ABQJOURNAL OPINION/GUEST_COLUMNS: Step Up Efforts To Aid Minorities' Education

Sunday, January 09, 2011

Step Up Efforts To Aid Minorities' Education

By Jozi De Leon
UNM Vice President for Equity and Inclusion
          The passage of the Hispanic Education Act during the 2010 legislative session was a historic event that has great implications for New Mexico and the United States.
        As we experience changing demographics and an increase in Latinos across the country, the work that will result from the act can be instrumental in developing solutions for addressing the Latino achievement gap. In addition, there can be a spill-over effect that can transform education for the good of all other underrepresented groups and New Mexico students in general.
        Town halls were held for Latino, African American and Native American education last year and we know that our minority/majority state status dictates that we pay attention to the education of all of our students of color.
        Kudos go to members of the Hispanic community who led the charge to get the attention of the Legislature. In addition, kudos to Dr. Diane Torres-Velasquez and her team for producing such a thorough and comprehensive report. The Hispanic Education Status Report was delivered on New Year's Eve and while the news contained therein cannot be considered a good way to start the New Year, the information can assist us in understanding how we might all play a role in addressing the important issue of educating our future workforce and future leaders.
        I invite you to wade through the data with purpose and a determination to turn the achievement gap around and create greater student success.
        As students become more educated, their lives and earning-power will improve and our state will benefit. Engaging in the work to create this cyclical benefit is a "no-brainer" and I can only wonder why it has taken us so long.
        This effort will require continued involvement by our governor, Legislature, communities, schools, state agencies and our institutions of higher education. Indeed, it will require all of our efforts. We will need to work collectively and collaboratively with a clear and undeterred focus on raising the educational attainment of our students.
        We all regard education as a civil right. In the 1960s we fought for our right to obtain access to the educational door. Our present-day civil rights struggle is improved educational attainment and to exit that door with a degree in hand.
        The report includes data on the graduation rates of students by ethnicity from each of our institutions of higher education. It is evident that the pattern that impacts success rates at our two-year and four-year institutions began in pre-kindergarten.
        While students who attended pre-K made progress in comparison to those students who did not, the gains appear to be lost over time. Latino, African American and Native American students never seem to catch up.
        By the end of the 11th grade our students are ill-prepared to go to college. This does not even speak to all those students who were lost along the way. Too many of our underrepresented students go to Adult Basic Education or require remedial courses.
        The University of New Mexico was cited in the report as having one of the state's best practices for having both a vice president for equity and inclusion and a Health Sciences Center vice president for diversity that help create an inclusive environment for the success of underrepresented students. While it is certainly important to be recognized for the work we are doing, a more important question is why all institutions of higher education in New Mexico have not developed and implemented a diversity plan that addresses all the elements impacting retention and graduation rates of underrepresented students.
        It is projected that by 2020 our state's student population will become more diverse. African American students will increase by 3 percent, Latinos 27 percent, Asians 19 percent and Native Americans by 27 percent. Underrepresented students across our state's colleges and universities range in percentage from 50 percent to 100 percent. In addition, the majority (19) of our colleges and universities are designated as Hispanic Serving Institutions.
        Other states in the country have come to the realization that the improvement of retention and graduation rates will largely be dependent on the ability of colleges and universities to become relevant and responsive to the ever-increasing diversity in its student population. With a 57 percent representation of students from diverse groups in our colleges and universities, New Mexico must not be left behind.

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