Claudio Centero is Doriz's father. When a teacher looks out on a class of Mid-Columbia students on a spring morning, it's likely some of them are weary from getting out of bed at 3 a.m. to cut asparagus before school. Others may be burdened by the stress of taking on adult responsibilities, like talking to the phone company or electric company because their parents don't speak English. And many of them speak little or no English themselves. The Tri-City classroom of the 1990s is a dramatically different place than it was just 10 or 15 years ago.
Mexican immigration is responsible for the bulk of the change.
Hispanic school enrollment has skyrocketed in the Mid-Columbia in the last decade as large number of former migrants from Texas, California and Mexico have put down roots, particularly in Pasco where Hispanic students make up an estimated 60 percent of the student body. In Kennewick, the percentage of Hispanic students has grown from 5.7 percent in 1985 to 14.6 percent in 1997. This is an area where there is a lot of work, and the parents like the schools. So they stay. Responding to the changing needs of students has been one of the biggest challenges of increased immigration, both locally and nationally.