Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - For many Hispanics, future must wait

Marketplace \| Services \| Contact Us \| Community \| Arts & Entertainment \| Local Guides

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Tuesday, March 27, 2001
For many Hispanics, future must wait
Dropout rate estimated at 20% or higher
By Paula Caballero
Caller-Times
As Albert Cruz cut sunflowers and weeds from rows of crops, with the sun beating on his back and the mosquitoes feasting on his skin, he had time to contemplate his decision to drop out.
   Cruz, then 17, left Kingsville's H.M. King High School near the end of his freshman year to work. He had been held back twice, in first grade and again in ninth, and the pressure to keep up left him stressed and disappointed.
   He never fit in at H.M. King. It wasn't that way in middle school. He had Ms. Moreno then, and she cared about him. But at H.M. King, he felt like a number in a high school of more than 1,300 students.
   And when he thought of his father, a carpenter struggling to keep the family afloat, the choice for Cruz was simple. He would leave school to work the fields, make money and help his family.

George Gongora/Caller-Times

Albert Cruz dropped out of high school to do manual labor to help support his family, but with his father's encouragement he returned to school and enrolled in KEYS Academy in Kingsville. After graduating in May, he plans to study computer technology at Del Mar College.

   His future would have to wait.
   Most researchers estimate 20 percent of Hispanic students nationwide drop out of high school, compared with 7 percent of Anglo teens and 13 percent of black teens. Some believe the Hispanic dropout rate is even higher.
   This problem affects everyone - Hispanic or not - according to Walter Secada, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the Hispanic Dropout Project, a two-year study commissioned by the secretary of education from 1995-97.
   Secada said the country cannot afford to have Hispanics, the soon-to-be-largest minority, under-prepared for employment and expect to maintain a thriving U.S. economy. Furthermore, low levels of education are linked to a cycle of poverty, dooming future generations.
   "These are children who will eventually vote and we want them to make an informed choice," Secada said. "We want them to be participants in democracy. That is the great American experience. Failure to educate people is a threat to the future of our democracy."
   The dropout rate among Hispanics is of heightened importance in places like Corpus Christi, where Hispanics have overtaken Anglos as the majority population.
   In the Corpus Christi Independent School District, less than 70 percent of the Hispanic students who entered high school in 1995 had either graduated or received a GED four years later. By comparison, more than 85 percent of their Anglo classmates graduated in 1999 or received a GED.
   The four-year dropout rate for Hispanics in the Class of 1999 in CCISD was 13.2 percent, more than double the 5.8 percent for Anglos. An additional 17 percent of Hispanics from that class continued high school after their classmates graduated in 1999.
   Complex causes

Click to enlarge

   The disparity is the result of a thorny blend of economics, cultural differences, school system politics, national lack of awareness and to some degree, individual choice, according to those who have studied the issue.
   In the discussion of this disparity, researchers often begin by dispelling Hispanic stereotypes.
   In the Hispanic Dropout Project, the research team found that Hispanic parents across the country cared about their children's education and wanted them to become better educated than they were. The vast majority of students wanted to learn and be challenged. And students and their families worked hard to overcome obstacles.
   Cruz is an example. He said he always valued education, but felt all but invisible in the school system. He felt like a failure. Yet when he opted to drop out, his parents encouraged him to stay in school.
   "My dad was like, 'I thought I told you not to take the same route I took,' " said Cruz, whose father never finished high school and worked as a carpenter at the time. "I told him 'I'm not. I can gather my thoughts and think about things. I know what I'm doing. It will take me a while, but I will bounce back.' "
   Back in school
Dropouts by Race/Ethnicity
Percentage of students in each racial/ethnic group in the class of 1999 who dropped out over a four-year period. Total students in the class of 1999 in parentheses.

District All Black Hispanic Anglo

Agua Dulce ISD (29) 10.3% N/A* 20.0% 0.0%

Alice ISD (400) 8.0% 0.0% 10.0% 1.2%

Aransas County ISD (250) 10.8% N/A 18.2% 7.7%

Aransas Pass ISD (117) 8.5% 20.0% 12.2% 5.0%

Austwell-Tivoli ISD (11) 9.1% N/A 20.0% 0.0%

Banquete ISD (62) 1.6% N/A 0.0% 5.6%

Beeville ISD (236) 2.5% N/A 3.5% 1.2%

Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco CISD (31) 3.2% N/A 3.6% N/A

Benavides ISD (46) 8.7% N/A 8.7% N/A

Bishop CISD (70) 5.7% N/A 8.9% 0.0%

Brooks County ISD (109) 11.0% N/A 11.0% 12.5%

Calallen ISD (357) 4.2% 0.0% 7.1% 3.0%

Corpus Christi ISD (2,597) 11.1% 15.2% 13.2% 5.8%

CCISD-Carroll (539) 1.1% 4.3% 1.1% 0.4%

CCISD-King (486) 11.5% 20.0% 14.5% 8.2%

CCISD-Miller (343) 16.0% 23.5% 16.1% 0.0%

CCISD-Moody (309) 11.7% 5.9% 12.9% 0.0%

CCISD-Ray (535) 12.9% 21.4% 16.3% 4.4%

Flour Bluff ISD (333) 6.3% 0.0% 12.7% 4.7%

Freer ISD (76) 14.5% N/A 16.4% 6.7%

George West ISD (97) 4.1% N/A 5.3% 3.4%

Gregory-Portland ISD (290) 2.8% 0.0% 4.2% 2.1%

Ingleside ISD (104) 8.7% N/A 12.1% 5.9%

Kingsville ISD (320) 9.1% 11.1% 10.1% 6.2%

Mathis ISD (129) 10.9% N/A 12.5% 4.3%

McMullen County ISD (15) 6.7% N/A 0.0% 12.5%

Odem-Edroy ISD (77) 6.5% N/A 7.0% 5.0%

Orange Grove ISD (105) 1.9% N/A 2.0% 1.8%

Pettus ISD (29) 3.4% N/A 0.0% 6.3%

Port Aransas ISD (35) 5.7% N/A N/A 5.9%

Premont ISD (54) 18.5% N/A 19.6% 12.5%

Refugio ISD (57) 10.5% N/A 18.8% 0.0%

Riviera ISD (42) 9.5% N/A 15.4% 0.0%

Robstown ISD (286) 14.0% N/A 14.1% N/A

San Diego ISD (98) 10.2% N/A 10.4% N/A

Santa Gertrudis ISD (35) 0.0% N/A 0.0% 0.0%

Sinton ISD (150) 16.0% 0.0% 20.5% 0.0%

Skidmore-Tynan ISD (58) 5.2% N/A 10.3% 0.0%

Taft ISD (99) 7.1% N/A 7.3% 6.7%

Three Rivers ISD (65) 10.8% N/A 16.7% 3.6%

Tuloso-Midway ISD (212) 3.3% N/A 3.8% 1.9%

West Oso ISD (119) 16.8% 23.5% 15.5% N/A

Woodsboro ISD (48) 4.2% N/A 9.5% 0.0%

*N/A - Not enough students in subgroup for data to be reported
Source: Texas Education Agency

   Cruz, now 19, did return to school. He enrolled in KEYS Academy, a Kingsville alternative school, and will graduate in May.
   Alexis Mata, 18 and five months pregnant, is also a KEYS student scheduled to graduate in May. She said being pregnant did not deter her from finishing high school. In fact, Mata said it made her more determined to set a good example for her child.
   "My dad tells me, 'Don't think of this as a setback. Think of this as a challenge,' " Mata said. "He tries to keep my head up there, not let things get me down."
   The Hispanic Dropout Project research team was dismayed to find low expectations and negative stereotypes about Hispanic students emanating from teachers and administrators in some schools.
   "In New York City, a kid walked into a class, and the classroom had fewer chairs than kids registered for the class. The teacher told them not to worry because not everyone would show up,'' Secada said, making reference to a predominantly Hispanic classroom. "Boy, that sends a very clear message."
   Many researchers believe the problem is entrenched in the schools themselves.
   Role of the schools
   Russell Rumberger, a professor of education at the University of California at Santa Barbara, said research shows a high concentration of Hispanic students in poorer schools, which tend to be overcrowded, in disrepair and are often more likely to employ under-qualified teachers.
   "Do the schools have a high dropout rate because of the kids or do the kids drop out because of the school?" Rumberger said. "The school experience in the kind of school a lot of Latinos go to is not conducive to staying in school, for school-related reasons."
   Lack of teachers with Spanish-language skills further adds to a laundry list of problems Hispanic kids face in public school, researchers say. In the CCISD, approximately 3,000 students are in English as a Second Language or bilingual classes. Spanish is the primary language spoken at home for more than 4,000 students in CCISD.
   The economic status of the family is clearly a factor in this complex problem. To what degree, however, remains open to debate.
   'They want to make more'
   Roel Lara, principal at Robstown High School, a school with a 14 percent dropout rate for the Class of 1999, said the economic status of the family plays a central role in the success of Hispanic students at his school. He said the main reason students drop out from the school is to work. The student population at Robstown is almost entirely Hispanic and more than 70 percent is economically disadvantaged, Lara estimates.
   "A lot of these kids never had any money, so when they start earning between $50 and $100 per week, that's great," Lara said. "The more money comes in, the harder it is to focus on school. They start thinking how many more hours they can work. And when you come from a family that needs that income, you just have to understand that mindset. They want to make more."
   However, researchers point to statistics that indicate that the dropout rate of Hispanics of all income levels is high. In fact, Hispanic students are still more than twice as likely to drop out as students from similar economic backgrounds. Even Hispanic students from wealthy backgrounds are more likely to drop out than peers of similar status from other ethnic groups.
   Secada speculates the root of the problem may be general lack of attention to Hispanic concerns, unlike long-standing national discussion and legislation regarding equal rights for women or blacks.
   "We don't have that history in this country of working on issues involving Latinos," Secada said. "It's only been in the last 10 to 15 years that we've noticed an increase."
   Secada said this directly relates to the invisibility factor, which Hispanic students like Cruz seem to experience in the school system.
   Cultural differences remain difficult to calibrate in the dropout equation.
   Rumberger points to the role of women in the family, and that female students are often called on to take major responsibility in household duties, like taking care of younger siblings.
   Corpus Christi Alternative High School Center principal Ricardo Almendarez notes that most Hispanic students are raised to have respect for authority, and may therefore be less likely to speak up if they need help.
   Lack of English skills
   Secada said lack of English skills is an issue, and that schools must be more accepting of parents and students who do not speak English.
   Moreover, researchers believe school administrators too often fall back on cultural stereotypes and excuses.
   "If Sears can't sell in a Hispanic neighborhood, they do what it takes to sell. They don't blame the customer," Secada said. "School is the only place I can think of that has something to sell - knowledge and opportunity - but when they can't sell it, they blame the customer."
   Secada said he encountered a number of successful programs during the tour of schools involved in the Hispanic Dropout Project. A similarity in many of those programs, he said, is an emphasis on providing personal attention as a means of engaging students.
   "Someone at each school should accept responsibility for every single kid in school," Secada said. "It could be a teacher, a principal, a teacher aide or any other staff member. Every kid should have an adult who knows who they are."
   Dropout rate cut at Miller
   Dick Peltz, principal at Miller High School, agrees. Miller, which is more than 80 percent Hispanic, had an annual Hispanic dropout rate (the percentage of students who dropped out that year only) of more than 7 percent in 1998, which earned the school a low-performing rating from the Texas Education Agency. By 2000, the number had decreased to 1.7 percent.
   Part of Miller's success, Peltz believes, is staff spending one-on-one time with students, finding out what the student needs and how staff members can help address concerns and set goals. Before a student drops out, the student must speak to an intervention counselor, who tries to find ways to re-engage the student. Peltz believes this step channels 30 percent of potential dropouts back into school.
   "We live in a depersonalized world. We need to make everything more personalized," Peltz said.
   When Cruz decided to leave the fields behind and re-enroll in school, the school counselor at H.M. King told him she could see he was struggling. She suggested KEYS, where Cruz could build up the many credits he was lacking to graduate.
   Cruz built up credits, and he also rebuilt his self-esteem. In a smaller setting, he was able to develop personal relationships with his teachers and get the help he needed to succeed.
   Student of the Week
   Cruz earned Student of the Week honors earlier this month.
   Cruz plans to attend Del Mar College next year and study computer technology. In the meantime, he's plugging away, looking forward to earning that diploma and walking across the stage at H.M. King in May.
   He'll be thinking of his father as he does.
   "He told me to show him that I could make it. That I could make it in this world," Cruz said. "And I will leave an impression on this world and not go the same route. I will show him. I will show him this May."


Staff writer Paula Caballero can be reached at 886-3758 or by e-mail at caballerop@caller.com

| Talk about this story | Next Story | Home |

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

[ Printer-friendly version ]
[ Subscribe to newspaper ]

SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND

[an error occurred while processing this directive]