While high school drop-out rates have steadily declined among white and African American students over the 1970s and 1980s a constant 35 percent of Latino students continued to quit school before graduation. In this pioneering work, Harriett Romo and Toni Falbo reveal how a group of at-risk Latino students defied the odds and earned a high school diploma. Romo and Falbo tracked the progress of 100 students in Austin, Texas, from 1989 to 1993. Drawing on interviews with the students and their parents, school records, and fieldwork in the schools and communities, the authors identify both the obstacles that caused many students to drop out and the successful strategies that other students and their parents pursued to ensure high school graduation. The authors conclude with seven far-reaching recommendations for changes in the public schools. Sure to provoke debate among all school constituencies, this book will be required reading for school administrators, teachers, parents, legislators, and community leaders.

Hispanics and the Future of America presents details of the complex story of a population that varies in many dimensions, including national origin, immigration status, and generation. The papers in this volume draw on a wide variety of data sources to describe the contours of this population, from the perspectives of history, demography, geography, education, family, employment, economic well-being, health, and political engagement. They provide a rich source of information for researchers, policy makers, and others who want to better understand the fast-growing and diverse population that we call "Hispanic." The current period is a critical one for getting a better understanding of how Hispanics are being shaped by the U.S. experience. This will, in turn, affect the United States and the contours of the Hispanic future remain uncertain. The uncertainties include such issues as whether Hispanics, especially immigrants, improve their educational attainment and fluency in English and thereby improve their economic position; whether growing numbers of foreign-born Hispanics become citizens and achieve empowerment at the ballot box and through elected office; whether impending health problems are successfully averted; and whether Hispanics' geographic dispersal accelerates their spatial and social integration. The papers in this volume provide invaluable information to explore these issues.

In a knowledge-driven economy, those without at least a high school diploma will be far more limited in their work prospects than those with one. But scholars and educators disagree on the rate of graduation in U.S. high schools. Some new statistics seriously understate minority graduation rates and fail to reflect the tremendous progress in the last few decades in closing the black-white and the Hispanic-white graduation gaps. Rethinking High School Graduation Rates and Trends analyzes the current sources of available data on high school completion and dropout rates and finds that, while graduation rates need much improvement, they are higher, and getting better.

Academic success can have many positive effects on one's life. Unfortunately, there are many students today in the United States who do not complete high school. Specifically, nearly 20-25% of students who enter high school do not graduate. That number grows to 40% among students from African American and Hispanic American backgrounds. There are myriad factors highlighted in the literature in connection with dropping out of high school, such as socio-economic status, family structure, peer relationships, and school characteristics. While a significant amount of research focuses on why students do not graduate, there is limited research that has assessed students from comparable backgrounds and their ability to complete high school successfully. The present study included a survey that attempted to expand upon previous research that identified factors that positively influence academic success including individual motivation, peer relationships, and student engagement. The participants were to include students from three different racial backgrounds, including African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Caucasian Americans. However, only one of the participants identified as Caucasian and no comparisons could be drawn from that demographic group. All of the participants reported that they would be graduating, which did not allow for comparisons between students who were graduating and those not graduating. T-tests were conducted regarding differences between African American and Hispanic American students and the three protective factors, and between students who were retained and those not retained; however the results were not statistically significant. Even though there were no significant findings, an item analyses was completed to review how students answered each of the survey questions. There were 44.4% of students who reported that they were unsure if their teachers care about them, however, 66.6% of students endorsed agreed or strongly agreed that their teachers care about their education. Positively, 93.3% of students endorsed agreed or strongly agreed about the importance of doing well in school. This study included a small sample size (N=45) that may have contributed to the lack of statistically significant findings. Given the limitations of the present study, further research should continue to collaborate with students, parents, and school districts in order to better understand what variables help students to graduate high school.

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to investigate the factors that contribute to the retention of urban, Hispanic high school male graduates in East Harlem, New York. Originated through the works by W. E. B. Du Bois (1968), Gloria Ladson-Billings (1998) and Derrick Bell (1992) pioneered Critical Race Theory (CRT), which reported that the United States Education system has historically failed to adequately provide access to all students. Hispanics continue to have the lowest rates of high school and college degree attainment. This study’s purpose was to address the phenomenon of low retention rates of urban, Hispanic males by identifying influences on the participants’ abilities to overcome family and non-family risk factors. For the purpose of this study, 10 participants were bounded by their socioeconomic status (SES), ethnicity, age, gender, residential address (residents of East Harlem, New York), and successful completion of high school. The following research questions guided the study: What factors do Hispanic adult male graduates indicate contributed to their successful completion of high school? How do Hispanic adult male graduates perceive the personal characteristics that helped them overcome their challenges to high school completion? How did relationships with teachers, families, churches and coaches assist Hispanic adult male graduates in achieving their goals? Data collection consisted of informal, semi-structured, audio-recorded individual interviews, a focus group, and document analysis. Through the voices of the participants, relationships, effective support structures and social-emotional support emerged as themes. The results of this study will potentially assist policymakers and educators in identifying the urgency of providing systemic reform to increase achievement of Hispanic males.

Education is Latinos' number one concern. This volume offers an analysis of why many are underachieving, while pointing to the role of religion in helping Latinos improve their academic outlook. Parents, researchers and practitioners will benefit from understanding the importance of religion in the educational experience of Hispanics.

Drawing on both extensive demographic data and compelling case studies, this book reveals the depths of the educational crisis looming for Latino students, the nation's largest and most rapidly growing minority group.