¿ Qu é Pasa ?

1. ¿Qué Pasa? Programs and Suggestions for Success of Latino Students Cecilia Moore-Cobb and Anita Smith English and Humanities Department

2. “Resiliency factors” influence success of Latinos living in low socioeconomic environments. • These students make use of biological, psychological, and environment resources. • Schools provide environmental resources, thus influencing psychological resources. Schools (1) increase self-esteem (2) stop negative chain of events (3) provide alternate route to success (4) remove stressors. (Science Education 6)

3. Personal barriers to academic achievement • Lack of academic preparation • Unfamiliarity with costs and benefits • Unwillingness to leave home • Lack of family involvement • Necessity of student employment to help family survive • Low self-concept • Failure to understand implications of different career options

4. Institutional barriers • Ineffective strategies to ease academic and social integration • Commitment to monoculturalism • Lower achievement expectations • Resistance to advising Latinos as individuals with individual needs.

5. Schools require a long-term mission to connect culture, knowledge, and power. “Nowhere perhaps are these issues more relevant than in the context of the community college where more and more diverse students are seeking educational opportunity and social mobility.” (Martinez 56)

6. Learning Communities… • Student-centered learning • Collaborative learning • Problem-solving • Sense of belonging • Involvement in the learning process

7. Questions the College Should Ask: • On what assumptions is campus programming based? • 2. What countries are represented by the Latino population? • Migration patterns? • Economic levels of those who migrated? • Parents’ educational levels? 3. Does the campus provide opportunities for all countries of origin to share cultures?

8. Research Of Hispanic students at 145 community colleges indicates the importance of . . . • Student participation in ESL & • HispanicStudies • Career Counselor awareness • of placement in • appropriate programs

9. Relationship-centered institutions take proactive roles. • Community colleges enter into “relationships with entities concerned with the common work of educating diverse students and strengthening their communities.” • These institutions focus on both internal and external collaborations “among all stakeholders.”

10. Create models that engage two-year colleges with feeder K-12 schools. • Early grades: tutoring elementary students whose parents attend adult education courses increases visibility • High school: summer bridge programs, mentoring programs that incorporate Latino community college students, sponsoring college and career days

11. Create models with local schools, business, and industry. • School-to-work opportunities • Youth apprenticeships • Tech prep • Career academies • Cooperative education

12. Create collaborative partnerships with four-year institutions. • Facilitate transfer process • Establish articulation agreements • Initiate Transfer Year Experience Programs at the four-year institutions to ensure attainment of bachelor’s degrees

13. Relationship-Centered Institutions Team Activity: Relationship-Centered Institution is in your workshop notebook.

14. A Latina student sharesher experience… in your notebook!

15. Latino students recommend . . . • Provide information in Spanish & English. • Portray Latinos in institutional publications. • Involve Latino parents. • Increase Latino visibility in staffing. • Create leadership opportunities. • Prepare Latino students for professional positions in student affairs. • Bring in Latino speakers. • Create a climate of belonging. • Provide rigorous courses & funding.

16. Additional strategies to improve success of Latino students • Supportive peer or study groups make a “significant impact” on academic achievement. (Gandara, Gross)

17. 2. Schools can arrange community service activities for Latino students who are considered “sellouts” in their communities. Working within the community can eradicate that stigma and ameliorate low academic expectations.

18. 3. Financial assistance is imperative. Support legislation that assists undocumented students – legislation such as Texas House Bill 1403, the Noriega Bill. Target resources that are minority specific.

19. 4. Provide counseling for identity- related problems. • Group counseling with peers • Pastoral counseling for Roman Catholic youths Pay attention to the Latino male student.

20. Workforce transition Scholarship funding

21. 6. Fund attendance at national Hispanic leadership conferences. According to a participant at the National Hispanic Business Association… “It was the amount of people there, dressing up in a suit and trying to be professional, and having a resume.”

22. 7. Promote community and collegiality while creating a sense of family

23. Care packages for other students and low-income families

24. Bilingualparent receptions

25. Annual cultural events • El Dia de los Muertos • Misa de la • Virgen • de Guadalupe

26. Service work . . . • with disabled children at local churches • with homeless shelters & food banks

27. 8. Employ bilingual students as translators for administration, faculty, and staff.

28. 9. Increase diversity of teachers through pre-ed programs. • Nearly ½ U.S. undergraduates entering postsecondary institutions begin at community colleges. • 30% of K-12 is an ethnic minority; 13% of teaching force is ethnic minority. • 55% of Latinos in higher education are at a community college. • NACCTEP’s mission is to train diverse preK-12 teachers.

29. 10. Join state, regional, and national Hispanic organizations • HACU (Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities) is the only national association that represents Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and others committed to Hispanic success in higher education. • World View: An International Program for Educators at UNC-CH sponsors World View Partner Colleges for community colleges. • North Carolina Society of Hispanic Professionals has a mission to promote cooperation among Hispanic professionals, concerned individuals, and organizations.

30. college transfer function Latino students do not successfully transfer; they negotiate unfamiliar territory while feeling tension. “Should I return home after completing my degree or seek opportunities that will take me further from home?”

31. The Plan? Construct solid campus-family-community partnerships.

32. Successful Latino students can return to their communities to … “reach out and support others in attaining higher education.” (Mina 8)

33. The Big Picture? The long-term mission of a community college should be to nurture the Latino student’s ability – indeed any student’s ability – to “thrive, mature, and increase competence” in a global community. (Science Education 6)

34. ¡EL FIN! ¿preguntas?