, feelings;

5. Draw the line about peers;

6. Send continuous positive messages [to their children];

7. Stay involved in school.

In Romo, H. D., & Falbo, T. (1996). Latino high school graduation: Defying the odds (pp. 12-14).

Austin: University of Texas Press.

The Hispanic Dropout Project finds that empowering parents to support their children's education and to work for better schools is fundamental.

I. Hispanic parents and families need to negotiate their children's education system.

In today's world, Hispanic parents must advocate for their children because no one else willor

cando the job as well as they. Beyond individual advocacy, parents can find strength through

active membership in church and community groups that rely on their size and political clout to

ensure that parents' concerns are taken seriously and that provide necessary services such as

recreational and after-school tutoring programs.

N "To better understand how both schools and families influence achievement and

dropout behavior, one must focus on the interaction between families and schools.

This may be particularly important for understanding the achievement of Chicano

children. For instance, research suggests that in the U.S. lower social class

children in general and Hispanic children in particular often face learning environments in school that foster poor academic performance and may be dysfunctional to the type of learning style and reward structure found in the home."

In Rumberger, R. (1991). Chicano dropouts: A review of research and policy

issues. In R. Valencia (Ed.), Chicano school failure and success: Research and

policy agendas for the 1990s (p. 75). Philadelphia: Falmer Press.

23

4 3
2. Schools should recruit Hispanic parents and extended families into a genuine partnership

of equals for educating Hispanic students.

The most impressive schools visited by the Hispanic Dropout Project aggressively recruited

parents to work with them in educating their children. Parent roles were authentic and appropriate. For instance, school personnel helped graduating students and their parents to understand

and to fill out various financial aid forms for college. At the same school, parents whose children

engaged in inappropriate behaviors were helped to recognize how their own behaviors enabled

their children to avoid responsibility. When those parents knew what to look for, they monitored

their children's behaviors and held them accountable for avoiding antisocial activities and for

getting to school on time. These parents' behaviors show that they understood that their advocacy

for their children and their partnership with the school continued at home by the parents' fulfilling their side of the bargain.

Conversely, schools that were less successful or seemed to be actively pushing students out were

also those schools which, by their messages and practices, seemed to actively blame parents and

families for their children's failures. Parents bitterly complained about such schools.

"The bottom line: the local school board and local power brokers should not

disenfranchise parents. They should give them the power to run their schools for

their neighborhoods." Testimony at HDP hearings, San Diego

3. Hispanic parents should be helped to envision a future for their children anda reasonable

means by which to plan for and achieve that future.

One of the most powerful incentives mentioned by Hispanic students was their parents' and

families' determination that these students have better lives than the older generation had. Parents want better lives for their children; schools should help parents learn what is available for

their children and help parents provide these opportunities for their children. That parents can

motivate their children and that schools can provide information about opportunities for students

should provide the basis for the aforementioned partnership.

"My mom was always supportive of me. She pushed me to go to school. She

wouldn't let me stay home. So, I ditched. Finally, she saw the problem and took

me out of the school. But she pushed me to go to another school until this place

[an alternative school setting] helped me to graduate." Former dropout at HDP

open forum, Albuquerque

24

24
TEACHERS

Teachers and other school staff can and must make a difference in students' lives. In spite of this

imperative, many teachers feel powerless. Excuses such as "The problem is too big for one

teacher. How can I, a single teacher, hope to overcome the effects of students' backgrounds?" are

common. This particular excuse portrays teachers as helpless when dealing with students who

are not ready or do not want to learn. Hispanic students are said to lack something (usually

English); their aspirations or those of their parents are said not to support schooling.

"Teachers only want to teach from 8:00 to 3:00. They just follow the contract."

Testimony at HDP student leader meeting, New York City

Teachers' overcrowded classrooms are said to be the reason that they can attend to just so many

students. Hence, a type of academic triage results: Some students must be sacrificed so that

others can be taught. Not surprisingly, those who are sacrificed are portrayed as uneducable.

"There is no support from teachers for the students. Teachers don't believe in the

students. One of the main problems I saw in high school is that teachers don't

want to pay attention." Student in alternative placement, Las Cruces

On the other hand, Hispanic students at project hearings across the country leveled the most

damning charge possible against some of their teachers: "They just don't care."

Neither extreme is the rule. During Hispanic Dropout Project open hearings and visits to schools,

we encountered many teachers who made a difference in their students' lives. These caring

individuals were trying their hardest to help Hispanic students succeed. Some had developed

teaching practices designed to engage their students. Others provided counseling and mentored

students. All constantly worked to improve how they taught their students. All communicated a

deep sense of caring, high expectations, respect, and commitment to their students.

N "I saw how teachers invested in me. I felt like a person. The teachers' personal

investment in me meant so much to me." Testimony at HDP student leader meeting, New York City

Excellent teachers are very aware of the challenges that their students face. They are very realistic about students' individual situations. What seemed to distinguish teachers who made a difference from those who did not was that the former teachers used knowledge of Hispanic students'

academic, social, and psychological characteristics as a foundation and a source of competence

on which to build. These teachers passionately believed that, because of their teaching and

personal concern for their students, they made a difference in their students' lives. Students and

parents agreed.

"I got to know them [personnel at an alternative setting] as family. They showed

25
me different things that I could do besides drop out. So I went back to school and

finished in three years." Former dropout at HDP public forum, Albuquerque

Students reported that teachers who really cared about them as individuals often provided them

with the inspiration and personal support needed to get through hard times. When asked why

they stayed in school, students (many with friends who had dropped out of school) pointed to a

teacher or other school person as having taken a special interest in them and nurtured their

dreams for the future.

Less successful teachers do not really understand their Hispanic students' lives. They do not use

what they know about their students as a foundation on which to build. Instead, they use what

they know about their students to explain away failure.

"The school staff was extremely resistant to change and to being challenged by

change. School problems were perceived to be caused by deficiencies on the part

of students and parents. The need for fundamental change was believed to reside

within students and parents." In Larson, K., & Rumberger, R. (1995). ALAS,

Achievement for Latinos through academic success (Dropout prevention and

intervention project targeting middle school youth with learning disabilities and

emotional/behavioral disorders at risk for dropping out of school. Project evaluation: 1990-1995), pp. A65-A66.

Students know the difference and respond positively to the good teachers that they encounter.

Instead of scurrying out of class as soon the bell's ringing marked its end, students with effective

teachers would stay to ask a question, to discuss a new insight about the day's work, or simply to

share something that had happened outside of school with the teacher. We saw such student

behaviors in secondary mathematics classes, in alternative school settings, and with middleschool generalist teachers.

"Even when a school was not particularly sensitive to Latino cultural differences

as was the case at School B the critical difference was whether the school's

staff thought the student was worth teaching." In Rodriguez, C. E. (1992). Student voices: High school students' perspectives on the Latino dropout problem (p.

79). (Report to the Latino Commission on Educational Reform). New York:

Fordham University.

Hispanic students and their parents expect teachers to engage students in challenging content. In

contrast to their complaints about low tracks, low expectations, and dumbed-down, boring and

irrelevant curricula, Hispanic students and their parents who were interviewed by the project

praised teachers who made material interesting and relevant. The students craved being challenged by their teachers.

"At School D, students would begin by hiring teachers who care and by making

classes more fun. They would remove a large number of the faculty and replace

26
them with teachers who are patient and interested in the needs of all the students,

not only a select few. Importantly, they would provide the school with more bilingual teachers." In Rodriguez, C. E. (1992). Student voices: High school students'

perspectives on the Latino dropout problem (p. 86). (Report to the Latino Commission on Educational Reform). New York: Fordham University.

Students expected teachers to help them with the subject matter. Many students complained

about not getting help when they needed it and, as a result, becoming frustrated. They talked

about raising their hands or calling for help during class but not getting assistance because the

teacher was busy with someone else. Students realized that large class size and the fact that

secondary teachers teach many courses militate against teachers being able to help them.

Teachers may send unintentional messages to students when they fail to respond directly to

requests for help. Some students interviewed by the project, for instance, reported that their

teachers suggested that they get academic help from a tutoring service which met during breaks

and after-school. Such help is too little and too late for a student who, because of frustration, has

given up trying to understand. To the student who recounted that "My teacher told me she was

too busy and that I should get help from the school's tutoring service," the teacher had simply

dismissed her request.

"Student preferences are viewed by school staff as non-essentials, which contributes to student alienation." In Larson, K., & Rumberger, R. (1995). ALAS,

Achievement for Latinos through academic success (Dropout prevention and

intervention project targeting middle school youth with learning disabilities and

emotional/behavioral disorders at risk for dropping out of school. Project evaluation: 1990-1995), p. A68.

When asked about the features of alternative schools or programs that they most appreciated,

almost every student pointed to the personalized relationships that they developed with their

teachers and the individualized attention that they received. Many students realized that this

attention was possible because of the smaller class size. These students also spoke about the

mutual respect and caring that developed between themselves and the schools' staffs. This

respect was communicated to the students in countless ways by adults who provided mentoring.

A volunteer at a social service agency would tell students that, like them, he too had dropped out

of school but had later achieved his goals by believing in himself and being persistent. A retired

teacher insisted that all of her students could learn to read, and she provided them with the

support to do so.

"Many disadvantaged youth feel ignored or unimportant in schoolas if no one

at school cares about them. . . . [Intervention] efforts [typically] rely upon three

broad strategies: (1) strategies to link students to adults in the school, including

mentor programs and efforts to reorganize school schedules to promote closer

contact between teachers and students; (2) strategies to link students to other

students in the school, including extracurricular activities and orientation pro27

4 7
grams; and (3) strategies to link students to the school as an institution, including

fair and equitable policies and greater student choice over their school programs." In Natriello, G., Mc Dill, E. L., & Pallas, A: M. (1990). Schooling disadvantaged children: Racing against catastrophe (p. 136). New York: Teachers

College Press.

I. Teachers should teach content so that it interests and challenges Hispanic students. They

should help students to learn that content. They should communicate high expectations,

respect, and interest in each of their students. They should understand the roles of language, race, culture, and gender in schooling. They should engage parents and the community in the education of their children.

Effective instruction requires knowing the student and tapping into her or his strengths and

interests to trigger learning. Effective teachers use parents as allies to extend learning outside the

classroom. They provide parents with a stream of timely feedback and help parents see concrete

ways of extending their children's learning outside the classroom. Teachers who are not familiar

with the lives of their students, their words, and their backgrounds find it hard to be highly

effective.

"Make class interesting." Testimony at HDP student leader meeting, New York City

As project members have seen, under schoolhouse pressures, harried teachers may find themselves unintentionally sending the wrong message. Teachers need to monitor themselves or

receive inservice training to ensure that Hispanic students and their families receive the message

that they are really wanted in the classroom and in school, that excellence is within their reach,

and that success depends on working together.

2. Teachers should become knowledgeable about and develop strategies to educate Hispanic

students and to communicate with their parents. Teachers should receive the professional

development needed to develop those attitudes, knowledge, and skills.

Ongoing professional development should help teachers learn about their students' backgrounds

and interests, curriculum adaptation, and other instructional strategies for heterogenous student

populations. Teachers should be familiar with the implications of second language acquisition for

student learning and how to adapt instruction for students of varying levels of English language

proficiency. Teachers' knowledge of their students' cultural heritage and the implications of

language loss are important for effective teaching and the creation of well-functioning home

school linkages.

"Teachers were asked to organize their classrooms into small groups which

eventually became cohesive work teams with full control of their own writing

activities. They would explore possible topics, research them, develop data gathering instruments such as surveys and interview protocols, conduct interviews

with peers and adults, discuss findings and finally write cooperatively extended

28 28
and complex essays. The students discovered that writing was no longer a futile

school exercise designed by teachers for their own purposes, but a meaningful

activity and a means of exchanging important ideas and specific audiences and

for expressing their own feelings. Students realized that their individual and

collective voices can make a difference in public opinion and in the quality of life

at school. Thus Chicano high school students not only significantly sharpened

their communicative skills but realized that these skills are a powerful instrument

in voicing individual and collective concerns. Teachers would often express their

surprise: 'I am impressed. Look! ', they said as they shared their students' compositions. A teacher wrote in her diary: 'This [the unexpected high performance of

students] was a very successful lesson for me in many ways. It furthers my belief

that if what is taught is important in the mind of the learner, much more will truly

be learned." In Trueba, H. T., Spindler, G., & Spindler, L. (Eds.) (1989). What do

anthropologists have to say about dropouts? (p. 34) New York: The Falmer

Press.

Often, teachers in high-poverty schools are the last to receive high-quality professional development on new instructional approaches, curricula, and unbiased ways of assessing students. They

should be the first to get these opportunities.

".9 "Why should I want to be a teacher? Look at the conditions we're taught in."

Testimony at HDP student leader meeting, New York City

29 29
SCHOOLS

Schools are the most important focal point for dropout prevention. The research on dropout

prevention, effective schools, and restructuring schools, and the Hispanic Dropout Project's

commissioned papersall conclude that schools do, in fact, matter in students' lives. In the

course of our explorations, we found powerful and personalized evidence that schools matter

positively in keeping Hispanic students in school and in helping them to achieve acadeinically.

The most impressive schools that we visited were those where teachers and staff worked together

to personalize each student's school experience. Teachers collaborated to ensure that no Hispanic

student fell through the cracks, either academically or psychosocially. Spanish-speaking staff

were respected for their ability to communicate with students' parents; indeed, many of these

schools aggressively recruited multilingual, multiethnic staff who could relate to their students

and parents.

Ni "The key finding from our research is that effective schools provide at-risk students with a community of support. School as a community of support is a broad

concept in which school membership and educational engagement are central.

School membership is concerned with a sense of belonging and social bonding to

the school and its members. Educational engagement is defined as involvement in

school activities but especially traditional classroom and academic work. . . . Schools successful at dropout prevention created a supportive environment that

helped students overcome impediments to membership and engagement."

In Wehlage, G. G., Rutter, R. A., Smith, G. A., Lesko, N., & Fernandez, R. R.

(1989). Reducing the risk: Schools as communities of support (p. 223). London:

The Falmer Press.

The Hispanic Dropout Project saw secondary schools and an entire school system in which

Hispanic students graduated in greater numbers than in similar schools; these examples challenge

the myth that secondary schools are doomed to be cold and impersonal places for students or that

they are too difficult to change into personalized and caring places. We also visited elementary

and middle schools that made special efforts to ensure that all their children learned how to read,

achieved academically, and became better connected to their school. Recognizing the real-world

challenges that their students faced, principals, teachers, and other school staff spoke with determination about Hispanic students learning, about not losing students, and about always trying to

do better. Teachers at one elementary school, for instance, said that they were relentless in ensuring that all of their Hispanic studentseven students who did not speak Englishcould read by

third grade.

Moreover, out-of-school alternative programs for students who could not attend regular school

used the latter as reference points by providing a curriculum that mirrored what was offered in

regular schools, by tutoring and helping students with their homework, and by helping to return

students to their original schools. Their services, therefore, were linked to the school and its

education programs.

31

0
N "Latinos at these schools "know the deal." They know when they are getting a

good education and when they are not. They also have some pretty good ideas on

how to improve education. . . . The bottom line in this report is that: good neighborhoods or bad: good schools = success, bad schools cause dropouts."

In Rodriguez, C. E. (1992). Student voices: High school students' perspectives on

the Latino dropout problem (p. 99). (Report to the Latino Commission on Educational Reform). New York: Fordham University.

On the negative side, the research literature paints an unflattering portrait of schools that do

nothing to improve their dropout rates, that use some subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) means

to encourage Hispanic students to leave school, and that deny Hispanics educational opportunity.

The staff at such schools behave as if the students (and their parents) are so rife with social

problems that there is nothing that they can do. The Hispanic Dropout Project heard some school

and district staff claim that schools could do very little to reduce the Hispanic dropout rate

because of student poverty, lack of student readiness or desire to learn, language, excessive

student mobility, excessive costs, lack of qualified staff, lack of knowledge about the real causes

of the problem, lack of parental concern, parental aspirations that do not include school, and

earlier efforts that have failed. Schools, according to these individuals, can do very little about

the larger social ills that befall their students. The literature is clear: Schools where such beliefs

are the norm are not likely to be very successful either in ensuring that large numbers of their

Hispanic students graduate or in educating many of their students very well.

The Hispanic Dropout Project heard from students, parents, and community activists who said

that school conditions made dropping out an inevitable outcome and logical choice for students.

In these schools, staff were said not to care about Hispanic students; policies involving discipline

and grading were applied in a biased manner; tracking and other forms of ability grouping were

used to write off whole segments of the student body, not to improve educational opportunities;

and the general attitude seemed to be: "Ignore the problem and it will go away." Schools may in

fact try to make the problem go away. For instance, we heard about schools using Hispanic

students' excessive absences to suspend students rather than to conduct formal suspension

hearings on more serious charges. Many Hispanic students and parents charged that rules were

being enforced unfairly.

7z:i "I was absent 27 times in one class, 36 in another. They only checked things out

when I was dragged into the principal's office with red eyes. 'Look at these absences.' [they said]. Well, it's about time you noticed!" Testimony at HDP open

hearing, Las Cruces

Overcrowding and the quality of a school's facilities affect a school's ability to keep its students.

One mother complained that the building code had been waived for the city's schools. This

meant that dilapidated schoolslocated primarily in the inner citywould not have to be

brought up to code. According to this mother, the district's newer schools, which were being

built in its wealthier neighborhoods would, of course, be built according to code. Another parent

noted that her son was one of over 2,000 students in a building designed for 1,500. She talked

32
about the heat, noise, and deteriorating conditions at this school where large males could not help

but jostle one another as they went from class to class. Because of the heat and noise, tempers

would flare, fights break out, and students would be suspended. As this mother observed, the step

from suspension to dropping out is very small. The Hispanic Dropout Project heard about secondary schools enrolling 40 students in a class, but having 30 chairs. In at least one case, teachers were told not to worry because not all the students would show up. "What sort of a message

does this send to the school's students?" asked a graduate from such a school.

1

"We need smaller classes. With 34 students in a class, teachers don't have time to

listen to you. During my freshman and sophomore years, my math classes were

small. During my junior year, I was put into large classes. Things got harder for

me to learn and the teacher couldn't help me. I was an honors student; remedial

classes are even bigger. My sister was in a class with 40 kids. There are 4 to 5

kids for a microscope. We don't have enough books, so they tell us, 'Go to the

library [to get books].' We don't have enough chairs in our classrooms, so we

have to sit on the floor. We can't even Xerox a poem by Shakespeare. This sends

a strong message to the student: 'You're not important " Testimony at student

leader meeting, New York City

There are too many wrongheaded solutions to the issues of low student achievement, retention,

excessive student absence, and eventually, student dropout. Tracking, grade retention, and remedial coursework are too often used to write off students considered too difficult to handle. Too

many schools focus their efforts on students' acquiring English to the detriment of their learning

content. Schools seldom help Hispanic students develop a sense of their own future or provide

them with information needed to make informed decisions about their education programs.

The Hispanic Dropout Project found five characteristics of schools that make a difference in their

students' education. First, these schools have very high academic and behavioral standards for

their students. Second, they communicate those standards clearly, and they provide access to and

support students in meeting those standardsthat is, they provide students with many opportunities to succeed in meeting these high standards. Third, schools that make a difference connect

their students in meaningful ways to adults. In spite of their size, secondary schools can adopt

strategiessuch as a school within a school, a group of teachers accepting responsibility for the

same students, everyone on staff agreeing to "adopt" some students, older students mentoring

younger studentsto increase the personalization that students need to experience. Fourth, these

schools connect their students to possible futures in college and the work force. Fifth, they

provide families with useful information about how their children are doing and about their

futures. Rather than accepting the myth that parents do not care, good schools adopt the position

that parents need information in order to make informed decisions that affecttheir children.

Aspirations are not enough. For schools to make a difference, they must provide ways for students and their families to achieve those aspirations.

"Educational engagement is a complex process that involves more than simply

'motivating' students. Promoting engagement requires attention to student char33

02
acteristics, the tasks students are asked to perform, the school environment in

which work takes place, and the external environment that influences the

student and the school itself . . .In spite of conditions outside the school that

weaken student engagement, there are practices that educators could implement to substantially strengthen it. The level of engagement. . .could be increased if specific impediments under the control of educators were addressed. . . . (1) Schoolwork is not extrinsically motivating for many students

because achievement is not tied to any explicit and valued goal; (2) The

dominant learning process pursued in schools is too narrow in that it is highly

abstract, verbal, sedentary, individualistic, competitive and controlled by

others as opposed to concrete, problem-oriented, active, kinesthetic, cooperative and autonomous. Because of these qualities, the dominant mode of learning stifles the likelihood of intrinsic rewards for many students. (3) Classroom

learning is often stultifying because educators are obsessed with the 'coverage' of subject matter; this makes school knowledge superficial, and also

intrinsically unsatisfying, thereby preventing students from gaining the sense

of competence that ideally accompanies achievement." In Wehlage, G. G.,

Rutter, R. A., Smith, G. A., Lesko, N., & Fernandez, R. R. (1989). Reducing

the risk: Schools as communities of support (p. 179). London: The Falmer

Press.

Although ye were impressed with the preschool and early childhood education programs that we

visited, we would caution that, by themselves, these programs are not enough. First, Hispanic

access to high-quality early childhood education programs is limited. According to Head Start

data, there simply are not enough programs to meet demand. Second, the research has failed to

produce substantial evidence that the effects of early childhood interventions persist very long

after the program ends. Schools need to provide consistent and ongoing support throughout

grades K-12.

We were impressed with the quality of the alternative programs that we visited; however, we

caution that alternative programs can become little more than holding pens for their students and

that these programs cannot replace schools. Schools could learn from the quality programs that

we visited. Students recounted that they were treated with respect and warmth in their alternative

settings. Just as important, staff at such places accepted their students' experiences yet encouraged students to consider the consequences of their actions. To the staff, that a student had

skipped school a lot, been suspended from school, or had dropped out did not mean that the

student was fundamentally flawed. Rather, that a student had behaved inappropriately meant that

there were consequences. Personnel in alternative settings helped students learn from their

actions, and overcome, avert, or reverse the worst of those consequences. The challenge is for

Hispanic students' regular schools to become more like these alternative placements and other

schools that do a good job at retaining and educating their students.

34

33
Actions the Schools Need to Take

[To Keep Latino Students In]

1. Focus on student learning

2. Meet basic needs

3. Use a variety of teaching techniques

4. Make material meaningful to students

5. Make scholastic standards clear to all

6. Allow no student to fail

7. Use tests as milestones

8. Make participation in school work more rewarding than skipping

9. Make skipping difficult

10. Value persistence and hard work

11. Make schools accessible to parents

12. Assume responsibility for educating all students

13. Mobilize resources to link school and work.

In Romo, H. D., & Falbo, T. (1996). Latino high school graduation: Defying the odds (pp. 15-19).

Austin: University of Texas Press.

The most shocking of our findings is the rarity of outstanding schools and programs like those

we visited. Although the project visited many sites that featured impressive programs, those

programs served a very small number of Hispanic students, and they are at variance with the

average educational experiences of Hispanic students. However, there was little about those

schools and programs that could not be replicated elsewhere.

1. Schools should emphasize the prevention of problems. They need to become more aggressive in responding to the early warning signs that a student may be doing poorly in, losing

interest in, or in some other way, becoming disengaged from school.

Elementary schools should ensure that all children know how to read by third grade and that they

are learning mathematics with understanding. Middle and secondary schools should build on the

successes of elementary schools.

Schools should be alert to early warning signs of student disengagement. If, for example, a

student has two unexcused absences in a row from school, parents should be contacted by a live

personby phone or even by a home visit. The immediacy and personalization of the contact

make a difference.

35

34
1. Schools should be held accountable and should hold themselves accountable for

growth and progress of all students.

2. School procedures, practices, and policies must be individualized and personalized for

high-risk youth.

3. Effective middle-school interventions for high-risk youth must address simultaneously

the three contexts of family, school, and community through an independent, schoolbased, case management approach.

4. System reforms of schools must not only change organization structures and practices,

but more importantly, must change adult attitudes and behaviors to be more compassionate and nurturing toward high-risk youth.

In Larson, K., & Rumberger, R. (1995). ALAS, Achievement for Latinos through academic success (Dropout prevention and intervention project targeting middle school youth with learning disabilities and

emotional/behavioral disorders at risk for dropping out of school. Project evaluation: 1990-1995),

pp. A69-A70.

Minorities are overrepresented in special education programs. Schools should ensure that their

assignment practices are valid; more importantly, they should emphasize the interventions that

prevent such placements.

2. Schools, especially high schools, need to personalize programs and services that work with

Hispanic students.

Strategies that could be adopted by a high school trying to personalize its programs and services

include the reduction of individual class size, reduction in the number of different classes that

teachers must teach, creation of schools within schools or of a smaller high school for all but a

few highly specialized classes, the creation of houses or academies within a large high school,

team-teaching involving fewer students, teachers serving as counselors for or "adopting" a few

students, and older students serving as mentors for younger students.

3. Schools should be restructured to ensure that all students have access to high-quality

curricula. They should reconfigure time, space, and staffing patterns to provide students

with additional support needed to achieve.

School restructuring needs to attend to the nature of the curriculum that is provided to students so

that all students encounter a curriculum that is demanding, interesting, and engaging.

Ni "A positive school climateone in which students feel 'membership' in their

schools and in which they perceive that teachers care about them as individuals36

35
is considered a prerequisite for student engagement in either academic or vocational learning. The large size of many high schools is seen as a strong institutional barrier to a positive school climate. In large schools, teachers are most

likely to form close supervisory relations with only the most accomplished students, while others (most often minority students and low achievers) remain

isolated from ongoing adult attention. . . . Available evidence indicates that lowachieving students are most likely to prosper in smaller schools. Accordingly,

some districts have created alternative schools and schools-within-schools to

make schools feel smaller" In Panel on High-Risk Youth, National Research

Council. (1993). Losing generations: Adolescents in high-risk settings (p. 207).

Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Secondary and junior high schools should eliminate their lowest tracks. Relative to advanced

placement tracks, low-track classrooms are overcrowded, have the least qualified teachers, have

the fewest resources, and experience a low-level curriculum focused on remediation to the virtual

exclusion of any new or interesting content. If tracking is to be anything for large numbers of

Hispanic students other than the final stop en route to being pushed out, these conditions must

change.

Hispanic students should be recruited actively into the highest tracks and provided with the

support to succeed. In addition to placing students in more demanding curricular settings,

schools should provide added support for students such as libraries, after-school programs,

individualized tutoring, counseling, and social service referrals.

Ng "Those programs that are most effective are the ones that are least like school.

They meet the needs of the learner according to when the learner needs to learn.

They provide flexibility. High schools need to become more like this." Testimony

at HDP open forum, San Antonio

The changes that we recommend above are not difficult nor are they expensive. What they

require is a commitment by school personnel to provide educational opportunities to all their

students.

4. Schools should replicate programs that have proven effective. In addition to using new

funding, schools should redeploy existing resources to run these programs.

The Hispanic Dropout Project found programs and efforts that have proven effective or show

promise for improving Hispanic student achievement and lowering the dropout rate. Schools do

not have to reinvent these programs. They should be prepared to adapt existing programs to the

needs of their students and to local conditions. Appendix F provides a list of programs identified

as effective in the project's commissioned papers.

37
Effective Dropout Prevention Strategies

Counseling services and adult advocacy for students are key elements of any particular

dropout prevention initiative.

At the elementary level, providing after-school tutoring and enrichment that are directly

related to in-class assignments and having in-class adult friends (e.g., trained volunteers

or helpers) appear to be effective approaches.

At the middle level, team teaching strategies, flexible scheduling, heterogeneous grouping of students, and provision of as-needed counseling assistance are especially useful

strategies.

At the secondary level, paid work, embedded in activities that prepare and monitor

students' on-the-job experiences, appears to be a critical component to keeping students

in school.

In programs where dropout recovery is an emphasis, flexible class schedules assist

students who need to work or meet personal commitments during regular school hours.

In Rossi, R. J. (1995). Evaluation of projects funded by the school dropout demonstration assistance

program: Final evaluation report (Volume 1: Findings and recommendations) (p. 7). Washington, DC: U.S.

Department of Education.

Although any program has start-up costs and schools are strapped for resources, many programs

visited by the project and reviewed in its conunissioned papers can be implemented through a

combination of new and old funding, and a reconfiguration of existing roles and responsibilities.

5. Schools should carefully monitor the effectiveness of their programs and continuously try

to improve them or to replace them with more reliable strategies.

School effectiveness in reducing Hispanic dropout rates or in increasing student achievement

will not be accomplished overnight. The most impressive programs visited by the project had

been developed and improved over the years by their staffs. Over the years, these schools and

programs had carefully recruited staffs who supported their mission and respected their students;

they fine-tuned their strategies for teaching students and for preventing dropout; they recruited

parents into partnerships; they developed credibility and support within the Hispanic and business communities; they were entrepreneurial in raising funds to support their efforts.

In talking with members of the Hispanic Dropout Project, school personnel and concerned

community people highlighted many well-meaning efforts. Yet they were unable to provide

convincing, research-based evidence that their programs were reaching targeted students or that

the programs were effective. Schools and others should monitor their efforts, keep what works

well, modify what could be improved, and discard what does not work.

38

3 7
"Our recommendations for restructuring schools have calledfor greater coordination of educational resources and their delivery to students. Restructuring

schools must lead to improved management of the educational experiences of

students, whether at the classroom, school, district, state, orfederal level. Restructuring the relationships among schools, families, andcommunities must

result in the same type of improved management of the educational and social

resources delivered to disadvantaged youth. At a time when the gap between

available resources and needs is growing, we must obtain as much leverage as

possible from all of the resources at our command. The coherent, mutually reinforcing mobilization of school, family, and community resources may be our best

hope for addressing the problems of disadvantaged students. We simply cannot

afford duplication, lack of coordination, and piecemeal approaches if we wish to

have an impact on the problem." In Natriello, G., McDill, E. L., & Pallas, A. M.

(1990). Schooling disadvantaged children: Racing against catastrophe (p. 197).

New York: Teachers College Press.

6. Schools and alternative programs should be better coordinated.

Students noted they often had a hard time making the transition from an alternative program

back to school. Personnel working in alternative programs had similar concerns about schools'

lack of cooperation with their efforts to provide students with a meaningful education until they

could return to school.

39

38
DISTRICT, STATE, AND NATIONAL POLICIES

School districts, states, and the nation as a whole influence whether Hispanics drop out or stay in

school. School districts' influence is felt through their governance of schools, recruitment of a

workforce, and the professional development that they provide to teachers. States exert influence

through their education policies, assessment and accountability programs, and teacher certification requirements. The nature and quality of national debates involving education influence

funding and other forms of legislation.

N "If we're the future, I don't see why we [funding for schools] have to be cut. It's

the future of the whole country" Speaker at student leader meeting, New York City

The project heard some individuals link Hispanic education to debates about immigrationboth

legal and illegaland to language policy. As a result, debates about what to do to solve a problem turn into debates about deeply held beliefs involving noneducational matters. Such unrelated

beliefs interfere with the development of a coherent education policy at all levels. The following

is a sampling of beliefs that are obstacles to solving the problem of Hispanic dropout: (a) until

we really understand the full extent of the problem, we can do nothing; (b) this is a local school

problem that does not lie in the domain of state or other policy levels; (c) there are a few successful programs, but they cannot be scaled up; (d) these are not ourchildren, hence, it is not our

problem; (e) the problem is short term and will go away when something else (typically, immigration policy) is taken care of; and (f) serious efforts to solve this problem cost more than the

public is willing to spend.

Once again, our findings contradict such wrongheaded beliefs. For instance, at the most impressive sites that the project visited, language policy and immigration issues had been depoliticized

for the cause of education. Districts decided that, in order to educate their students, they had to

recruit teachers who could communicate with them and with their parents, that is, with the

district's ever-changing clientele. These districts hired teachers and administrative staff who

spoke Spanish and who were familiar with Hispanic culture. Their schools developed programs

that built on students' native language and theirreal-world knowledge in the various subjects in

order to prepare them for life in Americafor higher education, jobs, careers, and citizenship.

There were no questions about using and, in many cases, developing children's native languages

and home cultures because this was what the children brought to school with them. Also, there

were no questions that children would become literate in English and learn to high standards.

71 "Chapter 1 and dropout prevention programs are the traditional means for

providing extra assistance to the most needy students. However, they are often de

facto lower tracks for students who have been retained." In Panel on High-Risk

Youth, National Research Council. (1993). Losing generations: Adolescents in

high-risk settings (p. 206). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

41

3 9
Schools and programs were very creative in finding new sources of funds and in redeploying

existing monies for dropout prevention and education improvement efforts. Although the project

was impressed by the sheer amount of volunteerism and creative funding employed by every site

and program that its members visited, every single program and alternative school was severely

underfunded and living a hand-to-mouth existence. Programs had waiting lists. Alternative

schoolswith their relatively small student-to-teacher ratiosfelt that they were always on the

chopping block due to their costs and their districts' ongoing budget problems.

On the other hand, the conditions that we witnessed at many sites recalled for us what many of

those we interviewed told usthat dropping out under such conditions is a healthy response.

Children and their families should never be subjected to such unhealthy conditionsthat they

would feel they had no other choice but to drop out in order to protect their well being. Classrooms and schools where instruction and proper attention to children's needs are inhibited due to

overcrowding, lack of equipment and supplies, rundown buildings, and overused, out-of-date

textbooks are all unhealthy conditions that no country with high expectations for learning for all

children should expect any of its children to tolerate.

Likewise, given the few resources that are available for professional developmentto upgrade teachers'

skills for working with changing populations of students, it is not too hard to see why some school

personnel respond to their Hispanic students with neglect if not actively push themout.

"When a student fails a class or two, some people want that student to drop out.

He's taking space that someone else who wants to succeed could have." Speaker

at student leader meeting, New York City

The project heard from parents, teachers, and other school personnel about contradictory guidelines and policies that are too complex for parents to understand and too time-consuming for

them to follow. For instance, one district often informs parents about their children's educational

problems and possible program options by using a multi-page check-off form that includes

special education, Title 1, bilingual education, English as a second language, socio-psychological

and behavioral problems and counseling, achievement, and excessive absence or tardiness.

Though convenient for the district, these forms confuse parents who are too overwhelmed to ask

for clarification about what the form means. Confronted with such forms, policies, and guidelines

parents feel discouraged from participating in decisions that affect their children's schooling.

N"Another surprise was the readiness of school administrators to administratively

transfer students to another school for behaviors associated with school disengagement and dropouthigh absenteeism, disruptive non-conforming behavior,

or poor academic work. Case studies in other schools have documented how often

and in what ways school administrators actively 'got rid of troublemakers.' . . . Special education law and due process were frequently ignored by either blatant

noncompliance or by conforming to the letter of the law but not the intent or spirit

of the law. . . . There was deep resistance by the school to provide more than 45

minutes of resource help despite youth's failing multiple classes. Most often it

42 40
was 'regular' education personnel who were responsible for making suspension

and disciplinary referrals about special education youth. In general, these personnel were more exclusionary and alienating in their approach than inclusionary

and engaging. Frequently, the 'letter of the special education law'framed actions

as opposed to the 'spirit' of the IEP process. . . . Frequently, when a youth was

having difficulty in school, especially in terms of behaviorproblems, the Sehool

would place the students on home or independent study. . . . Unfortunately, we

found that almost every single youth placed on independent study, where they'

came to a center to receive and turn in assignments completed at home, did not

produce enough school work to earn any credits toward graduation." In Larson,

K., & Rumberger, R. (1995). ALAS, Achievement for Latinos through academic

success (Dropout prevention and intervention project targeting middle school

youth with learning disabilities and emotional/behavioral disorders at risk for

dropping out of school. Project evaluation: 1990-1995), pp.A66-A66.

District and state policies can provide incentives for schools to ignore student difficultiesif not

to actively push students out. For instance, many states provide funding based on a one-time

student count that takes place early in the year. Parents and school personnel reported that prior

to the student census, schools actively try to keep students. After the schools have their monies,

they can simply ignore student tardiness, absence, truancy, and other behaviors that lead to

dropout. Not only are there no sanctions when schools rid themselves of sueh "bad" students,

there are positive consequences, especially for overcrowded schools. When students leave

overcrowded schools, the benefits include smaller classes, additional resources for the "good"

students who remain, improved performance on mandated assessments and on other indicators of

school productivity, less stress on the overall climate of the school, and a reduced administrative

burden. Moreover, safe in the knowledge that a new crop ofstudents will enter in time for next

year's census, the school has no reason to recruit students who leave into already overcrowded

alternative programs.

Districts and states also provide incentives for schools to exclude Hispanics from their accountability systems by focusing solely or mostly on achievement as the major accountability item and

then allowing schools to exclude students who are identified as limited English proficient, in

need of special education services, or through some other categorical marker. The exclusion of

such students and the sole focus on test data allow, if not encourage, schools to hide many of

their lowest-achieving students.

"The city, state, and others allow bad conditions to continue. They set the codes

and allowable noise levels in schools. The district gets waivers from the state so

that untrained teacher aides can become teachers." Testimony at HDP open

forum, San Antonio

Districts may overenroll high school students, under the presumption that not all students will

come to class. Such a practice sends strong messages to students that they are not expected to

attend. Teachers also receive the message that some students are not expected to come to class

43

41
and that they are not expected to teach all of their enrolled students. It should not be surprising

when students and teachers comply with these messages.

Recommendation 1: Districts should establish strong permanent alternatives as part of a

comprehensive strategy of dropout prevention. Alternative schools should be high-status

organizations receiving resources commensurate with the tasks they undertake and the

success they demonstrate.

Recommendation 2: Districts, in cooperation with state departments of education, should

establish special alternative schools for at-risk students with a clear mission that includes

experimentation, curricular innovation and staff development.

Recommendation 3: State policy should require each school system to establish a Management Information System that provides basic and common dataon all students.

Recommendation 4: State policy should require schools to examine the effects of course

failure, grade retention, out-of-school suspension and other practices that appear to

impact negatively on at-risk students.

Recommendation 5: State and local policy should encourage the decentralization of large

schools and school systems, creating smaller units characterized by site-based management.

Recommendation 6: State and local policy should encourage the development of new

curricula and teaching strategies designed for diverse groups of at-risk students.

Recommendation 7: State and local policy should develop mechanisms to hold schools

accountable for their dropout rates through a system emphasizing outcomes and results.

Recommendation 8: Cities should develop broad-based community partnerships aimed at

serving at-risk youth.

In Wehlage, G. G., Rutter, R. A., Smith, G. A., Lesko, N., & Fernandez, R. R. (1989). Reducing the risk:

Schools as co.mmunities of support (pp. 225-236). London: The Falmer Press.

1. Districts should inform students and parents of their policies in ways that are clear and

easy to understand. Policies should not be overly complex, nor should administrativeprocedures discourage parental participation. Parents should be warned, well in advance, when

their children's behaviors are deemed unacceptable to the district. Districts should enforce

their policies fairly and equitably. If a student is charged with a serious infraction, districts

should not bypass due- process by also charging the student with something that is unrelated

but easier to substantiate.

44 4 2
2. States should analyze their policies to remove incentivesfor schools to ignore, if not push out,

students who experience trouble. State policies should be rewritten with an eye towards encouraging schools to do all they can to retain students. District and state accountability and incentive

systems should encourage schools to keep students through high school graduation.

Report cards of school effectiveness and other efforts by districts and states to hold their schools

publicly accountable should not be limited to overall levels of achievement. They should include

information about students who were excluded from the tests, student completion rates, attendance statistics, and student enrollment in various tracks. Schools and Hispanic parents should

know how Hispanic students are doing.

"We recommend four strategies for moving decisions to levels where information

on student performance and behavior is available: (1) revising rules and programs to promote flexibility; (2) using goal setting to enhance the discretion of

local educators; (3) creating self-contained teaching/learning units, to allow

educators to make decisions about deploying resources to meet student needs;

and (4) providing educational resources above those thought minimally necessary,

thus allowing educators some discretion in addressing emerging needs."

In Natriello, G., McDill, E. L., & Pallas, A. M. (1990). Schooling disadvantaged

children: Racing against catastrophe (p. 161). New York: Teachers College Press.

3. In light of the ongoing standards movement, districts and statesshould develop standards for

school conditions, class and school size, and in general, student opportunity to learn. Districts

should restructure schools that are too krge and impersonal into smaller-sized units. Districts'

and states' oversight and accountability mechanisms should ensure that Hispanic students

participate in the ongoingreform agendas. Reform agendasespeciallyhigh-stakes testing

programsshould be explained to the parents of Hispanic students, and theirinput solicited.

High-stakes testing programs should be monitored to ensure that they are implemented equitably so that Hispanic students have a fair opportunity to show what theyknow and can do.

4. Districts and state education agencies should design comprehensive strategies for dropout

prevention that are tied to the states' standards and that take account of students' differing

needs at different points in their lives.

Well-meaning advocates for one or another intervention targeted for a specific age-group often

seem to promise more than they can accomplish. No single strategybe it early childhood

intervention, Title I, bilingual education, alternative education, curriculum reform, student

tutoring and mentoringcan by itself solve the problem of student dropout. The most successful

schools visited by the Hispanic Dropout Project used multiple approaches across pre-K-12, and

even provided support for older people to return to school to obtain a high school certificate.

5. School districts and state education agencies should evaluate currently funded dropout

prevention efforts against curricular and student learning standards, and they should

provide support for those efforts to continuously improve.

45

4 3
6. As schools become better able to respond to their diverse student populations,programs

should be redirected so as to (a) reconnect students who have been placed on the borderline

between success and failure and (b) provide alternatives for students who, for whatever

reason, prefer to take alternative pathways to a high school credential.

7. Districts and state education agencies should provide lifelong learning opportunities so that

people past school age can still acquire a high school credential.

Society cannot afford to give up on people who, for whatever reasons, have dropped out of

school. They should be encouraged to and provided with multiple opportunities to return to

school and to graduate.

"Prior policy has always been focused on prevention. What about people who have

dropped out? What should we be doing about the people who are the victims of

previous policy and inaction?" Testimony at HDP open hearing, New York City

8. Districts, state education agenciesindeed, all of societyneed to target theirresources strategically and to invest more money in helping schools, particularly urban schools, to provide their

Hispanic students with opportunities to learn. For example, additional resources could be tied to

(a) schools' implementation of programs that have beenproven effective or (b) the expansion

and continuous improvement of a promising program that is already in place.

Because existing resources need to be directed more strategically, schools and districts should

carefully evaluate their programs and engage in continuous improvement of their best practices.

School districts should redirect monies strategically from programs that are not working (and

that seem unable to work) to implementing and improving school-based programs that do work.

Schoolsespecially urban schools in conditions of povertyneed additional resources. There is

no way to improve the physical plant of run-down schools, to reduce class size, to target muchneeded resources, to purchase basic supplies and new books, to reform curriculum, and to provide professional development for teachers without an increased investment in those schools that

educate our poorest children.

"The formal institution that directly affects virtually all adolescents is school. Schools

are critically important because education is the means by which individuals from

economically or socially disadvantaged backgrounds can build the skills and credentials needed for successful adult roles in mainstream American life. . . . Because of

residential stratification, most of these adolescents attend schools with the fewest

material resources. In 1991, for example, per pupil expenditures in the 47 largest

urban school districts averaged $5,200; in suburban districts, the figure was $6,073.

Although an $875 per pupil funding gap may not appear significant, in an average

class of 25 students, the difference is almost $22,000enough to hire an aide, provide

special instructional materials or computers, pay significantly higher teacher salaries,

or improve a dilapidated classroom. When the relatively greater need of urban chil46 4 4
dren for special services is taken into account (for health needs, language instruction

for non-English-proficient students, etc.), the resource differences are even more

critical. Differences in funding of this magnitude can make a clear qualitative difference in the total educational experience. Traditional education practices contribute to

the high rates offailure for low-achieving students. Historically, schools have addressed the diversity of student achievement by tracking students into homogeneous

ability groups and by retaining students who fail courses because of poor attendance,

grades, or test scores. Contrary to expectations, these practices have consistently

shown negative academic and social consequences for low-achieving adolescents."

In Panel on High-Risk Youth, National Research Council. (1993). Losing generations:

Adolescents in high-risk settings (p. 7). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Districts and school personnel may balk, at first, at the idea of redirecting existing resources. The

larger society might have concerns about investing more money than is currently the case in the

education of poor Hispanic children. Yet, if monies could be invested strategically in order to

provide Hispanics with high-quality education programs in the first place, then schools and

society would save on the long-term costs of their failure to have educated these children properly.

9. Schools, districts, and state education agencies need to develop better management information systems that follow students more accurately and efficiently.

In order to plan, monitor, evaluate, and improve dropout prevention programs, people need

information about students who leave school. Such information is simply not available. Current

policy is focused on students who stay; hence there are few incentives for schools or districts to

worry about dropouts. Without such basic information, it seems impossible to envision the

development of any comprehensive set of interventions.

Knowing annual dropout rates of high school students is a start, but ultimately inadequate for

planning and monitoring programs. Where possible, districts should follow groups of students

from first through twelfth grades.

10. Schools and districts must diversify their teaching workforce to include people with the

knowledge, language skills, and backgrounds that will enable them to better connect with

Hispanic students and their parents.

Beyond having role models, Hispanic students need to encounterteachers who communicate

trust and confidence, who can understand what students are experiencing, and who can guide and

support students. Hispanic students reported establishing mutually respectful relationships with

Hispanic teachers, with non-Hispanic teachers and volunteers who themselves had dropped out

of school but still managed to further their education, with retired teachers who communicated a

sincere confidence in students' intelligence and ability to succeed, and with other adults whose

own life experiences validated them in the students' eyes. Such teachers were in short supply in

these children's schools.

47

4 5
"In contrast to Coleman et al.'s 1966 finding of no consistent differences in the

quantity and quality of school inputs for predominantly majority and minority schools,

the analyses presented in this paper reveal substantial within district variations in four

types of school inputs: teacher test scores, years of education, teacher experience and

class size (student-teacher ratios). The statistical models presented in this paper

document a sorting of school inputs based on campus raciaVethnic and socio-economic composition. In particular, the models suggest that teacher ability, measured

with both verbal and written proficiency scores, decreases with campus percentage

black and Hispanic and increases with the campus percentage of higher income

students. . . . Texas teachers employed in schools with high fractions of disadvantaged

minority students have fewer years of education and less experience and have more

students in their classes." In Kain, J. E, & Singleton, K. (1996). Equality of educational opportunity revisited. (Paper presented at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Symposium.) Cambridge: Harvard Institute of Economic Research.

In addition, schools need teachers who can understand and talk to Hispanic parents. Parents

respond best to people they know outside of school such as their neighbors and other parents, to

people who treat them with respect, to people who speak Spanish or at least do not denigrate

their accents, and to people who clearly show that they care for their children's academic success.

Diversifying the teaching workforce will occur only when people with broad experience, knowledge, and dispositions to work with Hispanic students are recruited into and successfully complete certification programs. Schools of education, school districts, state education agencies, state

boards of education, and postsecondary education's governing bodies have important roles in

diversifying the teacher workforce.

11. Schools and Colleges of Education should recruit people into the teaching profession who

will diversify its ranks. They should develop course work, practica, student teaching, and

other experiences that will help all preservice teachers to succeed with Hispanic students.

The governing bodies of postsecondary education institutions should require that their

faculty be able and willing to prepare teachers to teach Hispanic students.

Recommendation 1: Put the services in rather than pull students out.

Recommendation 2: Deliver the services without calling attention to the fact that special

services are being provided.

Recommendation 3: Deliver the services within a supportive climate that includes adults

as student advocates.

Recommendation 4: Provide students with substantive incentives to participate.

Recommendation 5: Carefully select, train, and support the staff persons providing the services . In Rossi, R. J. (1995). Evaluation of projects funded by the school dropout demonstration assistance

program: Final evaluation report (pp. 8-10) (Volume 1: Findings and recommendations). Washington, DC:

U.S. Department of Education.

48 4 6
12. Teacher certification bodies should insist that entering teachers have the knowledge and

skills needed to work with a diverse student body.

Because it is within the power of state boards of education to set minimal requirements for

entering teachers, they should use those requirements to pressure universities to update their

teacher preparation prograins so that new teachers will be better able to, in the long run, teach

Hispanic students. In addition, the certification bodies should update their rules and regulations

so as to encourage the creation of a diverse teacher workforce.

13. Bilingual education, the education of Hispanics, and the education of immigrantsshould

be depoliticized.

Many schools that were successfully keeping Hispanic students in school relied on bilingual

education and incorporated Hispanic culture into their functioning. On the other hand, schools

can also use programs for limited English proficient students to deny such students access to a

mainstream education. In other words, bilingual education, English as a second language, and

sheltered English instruction are but the means to an endkeeping students in school in one

case, denying them educational opportunity in the other. Schools and districts should choose

among program models and adopt those characteristics that best suit their unique situations.

NI "There is a need for broader recognition that the achievement of educational and

social potential is not just an individual affair It also involves the constraints of

the peer groups in which the youths are embedded, and the constraints of the

schools they attend. When schools segregate or cluster individuals who share low

standards of accomplishment (or expectations for school dropout), they explicitly

help bring about those outcomes. To keep educational opportunities open, there

should not only be challenges for achievement, but ample assistance and support

to ensure that each student will reach adequate standards.

The curriculum should include information that is not only preparatory for subsequent accomplishments; it should place the information in the context of living.

In plans to prevent serious problems of behavior, at-risk youths should be kept in

the conventional system, not excluded from it. Exclusion serves to exacerbate

problem behavior by the selective isolation of the individuals from the rules and

standards of conventional society.

In the inner city and elsewhere, schools and the values they represent constitute

safe havens for many students. In cases of children of privilege, the school is more

typically an extension of the rest of the individual's life experience. For seriously

disadvantaged youths, the haven might serve a unique function. This function

must not be compromised, and society must ensure that access to schools remains

open and safe, including zones around schools and places within it." In Cairns,

R. B., & Cairns, B. D. (1994). Lifelines and risks: Pathways of youth in our time

(pp. 191- 193). New York: Cambridge University Press.

49

4 7
COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, BUSINESS,

AND THE LARGER COMMUNITY

Community-based organizations, the business community, chambers of commerce, and other

agencies can play mutually reinforcing roles in reducing the Hispanic dropout rate. Businesses

and chambers of commercewhich are rightly concerned about the productivity and quality of

the local workforceshould provide work experiences that support students' staying in school,

provide incentives for students to continue their education, and encourage their employees'

participation in all facets of the community's schools. Community-based organizationswhich

are concerned about the overall quality of life for Hispanics in the local communityshould

advocate for their members' concerns in the schools and seek support from business for the

education programs that they provide to students.

N "We [schools] can't do it alone. We have a hard time educating the kids who are

staying in school." Speaker at HDP open hearing, San Diego

The thoughtful comments that we heard at the project's hearings and the activities that we witnessed provide ample counterevidence to those who would assert that groups outside the school

have little or no role to play in addressing issues of Hispanic dropout. Latina businesswomen

became active friends, role models, and mentors to younger Latinas. Chamber of Commerce

members mentored and tutored students, volunteered in schools, and served on advisory boards

and committees. Community-based organizations advocated on behalf of parents and provided

education services that paralleled and supported Hispanic students' school experiences. Representatives from across the local community participated in local self-study efforts to improve the

schools' responsiveness to their Hispanic clientele. We visited some alternative, out-of-school

programs that were financially supported by local businesses. Some businesses and chambers of

commerce provided scholarships for Hispanics to go on to college. These individuals and agencies maintained long-term, personal commitments to students.

"We should encourage businesses to help link parents with schools." Speaker at

HDP open hearing, San Diego

However, we also heard of cases where the conditions of employment interfered with Hispanic

parents' ability to participate in their children's education. Parents often noted that more of them

would have come to the project's open hearings, but friends, family, and neighbors could not get

off from work. Similar to earlier stories of parents who risked, and in some cases lost, their jobs

to take an active role in their children's education, one parent testified about leaving his daughter

at school every day at 8:30 a.m. If anything happened before he left work in the late afternoon,

that parent could not go to the school without risking his job.

1. The local business community, chamber of commerce, and community-based organizations

should work together to help to keep students in school. Coalitions of community-based

organizations and businesses should monitor local conditions to ensure that Hispanic

51

4 8
students receive the high-quality education that they deserve. These same coalitions should

advocate at local, state, and national levels for the improvement of the educational conditions of Hispanic students.

In addition to in-school tutoring and out-of-school mentoring programs, financial assistance, and

other forms of volunteerism, businesses should offer school-to-work apprenticeships and internships that integrate productive work and schooling for Hispanic students who wish to stay in

school but feel pressure to contribute to their families. Businesses could also provide space and

financial, managerial, and other forms of continuing assistance for school- and community-based

alternative programs.

"Increase the credits that are offered to corporations for kids who are adopted

and given the opportunity to work. Corporations should get involved. They

should help with parent training and provide teacher training." Speaker at HDP

open hearing, San Diego

2. Businesses where students work shoukl provide incentives and support for their students to

complete and to continue beyond high school.

Many Hispanic students work out of basic economic necessity. Carefully designed school-towork programs that balance between academic demands and the needs of the workplace can help

students meet their economic and educational responsibilities by strengthening the connections

between what students study and how it is applied in the workplace. Businesses must avoid

encouraging or allowing students to work excessive hours that would endanger their school

completion. Instead, employees of older secondary school students should provide flexible work

schedules, tutoring, study time during work hours, mentoring, individual and family referrals to

social service agencies as needed, incentives, and other supports so that students can finish high

school. If a person cannot finish high school, then the business should encourage that student to

obtain a GED.

Businesses where Hispanic students work should also develop scholarship and other financial

assistance programs that encourage students to pursue postsecondary education.

3. The business community should implement policies that encourage parents to take time off,

as needed, to go to parentteacher conferences, to participate in school governance activities, and the like.

Businesses should include paid leave for participating in school activities as part of their overall

compensation package for workers.

N "The majority of projects offered academic skills and counseling, and many

offered a wide range of additional services, combined in a variety of ways within

and across 'project components' (i.e., discrete programmatic activities for specific

groups of students. Many projects were considered to offer comprehensive

52

4 9
services...academic, counseling, social support, and, for components serving

grades 6 and higher, vocational/career)." In Rossi, R. J. (1995). Evaluation of

projects funded by the school dropout demonstration assistance program: Final

evaluation report (p. 2) (Volume 1: Findings and recommendations). Washington,

DC: U.S. Department of Education.

4. The business community in conjunction with community-based organizations should

support schools in their missions.

Businesses and community-based organizations have expertise to share with schools on fund

raising, needs assessment, strategic planning, and day-to-day management. They should study

the physical plant and other resources of their local schools. As necessary, these organizations

should press for increased financing of schools that is targeted to the identified needs and for

ensuring that Hispanic students receive high-quality programs. They should also help schools to

design and implement continuing improvement programs.

5. Community-based organizations should continue to include the concerns of Hispanic

parents in their service and advocacy activities.

We visited adult literacy programs, early childhood interventions staffed by parents, out-ofschool tutoring offered by adults in the community, social service referrals, and mentoring efforts

initiated by community-based organizations. In addition, many of these organizations encouraged parents to visit their children's schools and advocated for the school to take their parents'

concerns seriously.

NI "We point out the need within communities to develop comprehensive, clear plans

hL for delivering services to the disadvantaged. Most communities lack a coherent

policy on what services are needed, who should be receiving them, and who is

responsible for delivering them. An explicit policy with clearly stated goals, that

takes into account the bureaucratic and administrative complexities characteristic

of contemporary social service delivery, can help insure that individuals do not

fall through the cracks in the social machinery." In Natriello, G., McDill, E. L., &

Pallas, A. M. (1990). Schooling disadvantaged children: Racing against catastrophe (p. 196). New York: Teachers College Press.

6. Businesses should band together to support local research, development, and the dissemination of effective programs for enhancing student achievement and graduation rates.

Businesses at sites visited by the Hispanic Dropout Project supported the development of dropout prevention programs. At a few sites, local businesses and the Chamber of Commerce also

supported systematic research into those efforts. One national corporation supported the dissemination of a program that it had helped to develop.

53

5 0
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

The Hispanic Dropout Project heard from representatives of many programs whose developers

and staff showed an impressive commitment to improving the educational opportunities of

Hispanics and to reducing the Hispanic dropout rate. Unfortunately, many of these programs

found themselves in constant financial turmoil, in part due to their inability to provide convincing evidence that they were accomplishing their goals. The innovative ideas found in these

programs are seldom tested; and hence, they face the skepticism of schools, the public, and

funding agencies. Although we made the conscious decision to solicit the input of program

developers and others involved in Hispanic dropout prevention in crafting these recommendations, we believe that they too should be subjected to rigorous empirical testing.

Student 1: "The differences between us and them [friends who have dropped

out] ? They haven't had the opportunities I've hadin life or in school. They're

still young, still partying, acting like teenagers. I'm getting on with my life.

They're struggling."

Student 2: "Well, it's okay to party. You just have to take responsibility for your

own life." Testimony at HDP meeting with students, Albuquerque

I. There should be sustained evaluations of promising programs and dropout prevention practices.

Many programs and sites visited by the Hispanic Dropout Project did not have adequate research-quality evidence of their effectiveness. Given how these programs emphasize helping

students, it is not surprising that scarce resources were not diverted into collecting and analyzing

program-effectiveness data. On the other hand, it is difficult to recommend programs to others

without empirical evidence that they make a difference. Moreover, such performance data are

fundamental to continued program improvement. Program funders and designers should include

evaluation components to identify effective programs that could be replicated elsewhere and to

support ongoing improvement.

N!q "Another community influence on dropout behavior is peers. Recent research

reveals that peers exert a powerful influence on children, especially teenagers.

Although the influence of peers on dropout behavior has not been the subject of

much study, ethnographic studies report that dropouts of all ethnic backgrounds

are more likely to associate with other youth who drop out or have low educational aspirations." In Rumberger, R. (1991). Chicano dropouts: A review of

research and policy issues. In R. Valencia (Ed.), Chicano school failure and success:

Research and policy agendas for the 1990s (p. 76). Philadelphia: Falmer Press.

2. There should be coordinated, sustained, and systematic programs of research that investigate the times and the mechanisms through which students of different backgrounds disengage from school.

55 51
Much research on student dropout is fragmentary, based on a single study, and seldom links

purported causal agents with the evaluation of an intervention. For instance, we do not fully

understand the complex relationship between pregnancy and a female's decision to leave school.

Research can help schools to understand the mechanisms by which dropout occurs and to take

steps to remove barriers to student engagement.

"The relationship between Latino children and the schools is a disconnect."

Testimony at HDP open forum, New York City

3. Research and development should focus on identifying and developing Hispanic students'

knowledge and interests, and on working with and strengthening the supportive social

networks found in these students' extended families.

Much of the at-risk and dropout literature is based on assumptions that Hispanic students and

their families do not know very much, are missing some important competencies, lack certain

traits, or have some fundamental flaw that needs fixing. The recommendations growing out of

such research are predictably bereft of helpful ideas: Fix the flaws; if the flaws can't be fixed,

despair.

On the other hand, the schools we visited and the more relevant and recent research literature try

to identify what students know and what their families can do to support their education. Student

knowledge (including knowledge of their cultures and bilingualism) and interests (including

problems that are relevant to them) provide the basis for research and development in pedagogical practices (curriculum, teaching, and assessment), teachers' professional development, and

school reform. Parental concerns about and caring for their children should be the basis for the

research and development that seeks to build vibrant homeschool partnerships.

N "The most effective thing is contact between students and the institution on a

regular basis. Systematic, deliberate, ongoing contact with kids." Testimony at

HDP open forum, New York City

4. Dropout prevention programs that are proven to work should be sustained and disseminated. The education research and development infrastructure should include a component

for transferring such programs from development to widespread implementation.

Increasing America's Hispanic school completion rates cannot be a stop-and-go operation. In

view of the urgency for proven dropout prevention programs, it is shocking to note that one of

the most impressive programs found in the research literature no longer exists. This program was

based on solid research, and had shown strong and sustained effects. Too many programs are

developed to demonstrate a point and subsequently cease functioning when the developers or

program funders move on to other tasks and priorities. The support for dropout prevention efforts

that are shown to work should no longer come from demonstration monies but from the basic

funding for the nation's schools.

56 5 2
"Three factors importantly affected the replication activities at various of the sites

and may have inhibited the effectiveness of projects for students. These factors

included: the fit of models to the replication sites; the extent of principal buy-in to

the replications; turf considerations." In Rossi, R. J. (1995). Evaluation of

projects funded by the school dropout demonstration assistance program: Final

evaluation report (pp. 13-14) (Volume 1: Findings and recommendations). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

5. The population of Hispanic students who are limited English proficient should be taken

into account in local, state, and national efforts to (a) improve and reform the education

system, (b) evaluate the impact of schools and of categorical programs, and (c) implement

accountability systems for schools.

As noted above, the exclusion of Hispanics from such efforts contributes to their being invisible

and, by extension, to schools not being held accountable for their educational success. One

strategy for including Hispanic children that should be explored is the use of their native language for gathering information in those efforts.

"I knew of no alternatives. Either you go to school or you don't. Or you go for a

GED, and that's not as good. I was never told of the alternatives." Former

dropout at HDP open forum, New York City

6. Research is needed on preservice and in-service teachers' beliefs, knowledge, skills, and professional development as related to the education of Hispanic students. Moreover, research should

include attention to issues surrounding the diversification of the teacher workforce.

Teachers are central in reducing the Hispanic dropout rate. Teachers themselves, schools, and

policymakers need to better understand the processes by which teachers can make a difference in

their students' education.

7. Better data on student dropouts should be gathered at all levels: local, state, and nationaL

Although available data clearly document the crisis of Hispanic dropout, one of the most common complaints we encountered involved the quality of data on student dropouts. The nation

needs clear, commonly accepted, and stable definitions of dropout that allow for comparisons

across states, that allow schools to decide if they should adopt a program that was effective

elsewhere, and that provide policymakers and parents with a clear sense of how many students

are dropping out of school and when they begin to drop out. Such information is fundamental to

improving education at all levels. Hence, it should be systematically gathered, analyzed, and

reported at local, state, and national levels.

N "I want to give back to my family. As a Dominican woman, I am going to make it. Make

my parents proud that their sacnfice was worth it I'm going to go back to my community

and show them, I made it." Speaker at HDP student leader forum, New York City

57

53
CONCLUDING COMMENTS

We, the members of the Hispanic Dropout Project, submit this Final Report to the United States

Secretary of Education, with an urgency born of recognizing the devastating personal, social, and

civic consequences that will accrue if Hispanic dropout rates do not improve.

"The income stratification that concentrates large numbers of low-income students into poorly funded schools is followed by instructional stratification, most

often on the basis of prior pelformance. Low-achieving students are likely to be

exposed to instructional practicestracking and grade retentionthat deny them

educational opportunities, stigmatize them, and contribute to their sense of

uncertainty and alienation. Many disadvantaged adolescents are unable to overcome these conditions. Students from low-income families arefar more likely to

receive bad grades or be held back, and as much as three times more likely to

drop out before completing high school, than the children of more affluent families: 'consigning them to lives without the knowledge and skills they need to exist

anywhere but on the margins of our society, and consigning the rest of us to

forever bear the burden of their support." In Panel on High-Risk Youth, National

Research Council. (1993). Losing generations: Adolescents in high-risk settings

(p. 103). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

The overall school completion rate has steadily increased, with some fluctuations, over the last

40 years: in the 1950s, an average of 40-50 percent of all students did not finish high school; in

1972, the overall dropout rate for people between 16 and 24 years of age was slightly less than

15 percent; in 1994, it was 11.5 percent. The gap in blackwhite school completion rate has been

steadily closing over the past 20 years through an increase in school completion by African

Americans: in 1972, about 21 percent of black, non-Hispanics between 16 and 24 years old had

dropped out of school; in 1994, that rate was 12.6 percenta drop of between 8 and 9 percentage points. In contrast, over the same time period, the average rate of white, non-Hispanic dropout decreased from approximately 12.5 percent to 10.5 percentjust 2 percentage points. In

spite of this overall improvement in the school completion rate, the dropout rate for all Hispanics

ages 16 to 24 in the United States has consistently hovered at between 30 percent and 35 percent.

There is no reason to expect that this unacceptably high rate of dropping out among Hispanic

students will diminish on its own without major changes in our schools and society.

The Census Bureau reports that there will be at least one million more elementary school students in our nation's schools by the end of the decade. Without adequate funding, classes will

become even more overcrowded. Teachers hired to teach the baby boomers will be retiring in

unprecedented numbers over the next decade. This provides an unprecedented opportunity to

educate and recruit a diverse teaching workforce over the same time period.

We submit this report with impatience because we know that ours is not the first report to note

this consistent disparity in school completion rates. Under previous Republican and Democratic

59 54
administrations, researchers, policymakers, and community advocates have spoken out about

these disparities. Yet because little has been done to address them, the problems they identified

have become a crisis that threatens this nation's well being.

"Programs for disadvantaged youth include those that aim to enhance the relevance of school to the students' future. If it is true that working- and lower-class

adolescents believe that the social conformity and academic achievement demanded in school are not clearly linked to their future status in society, then

efforts to establish this linkage in the minds of students should be successful in

promoting academic achievement and educational attainment." In Natriello, G.,

McDill, E. L., & Pallas, A. M. (1990). Schooling disadvantaged children: Racing

against catastrophe (p. 136). New York: Teachers College Press.

We submit this report with impatience because we know that, when the nation decides that

something is a problem and sets its mind to do something about that problem, it movesthough

often slowlyto solve the problem. The nation and its schools have risen to the challenges of

dropout prevention for students in general, improving overall student achievement, starting to

close the racial achievement gap, and starting to close the mathematics achievement gap between

males and females. Critics from opposite ends of the political and educational spectra have often

written as if there has been very little progress or even deterioration in our educational

progressas if the nation and its education systems were incapable of developing a consensus to

do something about vexing social problems. The evidence clearly shows quite the contrary: The

nation and its schools can rise to the challenge when we set our collective will to do so.

Improvement in overall school completion, student achievement, and the achievement gaps has

taken decades. Progress in these areas could not be seen or measured in terms of election-year

cycles or other yardsticks used by those seeking immediate payoffs or simple solutions. What is

more, efforts to identify the cause for such trendsas if a simple, magic pill could be found

have been unsuccessful. We speculate that these improvements can be traced to a combination of

factors. First, there has been a gradual change in the nation's beliefs so that high dropout rates,

low achievement, and race- and gender-based achievement gaps have become unacceptable: Our

expectations of minorities and women have risen. Second, the nation has developed a complex

network of curricular and teaching innovations, school-based programs, community-based

efforts, and other structural changes for educating students.

"No single model can encourage membership or respond to the specific educational needs

and desires of all at-risk youth. . . . A multiplicity of interventions is required Even then,

however; some students may continue to resist the efforts of teachers whom they see as

representatives of an opposing culture. . . .Many students are in fact willing to enter into the

relationships with their teachers that foster social membership in the school. They become

partners in the experience of 'us and us'. . . Overcoming their sense of incongruity, formerly

at-risk youth discover that their teachers can also be friends, and schooling can thus be a

positive rather than an aversive experience." In Wehlage, G. G., Rutter, R. A., Smith, G. A.,

Lesko, N., & Fernandez, R. R. (1989). Reducing the risk: Schools as communities of

60

55
support (pp. 203-204). London: The Falmer Press.

We submit this report with a sense of urgency and impatience precisely because of the slow pace

of improvement. Hispanics confront too many excuses for the country's inaction regarding their

educational status. Ways to improve the schools that Hispanics attend and solutions to Hispanic

dropout are known; they should be implemented on a large scale. There are dozens of proven,

replicable programs capable of increasing Hispanic students' achievement, increasing their high

school completion, and increasing their college enrollmentwe visited many of them. Only a

lack of political leadership, will, and resources keeps the nation from solving the problem; there

is no shortage of effective models.

The solutions that we propose in this report support one another. Our recommendations should be

implemented together if the nation is to make a significant impact in reducing theHispanic dropout

rate. It would be most unfortunate if those who read our report were to selectively interpret our

findings and recommendations as meaning that before they can do something, someone else must

fulfill a specific task. We cannot stress enough: Everything must work in synchronization.

Youth are influenced by their family, school and community contexts. High-risk youth are

most often required to function in contexts that are dysfunctional or antithetical to the nurturing and support children require. Consequently, if an intervention is expected to succeed it

will have to address all three contexts in such a way as to enhance the effectiveness of the

contexts and to increase the coordination and communication between contexts. . . . Effective

middle school interventions must accomplish six functions.

(a) Frequent (in some cases hourly but generally daily or weekly) and on-going (sustained

throughout the school year) monitoring of the youth's school performance.

(b) Close teamwork with parents including parent training in terms of being an effective

educational consumer and issues with raising a teenager.

(c) A case manager is essential to coordinating services provided and linking school, home

and community together into a cohesive structure for the youth.

(d) The intervention must respond to the individual needs of youth and must be sufficiently

flexible to personalize the educational experience.

(e) A social cognitive problem-solving approach that teaches the youth and parents how to

effectively handle short- and long-term challenges is highly effective in making high-risk

youth less impulsive, more independent and more goal oriented.

(f) The intervention must actively attempt to change the youth's expectations and vision of the

future from one of probable failure and hopelessness to one of hopefulness and possibility.

In Larson, K., & Rumberger, R. (1995). ALAS, Achievement for Latinos through academic success (Dropout

prevention and intervention project targeting middle school youth with learning disabilities and emotional/

behavioral disorders at risk for dropping out of school. Project evaluation: 1990-1995), pp. A67-A68.

61 56
Why, then, the persistent gap in Hispanic school completion? Many explanationshave been

offered: student characteristics such as social class, language, and achievement levelespecially

among recent immigrants; school-based forces such as student retention, ability grouping, and

tracking; and nonschool forces such as family and/or neighborhood violence and criminal activity, lack of community-based economic opportunity, and the historical social and political oppression of different ethnic groups. Many of these "reasons" have assumed mythic proportions.

They are used to explain a phenomenon that is portrayed as too large and too complex for

schools to address. In short, these reasons have become little more than excuses for our schools'

and society's failure to act.

The evidence that we have presented in this report clearly contradicts this counsel of despair. At

our hearings around the nation, we heard Hispanic students, their parents, and community leaders

tell us unequivocally that they care deeply about their schools. Through their words and actions,

many school personnel, community representatives, and business people have shown that something can and must be done.

We propose an alternative reason for the persistent gap in Hispanic school completion: Hispanic

dropout rates have remained largely an invisible problem to all but Hispanic students, their

parents, and their communities. Although many researchers and a few policymakers have known

about the problem, discussions of Hispanic dropout have often been submerged in discussions of

dropouts in general, the education of ethnic minorities in general, or politicized debates about

immigration, language, and bilingualism.

"You have to do it for yourself In spite of all the obstacles, I had to overcome all of

the people who said that I couldn't make it. Also, bring someone along with you. My

sister, who dropped out, will come back to school. She sees I'm going to graduate.

That encourages her" Participant at HDP student leader forum, New York City

Attention to Hispanic school completion must become a salient part of the national agenda on

education. To reverse the long-standing disparity in school completion between Hispanics and

other groups will require the long-term, sustained attention that other issues have received. That

this crisis has remained largely invisible results in inaction and allows the many excuses for

doing nothing to go unchallenged. At a time of a dramatically increasing need for a well-educated citizenry, the nation cannot afford, nor can it tolerate, the persistently high rate of Hispanic

dropout. We, as a people, need to say: No more excuses, the time to act is now.

65 7
NOTES

' Relevant data can be found in National Center for Education Statistics, 1996a, table 14 and

1996b, table 101, and United States Department of Education, 1997, pp. ix, 2, 23, 29, 30, and 32.

A comprehensive list of research studies and reports that were reviewed in the preparation of this

report appears in Appendix E.

When drawing on work by others, this report uses the terms for racial and ethnic group membership that are found in those documents. We are well aware that the validity of racial and ethnic

categories is undergoing scrutiny for a variety of reasons. First, the use of blood quantum to

determine a person's ethnic or racial membershipwhich, historically, wasthe foundation for

the creation of such categorieshas been quite thoroughly discredited, even before recent

developments whereby increasing numbers of people (especially children) trace their ancestry to

multiple ethnic and racial sources. Second, people's self-described membership in ethnic and/or

racial groups varies across generations, within an individual's lifetime, and even depending on

the term that is used. Third, people who belong to ethnic groups engage in complex and elaborate methods for judging the validity of a person's claim to belong to or even to opt out of a

group.

On the other hand, a person's skin color, facial features, names, accents, and other physical

characteristics are used by other people as indicators of that individual's ethnic and racial group

membership. In its own turn, this ascription of race and ethnicity has important social consequences for the person regardless of her or his desire to be treated as an individual. Hence,

although we must use these terms, we do so advisedly and with great caution.

2 See Hispanic Dropout Project, 1996; NCES, 1996a.

3 See Larson & Rumberger, 1995b, p. A66.

63

58
APPENDICES

Appendix A

An Overview of the Hispanic Dropout Project's Activities

To achieve its three goals of (a) increasing public awareness about the issues of Hispanic dropout, (b) developing a policy-relevant set of recommendations at local, state, and federal levels

addressed to school personnel, families, and community, business, and other stakeholder groups,

and (c) supporting the development of a network of stakeholders who would take action after the

project's end, the Hispanic Dropout Project engaged in six activities prior to writing this report.

All six activities are related directly to the above goals and their results are reflected in this report.

First, we commissioned four technical papers to inform our own thinking and, eventually, the

thinking of others who wish to learn more about the issues surrounding Hispanic dropout. The

first paper, by Hugh Mehan, was entitled Contextual factors surrounding Hispanic dropouts.

The second paper, by Olatokunbo S. Fashola, Robert E. Slavin, Margarita Calderón, and Richard

Durdn, was entitled Effective programs for Latino students in elementary and middle schools.

The third commissioned paper, by Olatokunbo S. Fashola and Robert E. Slavin, was entitled

Effective dropout prevention programs for Latino students. And the fourth technical paper, by

Rudolfo Chavez-Chavez, was entitled A curriculum discourse for achieving equity: Implications

for teachers when engaged with Latina and Latino students.

Second, the project commissioned five nontechnical reports by Anne Turnbaugh Lockwood for

use in increasing public awareness and for providing examples of how local policies and local

programs might be used to increase school completion by Hispanics. Entitled Advances in

Hispanic Education, the series was written for general audiences of school personnel, parents

and their children, school board members, state and federal policy makers, community representatives, business people, and other stakeholders. These reports provide nontechnical information

about issues in Hispanic dropout and about exemplary school programs for increasing Hispanic

student achievement and for preventing dropout.

Third, in order to learn about the issues of Hispanic dropout as seen by the people who are most

directly affected by student dropout and who are trying to do something about this crisis, to seek

input from the field to the development of its recommendations, and to support the creation of a

network of stakeholders, the Hispanic Dropout Project held open hearings and heard testimony in

Albuquerque, New Mexico; Houston, Texas; Los Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; New

York; San Antonio, Texas; San Diego, California; Toledo, Ohio; Calexico, California; and Las

Cruces, New Mexico. We interviewed and listened to varied groups of Hispanic students: students who had graduated, were still in school, had left school and had returned, or were enrolled

in dropout prevention programs. Specialty and regular classroom teachers, principals, curriculum specialists, program directors, superintendents, other school personnel, parents, community

activists, youth- and social-service agency representatives, police representatives, business

65

5 9
people, Chamber of Commerce representatives, and concerned citizensover 300 people

participated in these sessions. A list of their names appears in Appendix B.

In addition to making oral presentations, many people submitted written comments, program

documents, and other written materials to the Hispanic Dropout Project. A list of people, organizations, and projects submitting written materials to the project comprises Appendix C.

Fourth, in order to ascertain how promising programs actually work in their day-to-day practices,

we visited school and non-school sites that were developing such practices for educating Latinos

and dropout prevention efforts in Albuquerque, Calexico, Houston, Las Cruces, Los Angeles,

Miami, New York, San Antonio, and San Diego. We reasoned that there would be an aboveaverage awareness of issues in Hispanic dropout at these locales because of their large Hispanic

populations. A list of sites that we visited appears in Appendix D.

Sites included whole-school and districtwide programs, alternative secondary schools, mentoring

and tutoring programs taking place both in and out of school, and supplementary in-school

programs. Dropout prevention efforts focused attention on academics, school attendance, peer

relationships, and socio-psychological needs, either singly or in some combination. Interventions ranged from pre-school, early childhood programs, to alternative high schools, GED efforts, and community college-based programs that continue to provide educational opportunities

to Hispanics. The people who supported, ran, worked for, and volunteered in these programs

included parents, school personnel, community activists, college and other students older than

the individuals receiving the services, business people, and concerned citizens. Often, workers

and volunteers were themselves Hispanics, had been dropouts, knew someone whom they

wished had these opportunities, or had some experiences that enabled them (the volunteers and

workers) to relate to their students on a personal level.

The fifth project activity was to hold press conferences and meet with the media during visits to

the above-mentioned cities. The intent of this last activity was to increase public awareness

about issues of Hispanic dropout. Hispanic Dropout Project representatives were interviewed by

local and national news organizations. Newspaper articles appeared in the Albuquerque Journal,

Albuquerque Tribune, El Paso Times, Houston Chronicle, Kansas City Star, Las Cruces Sun

News, Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, New York City El Diario/La Prensa, Portland Oregonian, San Antonio Express News, San Diego Union, Santa Fe New Mexican, Silver City Daily

Press, Tampa Tribune, USA Today, and the Associated Press. Local affiliates of Univision in

Houston, New York City, and Miami, of NBC in Miami and San Antonio, and of CBS in Albuquerque, and local radio and television stations in Albuquerque, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,

New York City, and San Antonio carried stories about Hispanic dropout and interviews with the

project's members.

Sixth, Hispanic Dropout Project members reviewed the research on the education of at-risk and

disadvantaged students, dropout prevention, and related topics. A list of research, policy documents, and other materials that we reviewed appears in Appendix E.

66

6 0
Appendix B

People Who Provided Public Testimony and Otherwise

Participated in the Hispanic Dropout Project's Site Visits

Community Focus Meeting

Education Service Center (Region XX)

1314 Hines Avenue

San Antonio, Texas 78208

December 11, 1995

2:00-4:30pm

Magdelena Alvarado

Kevin C. Moriarty

Chuck Rodriguez

Rev. John Moder

Kimeer Jones

Gloria Zamora

R. A. Marquez

Jeny D. Allen

Ramon A. Guerra

Diana Lam

Patricia Karam

Isabel Salas

Irene Chavez

Juan Sepulveda

Shari Albright

Gilbert Garcia, Jr.

Richard Clifford

Joe Rubin

David Samrad

Bertha C. Franklin

Pilar Oates

Community Focus Meeting

University of Houston

4800 Calhoun Street

Houston, Texas

December 12, 1995

2:00-4:30pm

Gloria Gallegos

Sylvia C. Peiia

Jerome Freiberg

Irma Guadarrama

Kip Tellez

Emilio Zamoros

Angela Valenzuela

David Arredondo

Joe Stubbs

Hulberto Saenz

Albert Leal

Debra Basisiera

Tom Carrizal

Guadalupe San Miguel

A. R. Warner

Peter Linden

Manuel Rodriguez

Ben Marquez

Jaime E. De la Isla

Maria M. Rustonji

Melba J. Hamilton

Diane Sirna Mancus

Phyllis Gingiss

Community Focus Meeting

Calexico High School

1030 Encinas Avenue

Calexico, California

April 24, 1996

2:00-4:00pm

Patricia Levy

Hortencia Armendariz

Arminda L. Romero

Gary Watts

Gloria Celaya

Sandra C. Lopez

Gilbert Mendez

Harry Pearson

Roberto Moreno

Pat Peake

Mike McFadden

Paula Wilkinson

Cecilia Castaneda

Carmen Durazo

Rachel Aguilar

Yvonne Cardona

Dana Sue Gonzalez

Elvia Contreras

Pablo A. Macias

Luz C. Paredes

67

61
Yolanda Islas

,Rosa A. Vargas

Carmen Chapa

Alicia Fuentes

Community Focus Meeting

University of California

9500 Gilman Drive

San Diego, California

April 25, 1996

2:30-4:30pm

Judy Leff

Nancy Cunningham

Rafael Hernandez

Irene Villanueva

Cynthia Gutierrez

Margaret Gallego

Olga Vasquez

Jose Smith

Paul Espinoza

Maria Nieto Senour

Andrea Nieto Senour

Ricardo Stanton-Salazar

Yolanda Hernandez

Juan P. Leyva

Linda Nolte

Ana Slomanson

Richard Barrera

Luis Cerda

Marcia Venegas-Garcia

Mike Rodirguez

Diego Bavalos

Mario A. Chacon

Robert Gira

Kathy Deering

Cecil Lytle

Community Focus Meeting

University of California

Sunset Village Complex

Los Angeles, California

April 26, 1996

2:30-4:30pm

Mary Lou Gomez

Mario Chiappe

Larry D. Kennedy

Marlene Wilson

Bruce McDaniel

Lloyd Monserratt

Eliseo Davalos

Carla Vega

John Rios

Moises Valez

Raul Ruiz

Martha Sanchez

Virginia Martinez

Andres F. Castillo

Frank DePasquale

Cherie Francis

Hal Hyman

Raymond Paredes

Community Focus Meeting

Miami Dade Community College

Wolfson Campus

Miami, Florida

May 9, 1996

2:00-4:00pm

Rachel Porcelli

Susan McCallion

Betty Mallory-Colson

Denayl Serralta

Manuel Perez-Leiva

Magdi Amador

Ana Miyares

Javier Bray

George Suarez

Randy Egues

Cora Mann

Kevin Prescott

James Moore

Rosa Royo

Maria C. Mateo

Julie Palm

Carlos Sea les

Orlando Blance

Javier Vazquez

Blanca Torrents Greenwood

Li liana Wolf

E.D. Taylor

Mike Lenaghan

Carrie Montano

Virginia Bustillo

Rosario S. Roman

Carlos F. Diaz

Byron Massialas

Diane Cole

Dorothy W. Graham

68

62
Zaida G. Olmsted

Samuel Gonzalez

Enrique Serna

Tony Vivaldi

German Izguierdo

Ray Zeller

Albert Rivera

Irene Secada

Nick Arroyo

Bill Primus

Lianne Acebo

Ramiro Inguanzo

Catherine Matteo

Bill Renuart

Joan Friedman

Alex Martinez

Nick Barakat

Eugenia Russell

Martha Young

Isabel Gomez-Bassols

Madeline Rodriguez

Rosa Castro Feinberg

Roger Cuevas

Hector Hirigoyen

Jose Vicente

Education and Hispanics:

Solving the Equation

Hearing Sponsored by the Ohio

Commission on Spanish-Speaking Affairs

Toledo, Ohio

May 30, 1996

9:00am-4:00pm

Andrea Loch

Amando P. Bejarano

Diana Flores

Irma Coah

Roberto Gonzalez

Irene Hernandez

Frederick S. Garcia

Ruth G. Garcia

Margaret A. Williams

Cynthia Arredondo

Oscar Hernandez

Deborah Ortiz

Linda Arranado-Well

Manuel Caro

Elenea Caballero

Carlos A. Caro

Ramon Perez

Consuelo Hernandez

Dan Fleck

Maria Chavez

Manuel Vadillo

Joseph Mas

Richard Daoust

Robert E. Ranchor

Pat Kennedy

Raquel Bravo

Mickey Avalos

Dal Lawrence

Rudolph J. Chavez

Craig Cotner

Ricardo Cervantes

Robert Torres

Michael Thomson

Community Focus Meeting

Maria de Hostos Community College

475 Grand Concourse

Bronx, New York

June 12, 1996

10:00am-12:00pm

Tony Baez

Daralyn Calderon

Felipe Colon, Jr.

Ruth Coronado

Lorraine Cortez Vazquez

Rudy Crew

Joseph DeJesus

Rafael Diaz

Ariane Franco

Michele Gataldi

Rafael Gomez

Guillermo Linares

Lyzeth Martinez

Nancy Lopez

Mariella Martinez

Michael Mena

Aneudy Perez

Luis Reyes

Daniel J. Rivera

Maria Rivera

Sonia Rivera

James F. Rodriguez

Laura Rodriguez

Theresa Rodriguez

Yadira Santana

Yonathan Santana

Maria Santiago Mercado

69

63
Claire Sylvan

Silvio Tones Saillant

Jensy Urefia

Nicholas West

Alexander Betancourt

Rosa Agosto

Peter Martin

Victoria Sanacore

Laurel Huggins

Denise Diaz

Wilfredo Frarcia

Enrique Carmona

Garciano Matos

Annette Hernandez

Community Focus Meeting

University of New Mexico

Albuquerque, New Mexico

August 12, 1996

2:00-4:30pm

Jose,Armas

Peter Horoshcak

Emma Lou Rodriguez

Alex Sanchez

Merryl Kravitz

Belinda Pacheco-Laumbach

Gloria Tristani

Loretta Armenta

Frances Gandara

Carlos Atencio

Bianca Ortiz y Wertheim

Julia Lerma

Moises Venegas

John J. Lopez

Felipe Gonzales

Maria Dolores Velasquez

Karen C. Sanchez-Griego

Robert W. Chavez

Gerald Hunt

Eddie Lucero

Eligio Padilla

David M. Gallegos

Penny Smith

Liz Ethelbah

Kathy Carpenter

Richard R. Romero

Jean Salas Reed

Cathy Alva

Angela Gonzales

Marcia Hernandez

Phil Davis

Dolores Chavez de Paigle

Evangeline Sandoval

Tasia Stockham

Robert Velarde

Jery Ortiz y Pino

Fred Griego III

Dolores Herrera

Tom Savage

Andres Valdez

Patrick McDaniel

Marisol Aviles

Jenny Vigil

Jackie Rider

Veronica C. Garcia

Tirzah Alva

Tally Archuletta

Evelyn Fernandez

Cahty Lucas

Pat Bonilla

Claire Jenson

Flora M. Sanchez

Susan Bender Benjamin

Nancy Sanchez

Ida S. Carillo

Miriam Martinez

Stephanie Gonzales

Genaro Roybal

Theresa M. Lucero

Patricia Barela

Rommie Compher

Linda Valencia Martinez

Michael J. Gadler

Lynne Rosen

Nana Almers

Virginia Duran Ginn

Patricia Chavez

Cecilia M. Sanchez

Santos G. Abeyte

Ida S. Carrillo

Virginia M. Trujillo

Gilbert Gallegos

Marjorie Schmedt

Art Morales

Joseph P. Arellano

Raul Candelaria

Frank Duran

John Leahigh

Nan Elsasser

Natalie Meneses

RoseAnn McKernan

Oralia Zuniga Forbes

70 6 4
Barbara Lynn

Aurora Jane Sweeny

Bianca Ortiz Wertheim

Christine Trujillo

Maria A. Rodriguez

Steve Griego

Joseph Torres

Community Focus Meeting

New Mexico State University

Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003

August 12, 1996

2:30-5:00pm

Nena Singleton

Leonel Briseno

Ray Francis

Lewis Spencer

Mary Jane Garcia

J. Paul Tayor

Rosalia Gallegos

Averett S. Tombes

Martha Montoya

Angelo Vega

Felix C. Vega

Karl Hill

Michelle Valverde

Robert Oyas

Sam Barba

Ernest Viramontes

Maria Stops

Esther Aguirre

Debbie Rhinehart

M. L. Gonzalez

Steve Trowbridge

Vodene Schultz

Cecil Shultz

Lena N. Parsons

Mike McCamley

Juan Sanchez

Ray Sandoval

John Lyle

George Duran

Ruth Carte lli

Trula Holstein

James O'Donnell

Saehint Sarangam

Sam Baca

Ann Nance

Janah 0. Garcia

Cathy Provine

Ana B. Spencer

Mary Helen Garcia

Cristina Barrera

Juan Franco

Aida Delgado

Len LoPresto

Liz Gutierrez

Steve Ramirez

Alma A. Barba

Samuel Reyes

Cheryl H. St. George

Marcie Graham

Jane L. Gonzalez

Marsha Buchanan

Arminda H. Hernandez

Rosalie A. Gallegos

Eric Cress

Martha Cole

Richard Melendez

Ana Spencer

Carlos Provencio

John Allen Lyle

Laura Gutierrez Spencer

71

65
Appendix C

People and Organizations Who Presented Handouts

to the Hispanic Dropout Project

Abraham Lincoln Community High School, Los Angeles, California.

ALAS (Achievement for Latinos Through Academic Success), University of California, Santa

Barbara.

Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Alternative Resources, Changing Adolescent Behavior, Ontario, California.

ASPIRA of New York, Brooklyn, New York.

AVANCE, Family Support and Education Programs, Houston, Texas.

Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Program, San Diego, California.

Berriozábal, M. P., San Antonio, Texas.

Board of Education of The City of New York, New York, New York.

Calexico Unified School District, Calexico, California.

Center for Applied Linguistics, Program in Immigrant Education, Washington, District of Columbia.

Children's Aid Society, New York, New York.

Clearinghouse on Urban Education, Columbia University, New York, New York.

COPS/METRO, San Antonio, Texas.

Communities in Schools of New Mexico, Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Cuban American National Council, Inc., Miami, Florida.

Dade County Public Schools, Dropout Prevention Programs, Miami, Florida.

De Jesus, J. N., New York, New York.

Dewitt Clinton High School, Bronx, New York.

Durocher, E. N., New York, New York.

Gira, R., San Diego County Office of Education, San Diego, California.

Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic Business Group, Miami, Florida.

73

6 6
Hernandez, L., Hostos Community College, Bronx, New York.

Home Economics Department, Eastern New Mexico University, Porta les, New Mexico.

Hostos-Lincoln Academy of Science, Bronx, New York.

HOSTS (Help One Student To Succeed) Corporation, Vancouver, Washington.

Houston Independent School District, Houston, Texas.

Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), San Antonio, Texas.

Kravitz, L., New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, New Mexico.

Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition, University of California, San Diego, California.

Lennox School District, Lennox, California.

Little Havana Institute, Cuban American National Council, Miami, Florida.

Lincoln Senior High School, Los Angeles, California.

Mains Elementary School, Calexico, California.

MANA de Albuquerque, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Mar Vista High School, Imperial Beach, California.

Mathematica Research Policy Institute, Inc., Washington, District of Columbia.

Mesilla Alternative Learning Center, Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Mesilla Valley Youth Foundation, Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Miami Beach Senior High School, Miami Beach, Florida.

National Diffusion Network, The Coca Cola Valued Youth Program, Washington, District of

Columbia.

National Dropout Prevention Center, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina.

New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, New Mexico.

New Mexico MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) Inc., Albuquerque, New Mexico.

New Mexico Youth at Risk Foundation, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

New Workplace for Women Project, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Office of the Superintendent of Bronx High Schools, New York, New York.

74

6 7
Padilla-King, T., Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Project GRAD, Houston, Texas.

Project GRADS, Porta les, New Mexico.

Re: Learning New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

San Andres High School, Las Cruces, New Mexico.

San Antonio Board of Education, San Antonio, Texas.

San Antonio Education Partnership, San Antonio, Texas.

San Diego County Office of Education, San Diego, California.

Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists, San Antonio, Texas.

South Beach Alternative School, Miami Beach, Florida.

Southwest Independent School District, San Antonio, Texas.

Starbase Kelly Youth Program, San Antonio, Texas.

Success for All, Houston, Texas.

Success STARtS with Hope!, Miami, Florida.

Systemic Initiative in Mathematics and Science Education, Sante Fe, New Mexico.

Texas Interfaith Fund, Alliance Schools Project, Houston, Texas.

Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, Arecibo, Puerto Rico.

United Services Automobile Association (USAA), Mentor and Junior Achievement Program, San

Antonio, Texas.

Vasquez, 0. and M. Cole, Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition, University of California, La Jolla, California.

Young, M., The Little Havana Institute, Miami, Florida.

Wechsler, N. M., DeWitt Clinton High School, The Bronx, New York.

Youth Development, Inc., Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Zamora, G., Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, San Antonio, Texas.

75

4 68
Appendix D

Sites Visited by the Hispanic Dropout Project

CALIFORNIA

Aurora High School

(alternative school)

641 Rockwood Avenue

Calexico, CA 92231

Principal: Patrick Peake

619-357-7410

Contact Person: Emily Palacios

619-357-7351

Site Visited: April 24, 1996

AVID Program

Mar Vista High School

505 Elm Avenue

Imperial Beach, CA 91932-2099

Principal: Gloria Samson

619-691-5400

Site Visited: April 25, 2996

Calexico High School

1030 Encinas Avenue

Calexico, CA 92231

Principal: Harry Pearson

619-357-7440

Contact Person: Emily Palacios

619-357-7351

Site Visited: April 24, 1996

La Clase Magica

St. Leo's Mission

936 Genevieve Street

Solana Beach, CA 92075

Contact Person: Vicente Leal

619-481-6788

Site Visited: April 24, 1996

Lennox Middle School

10319 Firmona Avenue

Lennox, California 90304

310-206-4624

Contact Person: Hal Hyman

(Center X UCLA)

Site Visited: April 25, 1996

Lincoln High School

3501 North Broadway

Los Angeles, CA 90031

Principal & Contact Person: Lupe Sonnie

213-223-1291

Site Visited: April 25, 1996

Neighborhood House Head Start Program

St. Leo's Mission in Eden Gardens

936 Genevieve Street

Solana Beach, CA 92075

Site Coordinator: Arnie Khalssa (site director)

619-792-1996

Site Visited: April 24, 1996

Newcomer Program

Mains Elementary School

655 Sheridan Street

Calexico, CA 92231

Principal: Gloria Selaya

619-357-7410

Contact Person: Emily Palacios

619-357-7351

Site Visited: April 24, 1996

The Fifth Dimension

Boys & Girls Club

Lornas Santa Fe Branch

533 Lomas Santa Fe

Solana Beach, CA 92075-1323

Contact Persons: Duncan Smith or

Raul Castillo

619-755-9373

Site Visited: April 24, 1996

The Magical Dimension

Skyline Elementary

606 Lomas Santa Fe

Solana Beach, CA 92075

Principal: Kevin Riley

619-794-3920

Site Visited: April 24, 1996

77

6 9
FLORIDA

Allapattah Middle School

1331 NW 46 Street

Miami, FL 33142

Principal': Alex Martinez

305-634-9787

Teacher: Nick Barakat

Host & Escort: Hector Hirigoyen (Math

Supervisor, Dade County Schools)

305-995-1921

Site Visited: May 11, 1996

Little Havana Institute

300 SW 12 Avenue

Miami, FL 33130-2002

Director: Martha Young (Cuban American

National Council)

305-642-3484

Host and escort: Isabel Gomez Basso Is (Dade

County Public Schools, Head of Psychology

Department for Alternative Programs)

Site Visited: May 11, 1996

Miami Beach Senior High School

2231 Prairie Avenue

Miami, FL 33139-1595

Principal: Bill Renuart

305-532-4515

Mathematics Department Chair: Joan Friedman

Host and escort: Hector Hirigoyen (Mathematics Supervisor, Dade County Schools)

305-995-1921

Site Visited: May 11, 1996

South Beach Institute

920 Alton Road

Miami Beach, FL 33139-5204

Director: Eugenia Russell (Adult Mankind)

305-673-4782

Host and escort: Isabel Gomez Bassols (Dade

County Public Schools, Head of Psychology

Department for Alternative Programs)

305-995-1260

Site Visited: May 11, 1996

NEW MEXICO

Cornerstones

Old Dona Ana Church

Dona Ana, NM 88032

Contact Person: Pat Taylor (Site Coordinator)

505-647-6611 (beeper)

Site Visited: August 14, 1996

MESA Program

Washington Middle School

1101 Park Place SW

Albuquerque, NM 87102-2967

Contact Person: Evangeline Sandoval (MESA

Director)

505-262-1200

Site Visited: August 13, 1996

Mesita Valley Youth Foundation (a.k.a.

Court Youth Center)

401 West Court

Las Cruces, NM 88001

Contact Person: Irene Oliver-Lewis (Director)

505-541-0145 or 523-0935

Site Visited: August 14, 1996

San Andres Alternative Learning Center

Highway 28

Mesilla, NM 88046

Contact Person: Eric Cress (Principal)

505-527-6058

Site Visited: August 14, 1996

Social Services & Tutors Assisting Youth

(S.T.A.Y.)

221 North Downtown Mall

Las Cruces, NM 88001-1213

Contact Person: Leonel Briseno (Program

Coordinator)

Site Visited: August 14, 1996

Youth Development Inc.

Rio Grande High School

2300 Arenal SW

Albuquerque, NM 87105-4180

Contact Person: Robert Chavez

505-831-6038 or 768-6051

Site Visited: August 13, 1996

78

70
NEW YORK

DeWitt Clinton High School

100 Mosholu Parkway South

Bronx, NY 10468

Principal: Norman Wechsler

718-543-1000

Site Visited: June 12, 1996

Martin Luther King High School

65th & 66th

New York, NY 10023

Principal: Stephanie Ferrandino

212-501-1300

Site Visited: June 12, 1996

Hostos Lincoln Academy of Science

Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community College

475 Grand Concourse, 2nd floor

Bronx, NY 10451

Director: Michael Cataldi

Outreach Program

Director: Michael Cataldi

Sites Visited: June 12, 1996

TEXAS

AVANCE

2001 Rainbow

Houston, TX 77023

Contact: Carmen Cortes

310-825-2494

Site Visited: December 12, 1995

Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program

Kazen Middle School

1520 Gillette

San Antonio, TX 78224

210-924-9021

Contacts: Linda Cantu &

Maria (Cuca) Robledo Mercel

210-684-8180

Site Visited: December 11, 1995

COPS Project

Lanier High School

1514 West Durango

San Antonio, TX 78207

Contact: Sister Consuelo Tovar & Joe Rubio

210-222-2367

Site Visited: December 11, 1995

Success for All Program

Browning Elementary

607 Northwood

Houston, TX 77027

Principal: Olga Moya

Contacts: Joseph Stubbs and Phyllis Hunter

713-892-6025 and 713-892-6024

Site Visited: December 12, 1995

79

71
Appendix E

References

Armonta, L. A. (1996). Written testimony provided to the Hispanic Dropout Project. Albuquerque, NM: Hispano Chamber of Commerce.

Bayless, D. (1991). Standards for education data collection and reporting (SEDCAR). Washington, DC: National Centerfor Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.

Benjamin, S. B. (1996). Committed partners for youth. (Written testimony presented to the

Hispanic Dropout Project). Albuquerque, NM.

Bennici, F. J., & Strang, W. E. (1995). An analysis of language minority and limited English

proficient students from NELS:88. (Task Order D100). Washington, DC: Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Language Affairs, U.S. Department of Education.

Berriozabal, M. P. (1995). The Texas prefreshman engineering program:Filling the pipeline for

workforce diversity. In: Proceedings of the 1995 National Symposium and Career Fair of

the Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists. [available from author]

Board of Education of the City of New York. (n.d.). Class of 1995 report. New York City: Author.

. (n.d.). The class of 1995: Four-year longitudinal report. New York City: Author.

. (1996). Dropout rate continues to decline. Brooklyn, NY: Author.

. (1996). The class of 1992 final longitudinal report: A three-year follow-up study.

Brooklyn, NY: Author.

Bouvier, L. (1995). Embracing America: A look at which immigrants become citizens. Washington, DC: Center for Immigration Studies.

Bradby, D. (1992). Language characteristics and academic achievement: A look at Asian and

Hispanic eighth graders in NELS: 88. Washington, DC: National Center for Education

Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.

Bryk, A. S., & Meng Thum, Y. (1989). The effects of high school organization on dropping out:

An exploratory investigation. American Educational Research Journal, 26(3), 353-383.

Burkart, B. (1994). Project Adelante: Moving onward to a better education. Union, NJ: Kean

College.

Cairns, R. B., & Cairns, B. D. (1994). Lifelines and risks: Pathways of youth in our time.

New York: Cambridge University Press.

Cardenas, J. (1995). Hispanic Dropouts: Report by GeneralAccounting Office has problems.

Washington, DC: National Association for Bilingual Education.

Cardenas, J. A. (1994). Hispanic dropouts: Report by General Accounting Office has problems.

81

7 2
IDRA Newsletter. San Antonio, TX: IDRA.

Cardenas, J. A., Refugio Robledo, M. D., & Supik, J. D. (1986). Texas school dropout survey

project: A summary of findings. Austin, TX: Department of Community Affairs.

Center for Applied Linguistics (1994). Project adelante: Moving onward to a better education

(Evaluation of Project Ade tante at Kean College of New Jersey). Washington, DC:

Author.

Chavez, P. L. (1996). Written testimony presented to the Hispanic Dropout Project. Albuquer- que, NM: University of New Mexico.

Chavez-Chavez, R. (1996). A curriculum discourse for achieving equity: Implications for teachers when engaged with Latina and Latino students (Paper commissioned by the Hispanic

Dropout Project). Washington, DC: Office of the Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Education.

Children's Aid Society. (1993). A unique partnership: The story of a community school. New York: Author.

. (n.d.). Building a community school: A revolutionary design in public education. New

York: Author.

Chu, E., & Willms, J. (1995). Effects of parental involvement on eighth-grade achievement. Vancouver: University of British Columbia.

Cole, M. (March, 1993). A cultural and historical goal for developmental research: Create

sustainable model systems for diversity. Paper presented at the symposium, "The crisis in

education: Is there a role for developmental research?" 60th meeting of the Society for

Research in Child Development, New Orleans, LA.

. (1995). Using new information technologies in the creation of sustainable after-school

literacy activities: From invention to maximizing the potential. (A report submitted to the

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation). San Diego, CA: University of California.

Coleman, J. S., Hoffer, T., & Kilgore, S. (1982). High school achievement. New York: Basic.

Dade County Public Schools. (1995). District comprehensive dropout prevention program plan: 1995-1996. Miami, FL: Author.

Darling-Hammond, L. (1995). Inequality and access to knowledge. In S. Banks & C. Banks

(Eds.), Handbook of research on multicultural education (pp. 465-483). New York:

MacMillan.

Departamento de Salud y Servicios Sociales de Los Estados Unidos. (1982). La crianza de sus

hijos. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Duttweiler, P. C. (1995). Effective strategies for educating students in at-risk situations.

Clemson, SC: National Dropout Prevention Center.

ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics. (1995). Digest: Dropout intervention and

language minority youth. Washington, DC: Author.

82 73
ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education. (1995). Digest: School dropouts: New information

about an old problem. (No. 109). New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.

Fashola, 0. S., & Slavin, R. E. (1996). Effective dropout prevention programs for Latino students. (Paper written for the Hispanic Dropout Project). Washington, DC: Office of the

Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Education.

Fashola, 0. S., Slavin, R. E., Calderón, M., & Duran, R. (1996). Effective programs for Latino

students in elementary and middle schools (Paper written for the Hispanic Dropout

Project). Washington, DC: Office of the Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Education.

Fernandez, R., Henn-Reinke, K., & Petrovich, J. (1989). Five cities high school dropout study:

Characteristics of Hispanic high school students. Milwaukee, WI: University of Wisconsin, Department of Educational Policy and Community Studies.

Fernandez, R., Henn-Reinke, K., & Vélez, W. (1990). New directions for Latino public policy

research (Working Paper No. 12. The Aspira five cities high school dropout study).

New York: The ASPIRA Institute for Policy Research.

Fernandez, R. M., Paulsen, R., & Hirano-Nakanishi, M. (1989). Dropping out among Hispanic

youth. Social Science Research, 18, 21-52.

Fernandez, R. R., & Velez, W. (1989). Who stays? Who leaves? Findings from the Aspira five

cities high school dropout study. New York: The ASPIRA Institute for Policy Research.

Fry, R., Johnson, S., & Melendez, P., Morgan, R. (1995). A parent's guide to changing destructive adolescent behavior Ontario, CA: Alternative Resources.

Graff, H. J. (1995). Conflicting paths: Growing up in America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Gray, M. J., Rolph, E., & Melamid, E. (1996). Immigration and Higher Education: Institutional

Responses to Changing Demographics. Santa Monica, CA: Rand.

Hayes, K. G. (1989). Que se porten bien: Social competency of Mexican-American teenagers in

special education. Doctoral dissertation. University ofCalifornia, Los Angeles.

. (1992). Attitudes toward education: Voluntary and involuntary immigrants from the

same families. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 23, 250-267.

Hayward, B. J., & Tallmadge, G. K. (1995). Strategiesfor keeping kids in school: Evaluation of

dropout prevention and reentry projects in vocational education. (Final report). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

Hernandez, L. (1996). New beginnings: Defining the horizons and realities of reform. (Written

testimony provided to the Hispanic Dropout Project). New York City Schools, Office of

Bilingual Education.

Hirano-Nakanishi, M. (1989). Dropping out among Hispanic youth. Social Sciences Research,

18, 21-52.

Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. (1995). HSSP Final Report: Opening minds,

broadening horizons, achieving dreams. San Antonio, TX: Author.

83

7 4
(n.d.) Hispanic Student Success Program: Opening minds, broadeninghorizons, achieving dreams (videotape). San Antonio, TX: Author.

Hispanic Dropout Project (1996). Data book. Washington, DC: Office of the Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Education.

Ho Sui-Chu, E., & Willms, J. D. (1996). Effects of parental involvement on eighth-grade

achievement. Sociology of Education, 69 (April), 126-141.

Hosts Corporation. (n.d.). Structured mentoringprogram in language arts (videotape). Vancouver, WA: Author.

Hurtado, A., & Garcia, E. (1994). The educational achievement of Latinos: Barriers and successes. Santa Cruz: University of California.

Institute for Policy Analysis and Research. (1995). Lessons about exemplary practices and

schools serving LEP students. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education.

Jaynes, G. D., & Williams, R. M. (Eds.) (1989). A common destiny: Blacks and American Soci- ety. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Jobs for the Future. (n.d.). School-to-work and youth development: Identifiiing common ground. An agenda for action. Boston, MA: Academy for Educational Development.

Johnson, R. (1995). IDRA's latest attrition analyses show worsening dropout problem. IDRA

Newsletter, Vol. XXII, No. 9.

Kain, J. F., & Singleton, K. (1996). Equality of educational opportunity revisited. (Paper pre- sented at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Symposium.) Cambridge, MA: Harvard

Institute of Economic Research.

Kaufman, P., & Sweet, D. (1996). A comparison of high school dropouts in 1982 and 1992.

Washington, DC:.0ffice of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education.

Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition draft report. (1994). What is the 5th dimension?

San Diego, CA: University of California.

Larson, K., & Rumberger, R. (1995a). Doubling school success in highest-risk Latino youth:

Results from a middle school intervention study. In R. F. Bracier, & G. G. Ramos (Eds.),

Changing schools for changing students (pp. 157-179). Santa Barbara, CA: UC Linguistic Minority Research Institute.

. (1995b, December). ALAS: Achievement for Latinos through academic success (Project evaluation: 1990-1995). In H. Thornton (Ed.), Staying in school (A technical report of

three dropout prevention projects for middle school students with learning and emotional

disabilities. Chapter 1). Minneapolis, MN: Publications Office, Institute on Community

Integration, University of Minnesota.

. (March 1996). ALAS: Achievement for Latinos through academic success (Project description). Santa Barbara, CA: University of California.

84

75
Latino Commission on Educational Reform. (1992). Toward a vision for the education of Latino

students: Community voices, student voices. New York City: Board of Education.

. (1994). Making the vision a reality: A Latino action agenda for educational reform.

(Final report). New York City: Board of Education.

Leighton, M. S., Hightower, A. M., & Wrigler, P. G. (1995). Model strategies in bilingual education: Professional development. Washington, DC: U.S. Department ofEducation.

Levin, H. M. (1996). Economic of school reform for at-risk students. In E. A. Hanushek &

D. W. Jorgenson, Improving America 's schools: The role of incentives (pp. 225-240).

Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Lincoln Family Complex Proposal to the LAAMP Challenge Grant. (1995). Building our community: Face to face. Los Angeles, CA: Lincoln High School.

LULAC National Educational Services Center. (1996). El Compartido, 9(4). Albuquerque, NM.

Mana de Albuquerque. (1996). Hermanitas mentorship program. Albuquerque, NM: Author.

Mathan, F. M. (1995). School dropouts. (Written testimony to the President's Commission on

Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans). San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (1996). Can we keep youths in school? Interim findings.

Washington, DC: Author.

Mehan, H. (1996). Contextual factors surrounding Hispanic dropouts (Paper prepared for the

Hispanic Dropout Project). Washington, DC: Office of the Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Education.

Moss, M., & Pluma, M. (1995). Prospects: The congressionally mandated study of educational

growth and opportunity. First year report on language minority and limited English

proficient students. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

National Center for Education Statistics. (1990). Dropout rates in the United States: 1989.

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and

Improvement.

. (1991). Dropout rates in the United States: 1990. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of

Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

. (1994). Dropout rates in the United States: 1993. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of

Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

. (1995a). Dropout rates in the United States: 1994. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of

Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

. (1995b). The educational progress of Hispanic students. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

. (1995c). Programs at higher education institutions for disadvantaged precollege students. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research

and Improvement.

85

76
. (1996a). Urban schools: The challenge of location and poverty. Washington, DC: U.S.

Department of Education.

. (1996b). Digest of education statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services Organizations. (1994). Growing up

Hispanic: Leadership Report. Washington, DC: Author.

National Dropout Prevention Center and Network (1994). The Journal of At-Risk Issues, 1(1).

Premier Issue.

National Dropout Prevention Newsletter. (1995). Vol. 8, No. 1.

Natriello, G., McDill, E. L., & Pallas, A. M. (1990). Schooling disadvantaged children: Racing

against catastrophe. New York: Teachers College Press.

Orr, M. T. (1987). Keeping students in school. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

Panel on High-Risk Youth, National Research Council. (1993). Losing generations: Adolescents

in high-risk settings. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. (1996).

Our nation on the fault line: Hispanic American education. Washington, DC: Author.

Prieto, P. (1996). La vision de "esperanza en la juventud". Vida Nueva, February.

. (1996). Opportunidades de empleo y entrenamiento laboral. Vida Nueva, February.

Ramirez, D., & Robledo, M. D. R. (1987). The economic impact of the dropout problem.

San Antonio, TX: Intercultural Development Research Association.

Re: Learning NM. (n.d.). Improving student learning by restructuring the educational system.

Albuquerque, NM: Author.

Reyes, L. 0. (1996). Written testimony to the Hispanic Dropout Project. New York City.

Rice, J. K., & Stavrianos, M. (1996). Adult English as a second language programs: An overview

of policies, participants and practices. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

Rodriquez, C. E. (1992). Student voices: High school students' perspectives on the Latino dropout problem. (Report to the Latino Commission on Educational Reform). New York:

Fordham University.

Romo, H. D., & Falbo, T. (1996a). Keeping Latino youth in school. Austin, TX: Hogg Foundation for Mental Health.

. (1996b). Latino high school graduation: Defting the odds. Austin, TX: University of

Texas Press.

Rossi, R. J. (1995). Evaluation of projects funded by the school dropout demonstration assistance program: Final evaluation report (Volume 1: Findings and recommendations).

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

86

7 7
Rubio, F., & Valverde, M. (1996). Project valor: Phase I. Las Cruces, NM: Author.

Rumberger, R. (1983). Dropping out of high school: The influence of race, sex, and family

background. American Educational Research Journal, 20(2), 199-220.

. (1987). High school dropouts: A review of issues and evidence. Review of Educational

Research, 57(2), 101-121.

. (1990). Second chance for high school dropouts: The costs and benefits of dropout

recovery programs in the United States. In D. E. Inbar (Ed.), The second chance in

education (pp. 227-250). New York: The Palmer Press.

. (1991). Chicano dropouts: A review of research and policy issues. In R. Valencia (Ed.),

Chicano school failure and success: Research and policy agendas for the 1990s (pp. 64-

89). Philadelphia: Falmer Press.

. (1995). Dropping out of middle school: A multilevel analysis of students and schools.

American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 583-625.

Rumberger, R., Ghatak, R., Poulos, G., Ritter, P. L., & Dornbusch, S. M. (1990). Family influences on dropout behavior in one California high school. Sociology of Education, 63

(October), 263-299.

Rumberger, R. W., & Larson, K. A. (1994). Keeping high-risk Chicano students in school:

Lessons from a Los Angeles middle school dropout prevention program. In R. J. Rossi

(Ed.), Schools and students at risk (pp. 141-162). New York: Teachers College Press.

. (1995). Toward explaining differences in school attrition among Latino language minority students. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association annual

meeting, San Francisco, CA.

. (1996). The impact of student mobility on high school completion. Unpublished manuscript.

Rumberger, R., & Thomas, S. L. (1995). The distribution of dropout rates among U. S. high

schools: A preliminary analysis of the school effectiveness study. Paper presented at the

American Educational Research Association annual meeting, San Francisco, CA.

Salazar, R., Vasquez, 0., & Mehan, H. (1995). Engineering success through institutional support. San Diego: University of California.

Shartrand, A. (1996). Supporting Latino families: Lessonsfrom exemplary programs (resumen en

espaliol. Volumes I & II). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Family Research Project.

Stanton-Salazar, R. D., Vásquez, 0., & Mehan, H. (1995). Engineering success through institutional support. San Diego, CA: University ofCalifornia.

Strang, W., Winglee, M., & Stunkard, J. (1993). Characteristics of secondary school-age language minority and limitedEnglish proficient students. (Final analytic report, contract no.

T292001001). Arlington, VA: Development Associates.

Sui-Chu E. H., & Willms, J. D. (1996). Effects of parental involvement in eighth-grade achieve87

7 8
ment. Sociology of Education, 69, 126-141.

Synectics for Management Decisions, Inc. (1995). Nation on the brink: Will we fly or fall?

(Report outline. Draft for discussion). Washington, DC: President's Advisory Commis- sion on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, U.S. Department of Education.

Texas school dropout survey project: A summary of findings. (1986). San Antonio, TX: IDRA.

Thornton, H. (Ed.). (1995). Staying in school (Technical report: 1990-1995). Minneapolis, MN: Publications Office, Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota.

Trueba, H. T., Spindler, G., & Spindler, L. (Eds.). (1989). What do anthropologists have to say

about dropouts? New York: The Falmer Press.

Trujillo, C., & Ortiz-Wertheim, B. (1996). Latina dropout: A case for mentoring programs. (Written testimony presented to the Hispanic Dropout Project). Albuquerque, NM: Mana de Albuquerque.

United States Department of Education. (1993). Reaching the goals: Goal 2. High School Completion (Prepared by the Goal 2 Work Group). Washington, DC: Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

. National Center for Education Statistics. (1997). Dropout rates in the United States:

1995, NCES 97-473, by Marilyn M. McMillen, Phillip Kaufman, and Steve Klein.

Washington, DC: Author.

United States General Accounting Office. (1994). Hispanics'schooling: Risk factors for drop- ping out and barriers to resuming education (Report to Congressional Requesters). Washington, DC: Author.

. (1996a). School facilities: America's schools report differing conditions (Report to Congressional Requesters). Washington, DC: Author.

. (1996b). School facilities: Profiles of school condition by state (Report to Congressional Requesters). Washington, DC: Author.

University of the State of New York. (1993). The Bronx: Educational achievement and socioeconomic profile. Albany, NY: The State Education Department. Office for Planning, Re- search and Support Services.

. (1995). Hispanic New Yorkers: Education and employment. Albany, NY: The State

Education Department, Office of Planning, Research and Support Services.

Valencia, R. R. (Ed.). (1991). Chicano school failure andsuccess: Research and policy agendas

for the 1990s. London: The Falmer Press.

Vasquez, 0. A. (1996). A model system of institutional linkages: Transforming the educational

pipeline. San Diego: The University of California.

Vazquez, L. C. (n.d.). Warning signs of student drop out. New York: Aspira.

Vazuaugh, A. (1995). Dropout prevention and language minorityyouth. Washington, DC: Center

88 79
for Applied Linguistics.

Vega-Lugo, Z. (1995). Student mobility K to 12: Impact on Hispanic-serving schools (Testimony

provided to the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans). Arecibo, Puerto Rico: Universidad Inter Americana de Puerto Rico.

Venegas, M. (1994). In search of a work force for the 21st century. Albuquerque, NM: Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce.

. (1996). The public schools: Can they educate all our children? (Written testimony

presented to the Hispanic Dropout Project). Albuquerque, NM.

Vernez, G., & Abrahamse, A. (1996). How immigrants fare in U.S. education. Santa Monica,

CA: Rand.

Villanueva, I. (1996). The mediator and admission to college. Paper presented at annual meeting

of the American Educational Research Association, New York City.

. (1996). The voices of Chicano families: Cultural awareness versus acculturation and

assimilation. Paper presented at annual meeting of the American Educational Research

Association, New York City.

Warren, J. R. (1996). Educational inequality among white and Mexican-origin adolescents in the

American southwest: 1990. Sociology of Education, 69(April), 142-158.

Wehlage, G. G., Rutter, R. A., Smith, G. A., Lesko, N., & Fernandez, R. R. (1989). Reducing the

risk: Schools as communities of support. London: The Falmer Press.

Willet, J., & Singer, J. (1991). From whether to when: New methodsfor studying student

dropout and teacher attrition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University.

Wojtkiewicz, R. A., & Donato, K. M. (1995). Hispanic educational attainment: The effects of

family background and nativity. Social Forces, 74(2), 559-573.

89

60
Appendix F

Programs Reviewed in the Hispanic Dropout Project's

Commissioned Papers

Contacts for Information on Elementary Academic Achievement Programs Reviewed by

Olatokunbo S. Fashola, Robert E. Slavin, Margarita Calderón and Richard Durfin (1996)

Accelerated Schools

Claudette Spriggs

National Center for the Accelerated Schools Project

Stanford University

CERAS 109

Stanford, CA 94305-3084

415:725-7158 or 415-725-1676

Bilingual Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (BCIRC)

Margarita Calderón

3001 Cabot Place

El Paso, TX 79935

915-595-5971

Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI)

Elizabeth Fennema or Thomas Carpenter

University of Wisconsin Madison

Wisconsin Center for Education Research

1025 West Johnson Street

Madison, WI 53706

608-263-4265

Complex Instruction/Finding Out/Descubrimiento

Elizabeth G. Cohen

Stanford University, School of Education

Stanford, CA 94305

415-723-4661

Comprehensive School Mathematics Program (CSMP)

Clare Heidema, Director, CSMP

2550 South Parker Road, Suite 500

Aurora, CO 80014

303-337-0990 Voice mail 303-743-5520

FAX 303-337-3005

Consistency Management and Cooperative Discipline (CMCD)

H. Jerome Freiberg

University of Houston

College of Education

Houston, TX 77204-5872

713-743-8663

91
Direct Instruction/DISTAR/Reading Mastery

Association for Direct Instruction

805 Lincoln

Eugene, OR 97401

541-485-1293

Early Intervention for School Success

Dean Hiser

200 Calmus Drive

P.O. Box 9050

Costa Mesa, CA 92628-9050

714-900-4125

Exemplary Center for Reading Instruction (ECRI)

Ethna R. Reid

Reid Foundation

3310 South 2700 East

Salt Lake City, UT 84109

801-486-5083 or 801-278-2334

FAX 801-485-0561

Goldenberg and Sullivan

Claude Goldenberg

Department of Teacher Education

California State University, Long Beach

1250 Bellflower Boulevard

Long Beach, CA 90840

310-985-5733

FAX 310-985-1543

Group Investigation

Mark Brubacher

416-394-3402

Kemp Rickett

416-393-9565

Helping One Student to Succeed (HOSTS)

William E. Gibbons, Chairman

8000 N.E. Parkway Drive, Suite 201

Vancouver, WA 98662-6459

206-260-1995 or 800-833-4678

FAX 206-260-1783

Jigsaw

Spencer Kagan

Resources for Teachers

27134 A Paseo Espada #202

San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

1-800-WEE-COOP

92

82
Learning Together

Roger T. Johnson and David W. Johnson

The Cooperative Learning Center

60 Peik Hall

University of Minnesota

Minneapolis, MN 55455

612-624-7031

Maneuvers With Mathematics (MWM)

David A. Page or Kathryn B. Chval

The University of Illinois at Chicago

851 Morgan Street

(rn/c 249) SEO 1309

Chicago, IL 60607-7045

312-996-8708

Multi-Cultural Reading and Thinking (McRAT)

Janita Hoskyn, National Consultant, McRAT Program

1019 Ronwood Drive

Little Rock, AR 72227

501-225-5809

FAX 501-455-4137

Profile Approach to Writing

Jane B. Hughey, Dixie Copeland

1701 Southwest Parkway, Suite 102

College Station, TX 77840

Phone or FAX 409-764-9765

Project ACHIEVE

Mary Fritz

Urbana School District 116

1108 West Fairview

Urbana, IL 61801

800-ESL-PROG (375-7746)

FAX 217-344-5160

Project ALASKA (Alaska Writing Program)

Nikin McCurry

Yukon Koyukuk School District

Box 80210

Fairbanks, AK 99708

800-348-1335

FAX 907-474-0657

Project BICOMP

The Bilingual Integrated Curriculum Project

Lorie Hammond

Washington Unified School District

930 West Acres Road

West Sacramento, CA 95691

916-257-2237 or 916-371-7720

FAX 916-371-8319

93

83
Project CELL

Computer Education for Language Learning

Celia Edmundson

Irvine Unified School District

5050 Barranca Parkway

Irvine, CA 92714

800-237-CELL or 714-733-9391

FAX 714-733-9391

Project CEMI

Computer Education for Multilingual Instruction

Iris N. Dias

Turbano University-Department of Education

Box 3030, University Station

Guarbo, PR 00778

809-734-7979, Ext 4940

FAX 809-743-7979, Ext 4944

Project GLAD

Guided Language Acquisition Design

Marcia Bretchel

17210 Oak Street

Fountain Valley, CA 92708

714-843-3230

FAX 714-843-3265

Project GOTCHA

Galaxies of Thinking and Creative Heights of Achievement

Nilda M. Aguirre

K.C. Wright Admini$ration Building

ESE Department -9th Floor

600 S.E. 3ru Avenue

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

305-767-8519

FAX 305-765-6017

Project MORE

Model Organization Results of Eastman

Diana Hernandez

Los Angeles Unified School District

Language Acquisition and Bilingual Development Branch

1320 West Third Street, Room 131

Los Angeles, CA 90017

Project PIAGET

Promoting Intellectual Adaptation Given Experiential Transforming

Kriste Falla-Serfass

The Bethlehem Area School District

1400 Lebanon Street

Bethlehem, PA 18017

610-865-7880

FAX 610-861-8107

94

64
Project PIAGET

Thomas D. Yawkey

The Pennsylvania State University

165 Chambers Building

University Park, PA 16802

814-863-2937

FAX 814-863-7602

Project PUENTE Outreach: A Bridge Between Communities

Debbie Clarke

Healdsburg Union School District

925 University Street

Healdsburg, CA 95448

707-431-3480

FAX 707-433-8403

Project SEED (Berkeley, California)

Helen Smiler, National Projects Coordinator

2530 San Pablo Avenue, Suite K

Berkeley, CA 94702

510-644-3422

FAX 510-644-0566

Project SEED (Dallas, Texas)

Hamid Ebrahimi, National Director

3414 Oak Grove Avenue

Dallas, TX 75204

214-954-4432

Project SLICE

Systematic Linking and Integrating of Curricula for Excellence

Beverly R. Taub

Freemont Unified School District

Office of Federal and State Projects

4210 Technology Drive

Freemont, CA 94538

510-629-2580

FAX 510-659-2532

Project TALK

Tutors Assisting with Language and Knowledge

John Golden

Aurora Public Schools

Bilingual Education Center

15701 East First Avenue, Suite 115

Aurora, CO 80011

303-340-0764

FAX 303-340-0868

95 85
Project TWO-WAY

TWO-WAY Bilingual Immersion

Rosa Molina

San Jose Unified School District

River Glen Elementary School

1610 Bird Avenue

San Jose, CA 95125

408-998-6420

FAX 408-298-8377

Reading Recovery/Descubriendo La Lectura

Carol A. Lyons, Gay Su Pinnell, or Diane E. De Ford

Reading Recovery Program

The Ohio State University

200 Ramseyer Hall

29 West Woodruff Avenue

Columbus, OH 42310

614-292-7807

FAX 614-688-3646

Reciprocal Teaching

Anne Marie Palincsar

University of Michigan

4204c School of Education Building

610 East University

Ann Arbor, MI 48109

School Development Program (SDP)

Ed Joyner

Child Study Center

School Development Program

230 South Frontage Road

P.O. Box 20790

New Haven, CT 06520-7900

203-785-2548

FAX 203-785-3359

Sheltered English Approach (SEA)

Alice Petrossian

Glendale Unified School District

Special Projects

223 North Jackson Street

Glendale, CA 91206

818-241-3111 Ext 301

FAX 818-246-3715

Skills Reinforcement Project (SRP)

Elizabeth Jones Stork, Director, IAAY Western Region, and Deputy Director, CAA

Johns Hopkins University, Western Regional Office

206 North Jackson Street, Suite 304

Glendale, CA 91206

818-500-9034

FAX 818-500-9058

96

UC' 6
Student Teams-Achievement Divisions and Teams-Games-Tournaments

Anna Marie Famish

Center for Social Organization of Schools

The Johns Hopkins University

3505 North Charles Street

Baltimore, MD 21218

410-516-8857

FAX 410-516-8890

Success for All/Lee Conmigo

Robert E. Slavin

Johns Hopkins University

Center for Social Organization of Schools

3505 North Charles Street

Baltimore, MD 21218

800-548-4998

FAX 410-516-8890

Contacts for Information on Secondary Dropout-Prevention Programs Reviewed by

Olatokunbo S. Fashola and Robert E. Slavin (1997)

ALAS

Katherine A. Larson & Russel W. Rumberger

University of California

Graduate School of Education

Phelps Hall

Santa Barbara, CA 93106

AVID

Mary Catherine Swanson

Director, AVID program

San Diego County Office of Education

6401 Linda Vista Road

San Diego, CA 92111-7399

619-292-3500

California Post Secondary Education Commission

Third Floor

1020 Twelfth Street

Sacramento, CA 95814-3985

Coca Cola Valued Youth Project

Linda Cantu, Project Director

Intercultural Development Research Association

Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program

5835 Callaghan, Suite 350

San Antonio, TX 78228-1190

210-684-8180

210-684-5389

9737
GRAD

J.L. Ketelsen

P.O. Box 2511

Houston, TX 77001

713-757-3563

SCORE

Sharon Marshall Johnson

Orange County Department of Education

200 Kalmus Drive

Post Office Box 9050

Costa Mesa, CA 92628-9050

714-966-4394 or 714-966-4388

Fax 714-662-3148

Upward Bound

David Goodwin

U.S. Department of Education

600 C Independence Avenue SW

Washington, DC 20202

202-401-0182

98

88
4`,44-7,1;311

a

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)

National Library of Education (NLE)

Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)

NOTICE

Reproduction Basis

Ed....sfiksoarca Wanda Center

This document is covered by a signed "Reproduction Release

(Blanket)" form (on file within the ERIC system), encompassing all

or classes of documents from its source organization and, therefore,

does not require a "Specific Document" Release form.

This document is Federally-funded, or carries its own permission to

reproduce, or is otherwise in the public domain and, therefore, may

be reproduced by ERIC without a signed Reproduction Release form

(either "Specific Document" or "Blanket").

EFF-089 (5/2002)