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Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Official: Gap Pressing Issue

By Juan Carlos Rodriguez
Journal Staff Writer
       Hispanics aren't being aggressive enough about closing the academic achievement gap, a top education executive for the White House said Tuesday.
    Juan Sepúlveda, director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, said he has visited 18 states discussing the Hispanic achievement gap. While he has been encouraged by interest in the problem, he has noticed a disturbing trend.
    "The most surprising thing ... in our conversations is what I didn't hear, and that was a sense of urgency," Sepúlveda said at a summit in Albuquerque. "We hope you can step up to help us to create the national will, the political will to say, 'This is something that has to happen now,' and to create a sense of urgency that we can't lose another generation."
    He complimented New Mexico on being ahead of other states in addressing the problem.
    Sepúlveda and Gov. Bill Richardson spoke at the last of three "Achievement Gap Solutions Summits" aimed at the educational problems facing African-American, Native-American and Hispanic youths. Tuesday's summit addressed Hispanic youth issues. Sepúlveda and Richardson recited the familiar statistics about Latino academic achievement, touching on high dropout rates, low test scores and low college attendance. In New Mexico, 56 percent of Latinos graduate from high school compared to 71 percent of Anglos.
    Richardson asked summit participants — students, teachers, administrators, politicians and others — to come up with solutions before the legislative session. He said he wants the recommendations to help shape a new Hispanic Education Act, similar to New Mexico's Indian Education Act. That act created a special state division, which compiles an annual report on the progress of Native American students and encourages communication between tribes, among other things.
    The federal government plans to spend money on the achievement gap as well, Sepúlveda said, focusing on early childhood education, low-performing schools and college graduation.

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