Words are powerful! The number of words that a child learns appears to be connected to socioeconomic influences. There has been a long standing concern over the vocabulary gap that exists between first graders who come from lower socioeconomic families, and children who are from middle class or wealthy class backgrounds. The issue stems from the size of the vocabulary … Read More
High School Dropout Rates Decline for Hispanic Students
The high school dropout rate among Hispanics has seen a steady decline since 1990. Even a delineation between gender, income level, and years of school completed prior to dropout has shown decreases across the board in the trends for Hispanics deciding not to finish high school or pursue college enrollment. The numbers are actually quite encouraging, starting at a 12.1% … Read More
Bilingual Books as Gifts for Christmas
The hunt for gifts for Christmas is on! Bilingual Books make terrific gifts for the Christmas and even beyond. Lectura Books publishes beautifully illustrated award-winning books and will help readers to develop English vocabulary and Spanish vocabulary. For the inquisitive child who is wondering where is the oldest house in the USA is, and who lived in it, he / … Read More
The Importance of Language for Latino Identity
Latino identity is complex and the more people you ask about defining that identity, the more unique and varied the answers will be. Some would tell you there is an identity crisis among the Hispanic and Latino communities. That’s right, both terms are valid because, while “Latino” and “Hispanic” are often used to describe the same ethnic group, the members … Read More
What is LCAP in California?
What is LCAP in California? LCAP Funding in California? We’ve been hearing a lot about LCAP in California. It stands for the Local Control and Accountability Plan. These plans represent a big change in how California manages its school finances. To understand LCAP, you need to know another acronym: LCFF, which stands for Local Control Funding Formula. LCAPs are the … Read More
How Culturally Familiar Books Foster Reading with Hispanic Parents
Children connect with stories and themes that they know. If something is recognizable to them in a book, they will often relate to it in a way that draws similarities to the people and events in their own lives. Through this familiarity, reading becomes more enjoyable and serves a stronger purpose towards promoting successful literacy outcomes. Teachers who work with … Read More
Rural Poverty in the United States
Poverty, unemployment, and food insecurity are serious concerns throughout the country, but these rates are much higher in the rural regions of the United States than in urban sectors. The reasons are succinct and relentless, starting with lower education levels and higher rates of both unemployment and underemployment resulting in 17% of rural households unsure where their next meal is … Read More
How Educators Can Reach Out to Hispanic Parents
Parental involvement is a crucial part of a child’s educational road map. But this can be tougher to achieve for parents of English learner (EL) students. Communication is a large component of effective engagement and it’s up to educators to ensure that a positive discourse is reached between the school and the parents of EL students. There are a variety … Read More
Measuring Parent Engagement for Success
Parent engagement helps students to succeed academically and helps schools to serve students more effectively. Encouraging, assessing, and measuring parent engagement are all important elements of a successful parent engagement initiative. Parent engagement can be measured in various ways; through parent surveys and questionnaires, measurements of attendance counts at family-school events, and assessments of the number and quality of these … Read More
Parental Education Among Latinos in the US
As of 2015, surveys have determined that there has been a marked increase in the number of parents of children ages 6-18 who hold a Bachelor’s Degree over the past 30 years in the United States. But when you compare figures between Latinos, White, and Black families the numbers don’t favor Latinos. In fact, despite the increases, Latino parents are … Read More