Iowa Educators Address College Success for Latinos

by DIVERSE Staff, December 10, 2008

AMES, Iowa

Schools and colleges can make attending college and succeeding at it a realizable goal for Latino students, but educators and policy makers need to do more to help them, according to a collaborative report from Iowa scholars and a national group of Hispanic educators.

Iowa State University's educational leadership and policy studies (ELPS) program,  has collaborated with the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education on a policy brief that provides recommendations for schools and colleges, the university announced last week.

According to the Iowa Department of Education,  the state has seen a 109.3 percent increase in Latino enrollment from the 1999-2000 to the 2007-08 school years.

"We've got the (Latino) demography and we've got the people coming in, but we now need to make sure that this population is well-educated," said Laura Rendón, chair of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.

 "We do not want to have a new citizenry comprised of uneducated individuals who are not able to contribute to the American society -- those who are not able to be leaders,” she said. “We want to educate all of these individuals so they can participate fully in all that America has to offer. That means we have to start exposing Latino families to all the educational opportunities that are available."

Rendón says improving upon Latinos educational outcomes is critical to Iowa, which she calls a new frontier for Latino families.

"They're coming to Iowa to work in meat-packing and agriculture and chicken processing, etc.," Rendón said. "These folks, interestingly, are not likely to go back to Mexico or Central America. They want to stay. And what that is doing for Iowa is adding to its population, but also to the number of workers who are available to take jobs in areas where we need them. So the education of this new population is vital to the state's future. In the future, we also want Latinos to be state leaders with college degrees."

Doctoral student Jessica Ranero was also one of the brief's four ELPS authors, contributing results of research she is conducting with ISU assistant professor Ryan Gildersleeve that centers on improving the education of Iowa's growing Latino population.

ELPS doctoral students Jose Cabrales, Jr. and Philip Vasquez joined Rendón, Ranero and Amaury Nora, professor and editor of the Review of Higher Education at the University of Houston, as authors of the brief. It was distributed nationally to all Hispanic-Serving Institutions and other targeted organizations.

The authors made these recommendations:

• Federal and state governments, as well as foundations, should continue to support comprehensive college-access assistance programs such as Gear Up, TRIO and ENLACE. They urged that these programs not stop in high school, but recommended that they continue at least into the first two years of college.

• K-12 schools should develop a "Planning for College" course for students and families to address important college-related issues. In addition, free or low-cost tutoring and test-preparation programs should be provided.

• Faculty and guidance counselors in schools and colleges should be properly trained to advise Latino students and facilitate their success. The brief provided guidelines for advisers to follow, taking students from middle school through college.

• Two- and four-year institutions should develop a Center for Student Success -- a one-stop destination where low-income, first-generation students can get all the information they need to navigate their way through college.

The report also said faculty, especially those in Hispanic-Serving Institutions, should be trained to:

• Replicate the elements of learning communities within the classroom -- such as close faculty and student interactions, familia (student groups of 4-5 students who work together for one or two semesters) writing models, reflective practices, culturally relevant learning experiences and community service learning.

• Mentor and guide Latino students with the information needed to succeed.

• Employ validation theory as a way to support, encourage and affirm Latino students as capable learners and valid members of the college community.          

In their study, Ranero and Gildersleeve have identified rural Iowa towns that have undergone a significant ethnic population change and interviewed middle school administrators regarding the college-going process for Latino immigrants. They are continuing outreach within the Latino community to better understand its needs regarding higher education.

Email the editor: editor@diverseeducation.com

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