Latinos face difficulties in districts which don't qualify for state and federal help because of the dropout/retention numbers.

http://eric-web.tc.columbia.edu/digests/dig162.html

Enrollment

The enrollment of Latinos in elementary schools increased 157 percent between 1978 and 1998. Latinos comprise 15 percent of the elementary school-age population.
Nearly 50 percent of Latinos attend urban schools. They comprise one-quarter of the student population in central city schools.
Latino students attend schools with more than twice as many poor classmates as those attended by white students: 46 percent compared with 19 percent.

Educational Achievement

Disparities between Latino students and others begin as early as kindergarten and remain through age 17. Latinos perform below their non-Hispanic peers in reading, mathematics, and science proficiency by age 9. Overall, they consistently perform below the national average in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Latinos comprise three-quarters of all students enrolled in Limited English Proficient (LEP) programs, although not all Latino students have limited English proficiency.

Fewer Latinos than other students have access to a computer at home or school, despite the fact that computers are an essential tool: 68 percent use a computer at school (compared with 70 percent of African Americans and 84 percent of whites), and only 18 percent use one at home (compared with 19 percent of African Americans and 52 percent of whites).

Teachers

Only about 4 percent of public school teachers are Latinos, whereas Latinos constitute 15 percent of the student body.

When the district technology leader thinks that anyone else in the district cannot fathom the complexities of a district technology plan, this kind of thinking leads to district technological pandemonium.

With more and more parents and students enrolling in the Clint district, the district technology leader refuses to acknowledge that his colleagues exist and continues to advance his own agenda, including hardware and software.

Why can't the district realize that the present technology director flies by the seat of his pants, unable to provide updated data to the rest of the district?

This article describes that inclusion of any Latinos in any part of technological administration shows that a racist attitude exists in the Clint ISD.

Jake Ramirez
comm 5350, spring MMI.