Bridging the Gap

By A�da Bardales -- Críticas, 9/15/2006

Last month, the New York Times reported that fewer black students enrolled in the most prestigious colleges of the City University of New York (CUNY). Hunter College’s dean for diversity and compliance, Laura M. Schachter, reportedly said “that many qualified black and Hispanic students did not know much about Hunter [a CUNY college] and did not apply.” Shortly after, the Times published another article stating that the number of minority students—including Hispanics—who get into New York’s specialized high schools has declined as well.

These are alarming facts, but more alarming is that no one can explain why so few Hispanics enroll in top schools. A wide array of factors likely has contributed to this decline. One possible is that there simply may be a communication gap between students, parents, and education officials.

Immigrant Hispanic families in the United States often encounter a language barrier when dealing with their children’s education. Though most parents may want to get involved, many are often unfamiliar with this country’s education system. They may not be able to help with homework assignments because they do not read English or do not have higher education themselves. They may not be able to attend parent-teacher nights because they work several jobs—and when they can go, they rely on their children to translate. Of course, this is not true of every immigrant Hispanic family. Some parents aggressively seek information and help—if it is available—in order to understand the U.S. school system and be better equipped to assist their children in making important decisions.

How do we—as providers of services to Spanish-speakers, or as Hispanics/Latinos ourselves—give Spanish-speaking parents and students the tools they need to prepare for standardized tests to get into top schools? How do we educate and encourage them to take advantage of the opportunities that exist?

Working with elementary and middle school teachers and officials, we must take a more hands-on approach to make sure all parents are equally aware of what is happening at their children’s school. Is there practice for state exams or after-school tutoring? My elementary school teacher, for example, often reached out to bilingual colleagues (like school media specialists) and to parents and asked them to help her translate (into Spanish) letters or other materials she was sending home.

Many of the country’s top colleges and high schools have minority alumni associations and/or mentoring programs. If teachers and school media specialists for immigrant or second-generation Hispanics provide their students with information about such programs, these children will meet other Hispanics/Latinos who could provide inspiration, guidance, and encouragement.

Educators could also reach out to their local public librarian for help, or vice versa. An alliance between public schools and libraries could provide immigrant communities the resources they need to understand the U.S. school system. Through workshops or information sessions organized by librarians and teachers, non-English-speaking Hispanic immigrants could find out about and get useful information on standardized tests, top city/state high schools and universities, scholarships for minorities, mentoring programs, and much more.

Finally, educators and librarians need to share their first-hand experiences about immigrant communities; they have to speak up and tell publishers what kinds of books Hispanics need. At Críticas we’ve noticed a little flurry of books addressing education—not translations of English-language works, but original titles that deal with the specific issues Hispanic parents face in the United States. Look for reviews of these in upcoming issues of Críticas. And if your school or library has a program worth sharing, please let me know.

Aída Bardales
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