Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans - 26 Nov 2003
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...Bush Administration officials are on the road conducting a series of education conferences for Hispanics in the United States. Last weekend in San Diego, California, the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans kicked off a new campaign designed to encourage Hispanic American families to become more involved in their children's education. The event, held at San Diego State University (http://www.sdsu.edu), included speakers from the U.S. Education Department and panel discussions on closing the achievement gap for Hispanic Americans. Adam Chavarria is associate director of the White House Initiative, which he says is also intended to fill an "information gap" among Latino parents. He says it has been the case for many Hispanics, and particularly for immigrant families who are not accustomed to the educational system in the U.S., to forgo opportunities to navigate the system or to ask questions about the their children's education. "So the fate of their children is often left to the public school system," he says. But Chavarria says he and others in the Initiative, not wanting any community to be bypassed by the opportunities and options afforded under No Child Left Behind, have made a commitment to leave Washington and to come out and directly address communities that could benefit from its efforts. A similar education fair will be held in Miami, Florida, next weekend. [Jim Brown] |