Latino children deserve better. Just look at the numbers. Too many Hispanic students drop out of the K-12 education system each year, more than any other ethnic group in the United States. Add the learning loss suffered as a result of pandemic policies, and it’s clear we’re sitting on a crisis.
The good news, however, is that we can turn things around by expanding school choice programs across the country and growing awareness about education options within the Hispanic community.
The status quo of a one-size-fits-all education system might work for some students, but it is never going to work for all students. This is especially true for Hispanic children, who have fallen behind their peers to an alarming degree. Latino drop-out rates in the K-12 system, for example, are 65% higher than white students and nearly 40% higher than black students. Based on the data, that means in a classroom of 100 students, 30 of them would be Latino, and eight of those 30 students would drop out before graduating high school.
Only 55% of Latino students in fourth grade read at or above a basic level, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Yet our community is projected to make up a third of the U.S. workforce by 2030. How will our students be prepared to fill the jobs of the future? Solving this problem is nonnegotiable. It’s now or never.
The solution is right in front of us: school choice. Offering Hispanic families a variety of educational options, from charter schools, to private schools, to homeschooling pods, and giving them the financial freedom to choose the option that works best for them is the only way to ensure Hispanic children have equal access to a quality education. The Latino community knows this, which is why it supports school choice in higher numbers than the general population and nearly all other demographics, according to a survey by EdChoice.
Let’s take my family as an anecdotal example of this support. I am a Salvadorean American with two school-aged children attending public schools. As a mother, I’m passionate about securing the best opportunities and education possible not only for my children, but for all children. As a parent, I know that every child is different. To provide them with the skills and tools they’ll need for their futures, we need access to diverse school choice options to find the education option that fits each child.
Hispanic families deserve to know their options. All students, especially vulnerable students, deserve a responsive and effective education system that understands the conditions and characteristics unique to the Hispanic community. Many Latinos arrive in this country looking for the American dream, and for many, the quality of education their children receive is the first step along their path to achieving it. But too often, a lack of information is a barrier to Spanish-speaking parents who are trying to find a great school for their son or daughter.
One of the easiest ways to bridge this gap is to expand access to school choice information in the Spanish language. That’s why I’m proud to lead a new project of the National School Choice Awareness Foundation called Conoce tus Opciones Escolares, which provides Latino parents with all the information they need in Spanish about traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, private schools, online learning, and homeschooling regulations in every state of the country. We’re also tackling topics we know Hispanic parents are wondering about, such as which public school their children are assigned to, how to identify what the best school is for their child, tutoring options, and state-by-state school choice options, among others.
Our children can achieve their dreams if we are able to choose learning environments that suit their individual needs. School choice is the answer to the alarming statistics plaguing Hispanic students in this country. Let’s remove barriers to school choice and give our children the gift of a great education so our children’s dreams can begin at school.
Krissia Campos Spivey is the director of Conoce tus Opciones Escolares, a project of the National School Choice Awareness Foundation, which helps U.S. families who speak Spanish explore their K-12 education options and choose a great school for their children. Krissia is a Salvadoran American and lives with her family in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
