Washington, D.C.

Strengthening the educational pipeline from prekindergarten through college is critical to the academic success of Hispanic students, educational researchers told policymakers gathered Wednesday at a forum convened by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund (NALEO)

The group, representing nearly 6,000 appointed and elected Latino officials, convened education experts to present research on the benefits of early childhood education and secondary and postsecondary collaboration models for pipeline success. The forum was called the 4th Annual NALEO Education Leadership Initiative National Summit on the State of Latino Education.

Hispanics are the fastest-growing ethnic minority group in the United States, and are projected to be the largest school-age population by 2050. “[Washington] must be reminded that the future of this country is dependent upon educating Latino children,” said Arturo Vargas, NALEO’s executive director. “The focus of our summit was to attack pipeline issues.”

Research has shown that access to high-quality early childhood education can have a positive impact on the educational careers of children from low-income households, but Hispanic children are less likely than their Black and White counterparts to participate in early childhood education programs, according to Head Start, the nation’s premier federally funded education program. Only 49 percent of Hispanic children — compared to 60 percent of White, Black, Asian and American Indian children — are enrolled in center-based early childhood care and education programs.

Forty-two percent of Hispanic children are found in the lowest quartile of performance on reading readiness, compared to just 18 percent of White children, upon entering kindergarten. By fourth grade, only 16 percent of Hispanic students are proficient in reading, according to the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress, compared to 41 percent of White students. By eighth grade, only 15 percent of Hispanics are proficient in reading, compared to 39 percent of White students.