High School Drop Outs in the Latin Community Kaitlin Hofer

Today we see a great decline in the number of high school dropouts in the

Latino community than ever before. This is wonderful news but why stop there? In

my opinion, our efforts to help these students shouldnt cease until we have a 0%

dropout rate. As of the year 2016, the percentage of dropouts dropped from 10.5%

in 2012 to 8.8%. I found a chart that breaks the percentages down into the grades

9th-12th. See the following charts:

First we can see the drop out rates based off of ethnicity from the year 2012

to 2016. Then the second chart we can see how that percentage from the first chart

is broken down from grades 9th-12th. Its obvious that Latinos still have one of the

highest drop out rates just behind American Indians and that they numbers increase
as the school years go on. After viewing these charts I decided to do some research

and discover the reasons why these Latinos chose to drop out. In my findings

throughout a couple articles, I discovered that the main reasons for leaving high

school are because there is a disconnection for the students. This could be for a

variety of reasons. Either they dont feel like they belong, there is no motivation,

they dont connect with teachers or peers, or they dont think they are capable of

finishing. The other reasons are the school fails to engage students, the students

have to work to provide financially for their family, there are language barriers,

school fails to reach out to at-risk students, and they dont receive support from

their parents (Steiner, 2011). These are all very important factors and need to be

addressed accordingly.

As I reflected upon this issue and considered how I might address it, my

thoughts first fled to starting a program that would help students successfully be

engaged and do well in their high school years then help them find resources to

continue their education even further. As I started to do my research, I discovered

that a program such as this already exists and is doing wonderful things for our

Latin community. That program is called Latinos in Action. It was founded by, Dr.

Jose Enriquez back in 2001 and started in Utah at Timpanogas High School. It has

now expanded out to 164 schools found throughout Utah, Idaho, Florida, Illinois,

California, and Ohio. The program focuses on 3 main aspects and they include:

college and career readiness curriculum, leadership development, and literacy

tutoring. This program has proved to be very successful during its short time in the

school system and I could not be more proud (About LIA.).

 So as I researched this program I realized by starting my own program I

would be trying to fix something that isnt broken. Thats why my thoughts started

to drift toward parent involvement. In the interview I had with an Latinos in Action

teacher named Jacquelynn, I asked her what type of involvement the parents have in

the program currently. Her response was, little to none. This surprised and

worried me all at the same time. Thats when my thoughts started to develop the

idea of a parent program that would be meant to complement Latinos in Action. I

would call it Road to Graduation. This is a program where I would invite the parents

to a monthly meeting that would help them stay informed about their childs

education as well as educate them on how to best support their students. It would

be a major push for parents to encourage their students to enroll in Latinos in

Action. Each month we would focus on a new teaching point but we would begin

every one of our meetings going over the school calendar and keeping parents up to

date about school announcements. I want them to be as informed as possible.

Thinking back to my high school years I realized that my parents really only knew

what I came home and told them. They didnt know about every event that went on

or even the resources I had available to me so they were never utilized. My parents

have always had to work and I know for many Latino families that is the same case.

Thats why I would want to give parents a small and simple opportunity each month

to get involved in their students education.

I started brainstorming what we could cover throughout the school year and

this is what I came up with: education about Latinos in Action, information about

clubs available in the school, discuss the importance of education and how it can
help their students future, walk them through college prep, give them study tips

and positive habits for their students, teach them how to use the school websites

(i.e. check their students grades), give them information about financial aid, provide

information about jobs that are compatible with school schedules, and any other

resources that the school has available. Just as Latinos in Action is meant to

empower Latino students, this parent program is meant to empower the parents to

be the kind of support that their students need. I realize that this meeting and its

time frame isnt going to be feasible for every single parent because of their

individual situations, so I would also want to make sure the information is in written

so that it can be sent out to all the parents that werent able to attend. I also would

promote this program through a monthly flyer that would be sent to all parents. Just

as Latinos in Action is open to anyone of any race, this parent program will also be

open to all parents of any race. Because this program is specifically meant to help

Latino parents, I want to make sure that they understand the material by providing

an interpreter. I really feel that this program will give parents the appropriate

resources necessary to support their childs education and future. With this parental

support I feel that we will see an even greater decrease in the drop out rates, which

is my greatest desire.

This all then leads me to the cost. I want to make this parent program as cost

efficient as possible. To make this program as effective I would have a position

created within the school that would provide someone who would lead and direct

these monthly meetings. It would be a part time position that would pay anywhere

from $11-$13 an hour which would round up to about $60 a month and about $600
for the full school year. Then there is the cost of materials. The biggest cost would

come from paper to send out the flyers and to make print outs of what was taught

each night in Spanish and English as well as the ink to print them. I estimated this

cost to be about $250-$300, depending on how many parents are in attendance.

Again I want the cost to be low so for the interpreter I would have students

volunteer from Latinos in Action, which in turn would help them receive their

service hours. Also the cost of the location will free because it will be held at the

school. Its a school event, which means that we would have the capability of using it

for the meetings. This brings the total to about $800-$900 per high school. In order

to get the funds to make this program happen I would seek for donations from the

community and local businesses. Then I would have the program partner with

Latinos in Action to do a fundraiser that would raise money for the club as well as

the parent program.

I am excited about this program but I do realize that not everyone would be

completely supportive of it. Some areas of resistance could be found in the schools,

parents of students who arent Latino, parents of the students who need the

support, and the students who dont want their parents to be involved. I can see

from a school standpoint that they could see this program from the cost point of

view rather than the overall benefits for the students. Then there are the parents of

the students who dont feel that there is a need for this program because their

students dont need the extra support. It would be naive of me to think that these

people dont exist but they do and need to be accounted for in the creation of this

program. Another issue would be the parents who arent able to participate in the
program because of work, family, or other reasons. They would see it as another

burden rather than an opportunity to give their students the support they need.

Lastly, I can see the resistance from the students because they want to be

independent and dont want their parents to be involved in their education.

I wanted to find some support from the Latinos in Action club so I decided to

interview the Latinos in Action leader at Taylorsville High School. Her name is

Jacquelynn Tietjen and she was a pleasure to interview. We focused on the good that

the club offers the students. She told me the story of a student who started Latinos

in Action as a sophomore that was described as a rowdy, unfocused student who

soon transformed into student body president, Latinos in Action president, and

someone that just received a $25,000 scholarship to attend college. She really feels

that Latinos in Action provided that support that he needed to get to this point. Like

I mentioned earlier I also brought up parent involvement. She said there was little to

none and she only saw a few parents at parent teacher conference. She also

mentioned that she has needed parental support this year for the clubs fundraisers

and events that theyve held and it was very difficult to get people there. I cant

imagine how many more students would be involved in the club and benefit from it

if only their parents knew it existed and I cant imagine how much easier it would be

to get parental support if they were in the know about events being held and knew

how they could help support the club. Jacquelynn was very much supportive of my

idea and said that she would love for it to start in her own school.

In conclusion, I am impressed with the improvement our state has seen in

the graduation rates of Latinos but I want to do my part to make that number even
greater. These students deserve every opportunity to succeed. If there is something

that we can be doing to improve in our efforts and offer them those resources to

reach their goals, then we should be doing it. I really think that this parent program

will give them the support they need. There is so much power that comes to a

person when they feel people rallying behind them. They know that when they fall

back there will be someone to catch them and help them get back up. I know that

the parents of these students have every desire to do that but they dont know how

coming into a new country trying to learn the way we do things in our language. Its

already a major leap to come to a new country for a better life and I feel they

deserve the help to make that transition successfully. We need to provide parents

with the tools to be engaged in their students learning so that they can push them to

the finish line. They need us and I want to be that help. We can change the lives of

these students and change our world for the better.

 Works Cited

About LIA. Latinos in Action, latinosinaction.org/about-lia/.

www.schools.utah.gov/file/7988dcef-d0cf-465d-92fc-c804f61c2129

Hofer, Kaitlin, and Jacquelynn Tietjen. 14 Nov. 2017.

Steiner, Laura. High-School Dropout Rates Are Highest Among Hispanics. The

Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 16 Nov. 2011,

www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/16/hispanic-highschool-education-

dropout_n_1096995.html.