California ranks in the bottom half of states when it comes to high school graduation rates, according to a new report released by the U.S. Department of Education. A quarter of California high school students didn’t graduate in 2011. Latino and limited English proficiency (LEP) students fared even worse, with respective graduation rates of 70 percent and 60 percent.
California is facing a Latino student achievement crisis. For this reason, United Latino Voices of Contra Costa County organized and Education “Summit” to bring parents and school district representatives together to discuss shared concerns about Latino drop-outs, the challenges encountered by English Learners and the difficulties parents have getting involved.
More than half of all K-12 students in California are Latino. A quarter of the all public school children are English learners, of whom 85% speak Spanish.
Latinos will make up nearly 40% of California’s workforce by 2020. We have to shrink the achievement gap between White and Latino students because it is crucial to California’s economic future.
