As an: example, she cites Puerto Ricans' who, she says, suffer from the worst socio-educational-economic conditions in society. Torre believes that unless educational programs which are designed for Hispanics are redesigned with Puerto Ricans specifically in mind, the needs of Puerto Ricans students will be ignored every time. That is the purpose of ASPIRA, which serves 20,000 students annually, according to Torre, who suggests that any group with a specific need must create its own programs, otherwise they will be sub-sumed by larger umbrella groups. Torre says her group--and others--have long sought data on Puerto Ricans from the federal and state governments, but to no avail.

 "We've been made `Hispanics.' We need to disaggregate the data by subgroup. Otherwise the needs of the subgroups will not be met," she says, adding that government bureaucrats rationalize that money being handed out to minorities or to `Hispanics' is good enough.

 Additionally, Torre points out that programs designed for Afro-Caribbean Latinos are also "very lacking."

 Help for Native Americans

 Laura Kalafus, an official of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), says that students who have attended at least three AISES summer programs show a 90 percent graduation rate in high school, compared to 52 percent for American Indians nationally. And of those high school graduates, 50 percent are currently enrolled in higher education, compared to 17 percent of American Indians nationally.

 Suzanne Benally, executive director of AISES says that for a program to work, it must be culturally sensitive. "Educational programs developed for students and teachers need to recognize the culture, community, lived histories and experiences that students come from. Programs need to address student learning in a way in which the content, curriculum and pedagogical processes are congruent, supportive of and advance those world views, values and beliefs," says Benally.