At-Risk Latino Students: A Case Study

The current trend in lack of Latino students attending college combines a lack of college readiness with a deficiency in resources to prepare this student population. Increasingly, higher education scholars are accepting these deficiencies as roadblocks to college access, and are looking to preparation programs, parent educational resources, and transition programs as subjects worthy of consideration. There are many different challenges being faced by this population, a population that is the fastest growing minority population in the country. Educators, parents, policy makers, student affairs professionals, and institutional leaders all play a vital role in the advocacy of Latino students on their journey towards admission and acclimation

Throughout this first chapter of Latino Americans the key points in my opinion were the following. Starting with the origin story of the Americas, the book mentions there might not be a definitive starting point because there “500 nations in North America before a European ship ever dropped anchor off the Eastern Seaboard” (Suarez 3). The book from this point on chronologically starts narrating, first about 55 years before Protestant refugees from Mayflower ever stepped on American soil, a Spanish sailor Pedro Menendez de Aviles forced French protestants from their Florida coast settlement to then stablish St. Augustine. From this point the book continues to tell the stories of Juan de Oñate, from witnessing the founding of Santa Fe, the oldest capital of North America, to exploring more than half a dozen of American states, he is one of the most fundamental conquistadors who is the least

Being a first generation college student is a heavy load to carry due to the constant reminder of having to be a good role model for my siblings. Children of immigrants are often highly expected to excel in their academics and to be involved in extracurricular activities. His/her parent immigrated to the “Land of The Free” in order to receive a better life and to give their children a place to call home. They work from one to two jobs a week just so that we can dig through the pantry, and raid the refrigerator. We sometimes take our parents for granted unknowingly, and constantly fill our heads with a question that we all seem to ask. “How do I please my parents?”, “What do I have to do to make them happy?”. As students we should all be voicing “College!”. Yes, maybe our folks’s dreams have faded away, however that should be our motivation to aim higher; to achieve our American Dream. Throughout our years of education, our very own relatives and teachers have emphasized on the importance of receiving a higher education. I have come to realize that I should not be asking myself “How do I please my parents?”. Instead, “How do I please myself?”, “What will my lifetime goals be?”, “Will it leave my parents hard work in vain?”. Obtaining a higher education will not impact their lives, but will affect yours drastically. My American Dream has always been to become an immigration lawyer that deals with international relations or to become a professor teaching my true passion for

Hispanic students are a noticeable population in the education system in the United States, because like said before the Hispanic population in the United States is growing noticeably. Yet, the a lot of students are not seeking higher education or taking rigorous classes, and

Growing up in a Hispanic household has shaped and built my values in life. At Appleton North High School, I am one out of the few Hispanic students. Knowing that my parents have migrated to America to give me a better future has motivated me to make it happen. Although, as a Mexican-American, I have felt out of place as a minority. However, with time I learned to accept my cultural differences. In fact, to this day, I thank my widowed father for the sacrifices and greater opportunities he has given me. My goal is to keep representing the few Hispanic students in college by working hard to achieve my career goals; not all Hispanics are fortunate enough to attend college. I also work to inspire young Hispanics to find their potential and follow

Goal 3: Incresing Postsecondary Completion Increase the percentage of Hispanic Americans who earn associate's and bachelor's degrees.

In a 2004 journal by Susan Auerbach, the concept of parental influence and support for Latina/o students is addressed. Auerbach shares that, “Research suggests the pivotal role of parents in promoting students’ college going” (Auerbach, p.127). It is no mystery that parents have great influence over their children, and when a parent is uneducated on how to best advise their child regarding higher education, they are unable to use this influence to encourage attendance. Auerbach states, “Families without a tradition of college going do not have sufficient knowledge to help their children navigate pathways to college” (Auerbach, p.140). According to the Latino Eligibility Study, the single most important barrier to college access for Latino students in California is lack of active knowledge of the steps needed to go to college (Gandara, 1998,2002). Parents of first generation students need tools that can aid in the child’s success and serve as a means of knowledge on what can be a challenging and confusing process. Another issue tied to parent involvement and understanding is that, “Poor and working class Latino families come to college preparation relatively late in students’ careers, with fewer resources and more obstacles” (Auerbach, p.136). The journal supports the idea that Latino/a parents are in need of early access to college preparation education in order to be able to challenge and support their

The article “Motivating Firs-Generation Students For Academic Success and College Completion” by Tanjula Petty describes the additional challenges first generation students have to overcome while attending college. A well-heeled diversity and world of opportunities are a few of the positive outcomes of attending college. According to Tanjula Petty (2014), “Yet, the most cited and widely used definition for first- generation students is someone whose parents has not completed a college degree”. Students whose parents did not acquire a college degree, have a lack of support at home. Their family members are not equipped to provide information required for college difficulties students may have. They lack knowledge and resources that students that students with college-educated parents have. The article states that these students are less psychologically prepared for college. Many low-income families do not understand the benefits of graduating from college. First generation students spend more time working and less time studying unlike their classmates. (Petty 2014) Coming from low-income families, many of these students have to divide their time between college and working. Leading students to prioritize money before school. Many work full time while going to school. Working more hours than studying can potentially harm students ' success.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the detrimental effects institutional racism in education has on Latino academic achievement. Consideration is given to the role of educators in perpetuating racist attitudes; the ineffective acculturation measures and the adverse effects resulting from the diminished academic expectations. Latino children exit K-12 systems deficient of the necessary skills to thrive in higher education or in the workplace; facts which foster complacency. Qualitative and quantitative data are used to support arguments and observations.

The Latino Student Organization will began its inaugural year in 2015, but had a provisional start in the fall of 2014. The organization started when former Latino Student Organization president Melody Martinez and Dr. Carlos Aleman, an Assistant Professor of Latin American History saw a large number of Latino students and the lack of what every heritage needs to thrive, a community. That is why together they created The Latino Student Organization, or LSO. A place where students latino and non latino can come together and establish a family or una familia. “I love being a part of an organization that really makes me feel part of a family away from my family”, said former President Melody Martinez. The LSO is more than creating a family for

“Kids who are the first in their families to brave the world of higher education come on campus with little academic know-how and are much more likely than their peers to drop out before graduation” (1). Many people believe that school isn’t for everyone, and whoever goes is privileged for doing so. Countless people in the world today do not attend college, and this is mainly due to an influence of those in their family. Perhaps they are unsupportive of higher education, their parents and family members may view their entry into college as a break in the family system rather than a continuation of their schooling and higher learning. Most of the first-generation students decide to apply to colleges, because they aspire to jobs which require degrees. However, unlike some students whose parents have earned a degree, they often seek out college to bring honor to their families, and to ensure they make a decent amount of money for their future.

This year the Chicano Student Program at the University of California Riverside celebrated its 45th year of being established. Since 1972, this program has expanded and grown into a well known resource center for first generation hispanic/latino students. This program would not exist without the effort and support from students and faculty members on campus who wanted to initiate a program where Hispanic students feel safe and have all the resources they need to succeed. At the time, the rate of first generation students being emitted to UCR was increasing and these students needed an environment to embrace, learn, advocate, and be involved with their culture and community. The Chicano Student Program offered these students a platform where

Some activities that I have been involved are the Community-Based Learning Courses. In my first semester, I had taken a FRO 100 The Latino Experience in the US and for the CBL session I had to go to the Futuro Latino Learning Center on the weekends. There I would help people who were not fluent in English to improve their language skills. Most of the people were Spanish speakers and we build relationships and some came from different countries like Guatemala and El Salvador. It gave me a better understanding of other people’s cultures and perspectives. I was like a tutor/helper to these people, which made me feel good about myself. Lastly this activity it gave me a better understanding on how to explain more clearly instructions or the material

The reason immigrant children have such far-reaching success is in large part due to our awareness. There is not a day that passes that I don’t see the effects of cultural poverty and lack of women’s education. My passion for success stems from my 1st generation immigrant upbringing.

For 10 weeks I tutored three first generation Hispanic American students in reading and writing, the curriculum that was provided to the tutors was effective but contained some examples and concepts foreign to the group with which I was working. There were three ways we solved the situation. First, I would provide a brief explanation of a concept and the students would respond with ideas from their experience that aligned with the original concept. Second, for detailed explanations I would have the students consult the dictionary, encyclopedia and Wikipedia to get a clear understanding of the topic on which we were focusing. Finally, when students where provided assignments to practice writing and grammar but the topics were unfamiliar, I would have the students brainstorm 5-6 topics relevant to them. In this way, students could work on improving their writing skills while focusing on a topic that