IUPUI project targets retention of Hispanic high schoolers

By Diane Brown

"A lot of times most of the kids, if the parents are working too much or never at home, get bored especially outside of soccer season," said Morales, who is also a Spanish teacher at the school. "They can work and make just as much money as their parents do." Or worse, he said, they may drop out to join gangs or make money selling drugs.

According to the National Center of Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education, Hispanic students are dropping out of school at a much higher rate and at an earlier age than non-Hispanic students. In the Indianapolis Public Schools alone, the Hispanic population increased 38 percent last year, from two years prior, and the school system is struggling with the retention rate of Hispanic students.

That's why José Rosario, a professor at the IU School of Education at IUPUI and the Hispanic Education Center are teaming up for a three-year project aimed at keeping Hispanic students in school.

El Puente (the bridge) Project will work with 250 Hispanic youth, who attend Arsenal Technical High School, Northwest High School or one of their three feeder middle schools, as well as their families.

"El Puente is the only project in the Indianapolis area providing comprehensive services to Hispanic or Latino youth in an effort to keep them in school and help them graduate and pursue a postsecondary education," said Rosario. "And what makes it unique is that it will be trying to do these good things by focusing on the family, by mobilizing and engaging parents as well as students."

As part of the program, mentors will spend time with families to encourage their active participation in their children's education. The program will also work with the youth to provide leadership skills and opportunities for community service, to help them improve their academic performance, to help prepare them for college, and to increase their global awareness.

Beginning in August, 30 El Puente students participated in a leadership training program where they work to build confidence and self-esteem, set goals for the coming year and create a future vision of their school communities. Other activities throughout the three-year span of the program will include tutoring, workshops for families, community service activities, visits to college campuses and local businesses, college planning guidance, video conferences with foreign students and opportunities to study abroad.

To Rita Cano, director of El Puente Project, the number of dropouts is a multi-faceted problem. She feels the school system must first do a better job of making the student feel welcome. "Students feel frustrated, ashamed and guilty that they don't understand fast enough," said Cano, who moved to the United States. from Nicaragua at age 20. "It's not shameful. There's nothing wrong with speaking another language. If you're new and you're not accepted, it's so easy for them to decide, 'I don't fit in here. I don't belong here,' and leave."

Morales agrees. That's one of the reasons he developed the soccer program at Northwest. He found that most of the Hispanic students didn't participate in traditional high school activities like clubs and sports. "Soccer is a huge sport in a lot of Hispanic countries," he said. "If we brought that sport to Northwest, we felt these kids would be somewhat proud of their high school and want to participate in something the high school has to offer."

Rosario believes that El Puente can help reduce students' anxieties about not fitting in. "Our hope is that this two-pronged, community development strategy will help in reversing the sense of isolation and lack of self-regard that too many of our Hispanic students and their parents often feel when trying to make their way through the bureaucratic maze of city schools," he said.

Cano also believes that retooling English as a new language program would help schools better adapt to Hispanic students' needs. "Teachers now need more professional development in how to assist English language learners in their core subjects," said Cano. "Most people don't know that it takes an average of five to seven years for students to catch up academically to their native English peers. High school teachers can make a huge difference if they know how to help. That's why we are looking forward to working with teachers at Northwest and Arsenal Tech high schools to make a difference for these kids."

Morales also believes the community should not only help Hispanic youth graduate from high school, but also offer them the opportunity to attend college. Because many are undocumented immigrants, attending college is more difficult and expensive; therefore, many feel there is no reason to finish high school, especially when they could already be working, said Morales.

"The easy part is keeping them in school if we just offer them an opportunity," said Morales. "Otherwise, you're going to lose a whole generation of kids who are not going to be college educated."

El Puente Project is funded locally by the Efroymson Fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation, the Hoover Family Foundation, the Irwin Family Foundation, the Cristel DeHaan Family Foundation, and Bank One and continues to seek additional funding. For more information about contributing to the project, please call Rita Cano at 317- 634-5022.