Educator Resources

Latino Background Information
Latino Education
Working with English Language Learners
Retention & Dropout

Most of these resources are .pdf files which require the use of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. These reports are compiled from other websites and, as far as we know, are available for public download and dissemination. We offer a brief annotation of each to help you determine if it's of interest.

LATINO BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Migration Policy Institute
"MPI is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank dedicated to
the study of the movement of people worldwide." Their website includes
data on immigration and on policy and legislative issues related to
immigration.

National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy
This website from the Migration Policy Institute includes up-to-date
data on immigration statistics and trends, reports on school-aged
immigrants, and other fact sheets.

Latinos in Georgia: A Closer Look, provided by The National Council of La Raza (October 2005)
This report includes demographics, health, employment, and educational information on the current status of Latinos in Georgia.

The Pew Hispanic Center/Kaiser Family Foundation 2002 National Survey of Latinos (December 2002)
This survey, which includes findings from a survey of 3,000 Latinos adults from various backgrounds, explores the attitudes and experiences of this group. The information gathered is divided into six major sections focusing particularly on experiences with discrimination, Hispanic economic and financial situations, and experiences with the health care system. It concludes by outlining the differences within Latinos as a group and between native and foreign-born Latinos.

The Improving Educational Profile of Latino Immigrants - Lowell, L. & Suro, R. (December 2002)
This report by the Pew Hispanic Center finds that the educational profile of the adult population of foreign-born Latinos has improved. The report also identifies other trends when comparing native-born Americans to Latino foreign-born adults. For example, the number of foreign-born Latinos who have received their education here is growing, those who migrate are better educated that those who stay behind, and the education of female immigrants has improved. It suggests that new programs should aim at bolstering the education of immigrant youth and providing adults with language and skills training.

LATINO EDUCATION

Counseling Latino Students: Supporting Achievement, Promoting Hope (February 2007)

This PowerPoint presentation by Dr. Sonia Nieto was the keynote presentation at the Counselors as Advocates for Latino/a Students conference

Dr. Sonia Nieto Presentation in PDF format

Latino Education: What's Working in Georgia (October 2005)
This PowerPoint presentation, created by CLASE staff, profiles some of the efforts of recent CLASE teams to promote Latino educational success across the state.

Latino Education in Georgia: Challenges and Possibilities (Fall 2004)
This presentation, created by CLASE staff, illustrates how the state's Latino population is growing, what challenges educators of Latino students face, and what some Georgia schools are doing to improve Latino education.

Toward a Vision for the Education of Latino Students: Community Voices, Student Voices - New York City Board of Education, Brooklyn, N.Y. (May, 1992)
The Latino Commission on Educational Reform examined issues of concern for Latino children in the public school system. This report focuses on the dropout rate, curriculum and instruction, support services, parent and community empowerment, and other factors affecting Latino student achievement. Two important issues emerged: the wide diversity within the Latino community in race, language, immigrant status, nationality, socioeconomic status, and generation in the United States; and inequities in school funding.

Strategies for Improving the Educational Outcomes of Latinas - Schwartz, W. (October, 2001) ERIC Digest
This short article focuses on strategies for improving the educational experience for Latinas. Despite obstacles like poverty, learning problems caused by limited English proficiency, racism and sexual harassment, there are many programs that have proven successful. This article lays out the unique challenges that this group faces and special school supports designed to accommodate their needs such as: school expectations, educational strategies, provision of ancillary services and parent involvement.

Latino Educational Alliance - LEA Overview (October, 2001)
The Latino Educational Alliance is an agency that services and advocates for the improvement of Latino education. This PowerPoint presentation outlines the impact of Latino students in the public schools, growth and performance. LEA presents its mission, vision, goals and plans to achieve improvement in Latino education.

A Review of Literature on Hispanic/Latino Parent Involvement in K-12 Education - Tinkler, B. (April, 2002)
This article discusses the academic achievement of Hispanic students and the decrease of parent involvement within the Hispanic student population. Major topics are the overall perceptions of parental involvement and the barriers to it. The author discusses what has proven to be successful, such as school environment, communication and logistics (i.e. childcare and transportation). An exhaustive reference list is provided.

Annotated Bibliography of Books on Latino Education (Summer 2006)
This list contains a number of resources identified by CLASE staff to be helpful on subjects ranging from issues in ESOL programs to values of Mexican-American families.

Resource Guide: Creating the "Keys" to Teaching and Learning
Darlene Xiomara de Schaefer, a former The Goizueta Foundation Graduate Scholar and a doctoral student in public administration, created a comprehensive guide (with a separate table of contents) and presentation of free resources available to educators of Latino students through her work with CLASE.

WORKING WITH ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

National Education Association's Bilingual Booklist
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month (celebrated September 15 - October 15) NEA's Read Across America shares this bilingual reading list of titles for K-12 students. Compiled by Association staff, it includes books that have Spanish and English editions. The titles are listed by grade level and include fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

Free Resources for Teachers of English Language Learners
Resources in Spanish provided by the Mexican government are now available on the web. The goal of these resources is to help Spanish speakers improve their academic achievement and quality of life by offering basic education and instruction in diverse areas of personal development, academics and work related skills. You can also find these resources on page 7 in the September 2004 newsletter for Georgia Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (GATESOL).

National Survey of ELL Student & Teacher Materials
Since 1993, Course Crafters has specialized in designing and developing educational materials for English Language Learners (ELLs) and their teachers. Course Crafters, in cooperation with Education Market Research (EMR), recently conducted a ten-state market survey of mainstream classroom teachers, ESL/bilingual teachers, principals, and supervisors, to determine current usage and future needs of instructional materials for English Language Learners, grades K-5 and 6-12.

Strategies and Resources for Mainstream Teachers of English Language Learners (May 2003)
This comprehensive booklet is one in a series of "hot topics" reports produced by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Some topics covered are: Instructional Methods and Program Models for Serving English Language Learners, Overview of Second Language Acquisition Theory, and General Principles for Teaching ELL students. Also a section on forthcoming research on ELL and resources is included. Each section contains a discussion of research and literature pertinent to the issue, a sampling of how Northwest schools and programs are addressing teaching ELL students.

The ELL Outlook (February 2003)
This report is divided in five different sections: In the News, ELL Update, Glossary of ELL terms, a report from Denver Public Schools, an article that focuses on the difficulty of social studies for ELL students and an interview with a California assemblyman who is speaking out on behalf of ELL students.

A national Study of School Effectiveness for Language Minority Students' Long-Term Academic Achievement - Thomas, W. & Collier, V. (2002)
This executive summary of a study conducted over a period of five years (1996-2001) focuses on the variety of educational services that are being provided to language minorities in U. S. public schools and how these programs and variables affect the long-term achievement of these students. This is a research-based study communicating the importance of education in the primary language.

RETENTION & DROPOUT

Transforming Education for Hispanic Youth: Broad Recommendations for Policy and Practice - Issue Brief #1 Turnbaugh & Lockwood, A. (January, 2000)
This is the first of a series of four issues briefs synthesizing the results of the Hispanic Dropout Project, a two-year study commissioned by the U. S. Department of Education. This particular brief emphasizes recommendations for educational policymakers and practitioners. A Self Evaluation Tool for School Staff and Policymakers to evaluate own efforts to educate Hispanic youth.

Transforming Education for Hispanic Youth: Recommendations for Principals and Building-Level Decisionmakers - Issue Brief #2 Turnbaugh & Lockwood, A. (April, 2000)
This is the second of a series of four issue briefs synthesizing the results of the Hispanic Dropout Project. This section addresses recommendations for bilingual education teachers and program staff.

Transforming Education for Hispanic Youth: Recommendation for Teachers and Program Staff - Issue Brief #3 Turnbaugh & Lockwood, A. (July, 2000)
This is the third in a series of four article briefs presenting the results of the Hispanic Dropout Project. This brief presents three recommendations given to teachers and program staff that work with Hispanic youth and includes a self-evaluation tool for teachers and other instructional staff.

Transforming Education for Hispanic Youth: The Impact of State and District-Level Policies - Issue Brief #4 Turnbaugh Lockwood, A. (August 2000)
This is the fourth article of a series summarizing the findings of the Hispanic Dropout Project. This issue brief offers five recommendations regarding state and district-lead policies. It also includes a self-evaluation tool for state and district decisionmakers.

Dropout Report for Hispanic Student Population - FTE Data Collection (1997-2001)
This report collected by the FTE Data Collection contains dropout numbers for the Hispanic student population, by year, from 1997-2001. It is divided by dropout percent, dropout count and total enrollment for every county in Georgia.