The Pew Hispanic Center is a great resource on Hispanic issues. UPI had a a story (back in August, which is eons ago in internet time) on Pew’s findings regarding Hispanic student trends (h/t brenda):
A study says the number of Hispanic students in U.S. public schools doubled from 1990 to 2006 to about 10 million children.
The Pew Hispanic Center in Washington said Tuesday that the growth spurt accounted for 60 percent of the overall growth rate in public schools enrollment and the trend was likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
“In 2050, there will be more school-age Hispanic children than school-age non-Hispanic white children,” Pew said in a written statement.
Now we just need to help them graduate.
PS: The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life is another favorite for research, news and discussion.
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Hispanic Baptist Leaders Having Life Changing Conversations
That’s interesting Jesse. (I’m assuming you’re the one who did this post. It would be interesting to consider what are the implications of these statistics for us as Hispanic clergy and leaders. Initially, for me, it reinforces the importance of churches becoming involved in mentoring programs. Our church is in its second year of its Kidshope USA program. We had 9 mentors serve for a year at the Cesar Chavez Primary School in Fort Worth (a school which is approximately 95% Hispanic). This year we have 13 mentors who have signed up, been screen and trained. Additionally, this has opened the door for us to have a Fall Festival at the school this coming October. These are opportunities for our churches to make a difference in the lives of Hispanic children by offering presence, support and encouragement. It helps to minister in the name of Jesus to “the least of these” and it has proven to increase graduation rates. Furthermore, it allows the church to have a good rapport in the community in order to facilitate the sharing of the gospel and in order to been seen as a resource for community success. I don’t make a commission on Kidshope USA but I have seen it work. Even if it’s a different program, the point is to find a way for our churches to get involved in the schools. This past Tuesday I attended a dads and sons pizza dinner at Stevan’s school (my 9-year-old). About 200 dads showed up. The principals were begging us dads to spend 1 day a year each in the school simply to “be present” and to interact with kids through a program called “Watch D.O.G.S.” (Dads of Great Students). They recognize the need for support. Their main concern is security but the opportunity affords more than that. These are opportunities which need to be seized. Al Meredith, pastor of Wedgwood Baptist Church here in Fort Worth recently spoke at a pastors’ luncheon here. He said that in the past generation the emphasis was on youth ministry and making sure that youth made a decision for Christ before the age of 17 but that now the emphasis has to be on children ministry and making sure they make a decision before 12. They have moved their VBS from the church campus to the schools campus. Those are some ideas about what can be done to make a difference. I would be interested in others thoughts and ideas on this subject.
Julio
Julio, I am so encouraged by your willingness to take action in and around your community. The Drop Out Issue or to state it in a positive way “The High School Completion Challenge” is a rather complex issue. We need solutions at all levels: Pre-Natal, Early Childhood, Middle Schoolers, High School age and Parents. We have lot of resources that could be convened to make a critical and strategic difference on this issue if we had ganas to get it done. My hope is that our beloved BGCT will step up and make this issue a priority. I am confident that the BGCT will take action soon. With 9 universities, 2 academies, 4 child welfare agencies, several hospitatl systems, and over 5500 churches we can turn the tide of this issue. We have to assess where we are and then identify real solutions for our youth. As you know, the Hispanic Education Task Force was appointed in 2005 while I served as BGCT President. I am hopeful that action will be taken in 2009 to get started on this issue. Let’s pray that we will have news to celebrate soon.