A new report shows that growing numbers of the 12 million Hispanic children in American public schools are turning to charter schools, where they tend to reach higher levels of achievement than at traditional district schools.

“While district public schools still continue to serve the majority of Hispanic students, an increasing number of Hispanic families are choosing to enroll in charter public schools,” the report from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools reads, “as new charter schools continue to open their doors in neighborhoods with concentrated Hispanic populations, they are also investing in the future of the Hispanic community.”

Hispanic students make up approximately 30 percent of charter school enrollment and 25 percent of the total student body of traditional public schools. (LA Unified is 74 percent Latino.)

The study found that charter students get more instructional time than traditional counterparts. Charter students have additional learning equivalent to 22 extra days of math and six extra days of reading instruction as compared to peers in traditional schools, the report said. For Hispanic students living in poverty, this number jumps to an extra 48 days in math and 25 extra days of reading.

Read the full article from Watchdog.org.

]]> https://www.laschoolreport.com/wellness-program-using-spanish-to-help-23-lausd-schools/ Mon, 05 Oct 2015 21:28:08 +0000 http://laschoolreport.com/?p=36840 The nation’s largest in-school health and wellness program announced today that it will provide Spanish-language programs to schools to promote healthier lifestyles through good nutrition, low-fat and fat-free dairy and physical activity.

Already 23 LAUSD schools are involved with the Fuel Up to Play 60 program that is co-sponsored by the National Dairy Council and the National Football League in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The free program offers schools an online Playbook of strategies to improve physical activity and eating habits. More than 73,000 schools in the country participate in one or more of the programs, reaching more than 38 million students.

To reach more communities, Fuel Up to Play 60 is providing resources in Spanish because of the increasing Hispanic population. LA Unified and Miami-Dade County Public Schools have the most schools participating in the programs. The group wants to spread health benefits to the Hispanic population that is projected to increase to 29 percent of total enrollment by 2024.

“The dairy checkoff is pleased to broaden our Fuel Up to Play 60 resources and make them available to a growing and vital segment of our country’s student population,” said Paul Rovey, Arizona dairy farmer and chairman of Dairy Management Inc., which manages the national dairy checkoff. “All kids deserve the opportunity to lead a healthy life. Fuel Up to Play 60 can help make this happen.”

The organization also helps provide grants to schools for $300 to $4,000. The next deadline is Nov. 4.

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Overall, while Hispanic students have made significant gains over the last few decades, they are behind their white peers in academic achievement and are more likely to live in poverty, the report found.

While the report is not broken down geographically, it does note that 52 percent of all children in California are Hispanic, the second highest in the nation. Among the highlights in the report’s findings in regard to education are:

• Hispanics are the largest minority group in public schools as well as the fastest-growing. One U.S. child in four is Hispanic.
• Hispanics increasingly are showing up in preschool programs, have made significant gains on national math tests, and are posting record high school graduation rates.
• Dropout rates have fallen to an all-time low of 12.7 percent, but Hispanics still have the highest dropout rates of any race.
• Participation by Hispanic children in early education programs has increased by a third since 2007.
• Hispanic children start school less likely than their white peers to know their alphabet or numbers, write their names, or read written words, but enter kindergarten with social-emotional skills that are well-developed and sometimes ahead of other children’s.
• Hispanic children make up the majority of dual language learners in schools.
• Hispanic children are substantially less likely than their white peers to participate in after-school sports, clubs and organizations.

Read the full report here: America’s Hispanic Children: Gaining Ground, Looking Forward