College-Readiness in the Latino Community

Schools can help tremendously with college-readiness in the Latino community, but only by understanding the unique, cultural challenges and other obstacles that Hispanic kids face. The article “Ensuring Latino Success in College and the Workforce” says it’s not that Hispanic families don’t value education, they do. What they lack, though, says the article, are the resources, information and experience in important areas such as obtaining financial aid and applying to college. As such, engaging families in the college process is absolutely critical, it adds.

Even when Hispanic students are prepared, however, another article about helping Latino students prepare for college states that challenges often still arise but relate more to cultural issues. All too often, for instance, Latino parents will try to discourage their children from going to college at all.

Two of the biggest reasons are: 1) families need them to get a full-time job once they graduate high school, and 2) college is an expensive proposition. So though one student in the article, an undocumented immigrant and a graduate student, understands this, she also wonders why families come to a new country to have a better life, if they won’t allow their kids to pursue one.

A guide for Hispanic parents says that parents need to be their child’s advocate. They should be looking at their schedules and transcripts to ensure he or she is taking the necessary college prep classes, for instance. Parents should also be helping their children by mapping out a course of study for college. A study plan should be multicultural, one that includes learning from school and learning from home, says the article about prepping Latino students for college. It’s never too early to starting planning for college, says the guide.

Hispanic families can start by establishing a regular reading routine when their kids are still young, where they sit down and read with them in their native language. The Latino Family Literacy Project, for instance, offers a terrific at-home, reading program. Teachers can attend a half-day training program or take an online webinar to help guide families in the right direction.