A Comprehensive Approach on Diversity, Family Engagement, and Student Success
Lancaster: For the fourth year, the Adelante Lancaster Latino Education Committee is proud to announce its Annual Lancaster Education Forum to be held on Saturday, October 22, 2011 from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Millersville University Downtown Center, 42 N. Prince Street in historic downtown Lancaster. We are thrilled to invite all school districts in Lancaster County to attend, support, and participate. This year's theme is: "Education in Lancaster County from K-12 to College: A Comprehensive Approach on Diversity, Family Engagement, and Student Success." Click here for a Save the Date announcement.
As we continue to witness the dramatic changes in demographics in Lancaster County, it is imperative that we equipped our schools and education professionals with information relevant to the work they do on a daily basis while facing these changes. With that in mind, the Lancaster Latino Education Committee is organizing this forum and for the first time is opening registration to all school districts in Lancaster County.
The forum provides an opportunity for students (8th-12th), parents, teachers, staff, administrators, government officials, community leaders, non-profit organizations and the general public to engage in workshops and presentations aiming to improve educational conditions in Lancaster County. Four workshop tracks have been designed to address issues pertaining to specific groups: Student Leadership Institute (students), Parents Academy (parents), Professional Development (educators), and Community Engagement (community partners in education). You must register to attend. Registration is determined on a first-come, first-served basis. This is a free event and includes continental breakfast and lunch.
Click here to download a Registration Form in Spanish or here to download a Registration Form in English which can be faxed to Joyce Lenox at 717-735-0335 or e-mailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
The Lancaster Latino Education Committee was created on March 10, 2008. The committee is comprised primarily of professionals who reside in Lancaster County. The impetus for its formation was the desire of community members to be engaged in education and the 2007 released report, Latinos in Lancaster County: Voices, Perspectives, Myths and Realities, authored by Lillian Escobar-Haskins and prepared for the Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board. The purpose of the committee is to support the work of school districts in Lancaster and other educational entities in the region with their efforts to have a strong and vibrant community of learners.
Latinos represented more than 50% of the state's population growth in the last decade. According to the US Census 2010, there are more than 44,000 Latinos living in Lancaster county and this population is already surpassing the Amish population. This creates great challenges and enormous opportunities for Lancaster county to be a model learning hub in the state while ensuring excellence in education for all of our children.
Latinos Come of Age
Washington, DC: In a report entitled "Between Two Worlds: How Young Latinos Come of Age in America" released on December 11, 2010, a Pew Hispanic Center survey of 2,012 U.S. Latinos ages 16 to 25 found that respondents were generally optimistic about their futures and valued education, hard work, and career success. For a downloadable copy of the report, click here.
Yet the report also presents data showing that young Latinos are statistically more likely than other youths to drop out of school, become teen parents, and live in poverty. According to survey data, 89 percent of Latinos ages 16 to 25 say it is important to get a college education, compared with 82 percent of all U.S. youths in the same age range. However, 48 percent Latinos ages 18 to 25 say they expect to receive a college degree, compared with 60 percent of their non-Latino U.S. peers. The report is part of Pew Research Center's year-long series on the Millennial Generation, defined as everyone born between 1981 and 2000.
PCCD Issues Report on the Needs of Latino Youth
Harrisburg: Recently, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency released a report completed by the Public Health Management Corporation and the National Council on Crime and Delinquency which summarizes the findings of an 18-month assessment of the needs of Latino youth ages 10-20 involved with the juvenile justice system and their parents in seven Pennsylvania counties: Adams, Berks, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lehigh, Philadelphia, and York. A relatively high percentage of Latino youth in these counties are in contact with the juvenile justice system. Click here to download a copy of the report. The goal of this needs assessment is to identify the specific needs of Latino youth in the Pennsylvania juvenile justice system in the seven counties, including...
- Educational, employment, and housing needs;
- Need for ESL classes;
- Need for Spanish language translators and interpreters;
- Need for bilingual/bicultural staff in social service organizations, juvenile justice agencies and schools;
- Availability of orientation and other materials in Spanish;
- Existence of culturally competent alternatives to detention; and
- Special needs of immigrants, undocumented individuals, and youth who are, or who are alleged to be, gang members.
This information will be used by the DMC to develop and implement strategies to address existing needs.
Excelencia in Education Releases Factbook 2008
Washington, DC: Excelencia in Education, an advocacy organization dedicated to providing information on effective higher education practices for Latinos, release its Factbook 2008: The Condition of Latinos in Education in December 2008. The Factbook offers a comprehensive look at data that is related to the performance of Latinos young people as they prepare to take their place in the workforce of tomorrow.
Among its findings...
- In 2005-2006, Hispanics represented 17% of high school students. Between 2005 and 2015, the number of Hispanic public high school graduates will increase by 54% while white graduates are projected to decline by 11%.
- The average reading scores for Hispanic high school seniors decreased from 1992 to 2005.
- The status dropout rate for Hispanics has decreased from 32% in 1990 to 22% in 2006 but is still higher than that of other groups including 11% for blacks and 6% for whites. The high school completion rate for Hispanics increased from 60% in 1987 to 65% in 2007.
- Hispanics increased their college-going rate from 51% in 1996 to 58% in 2006.
- In 2006-2007, Hispanics represented 13% of undergraduate students in higher education.
- In 2006, Hispanics represented 14% of the US labor force, 15% of the unemployed, 12% of the long-term unemployed, 22% of those working part-time for economic reasons, and 13% of marginally-attached workers.
- In 2007, the highest percentage of employed Hispanics 16 and over were in service occupations (24%), followed by sales and office occupations (21%), and natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (19%).
To download a copy of the report, click here.
