Hispanic students lag behind classmates

By Nicole Frey, Vail Daily

February 20, 2006

http://vaildaily.com/article/20060219/NEWS/60219010

Excerpt: "We need to keep these people here...” (said John Brendza, the school district’s superintendent: jbrendza@eagleschools.net)

EAGLE — Jose Alvarado has big dreams for his three children — a good American education in public schools, college and then professional jobs

Alvarado left his native Mexico 12 years ago and said he believes he and his family have better opportunities in the United States than in Mexico.

Those with limited or no English skills are scoring even lower and the gap grows as the children get older —

Falling into the gap

Grappling with this achievement gap are Eagle County School Board members, school district administrators and the Eagle County commissioners, all of whom met recently to talk about the problem. It was the first of a series of meetings to which community members will be invited to share their ideas.

School board member Andy Arnold was weary about spreading the news that Hispanic children weren’t doing as well in schools lest it contribute to white flight

Culture influences test scores

Brendza also linked poorly performing Hispanic children to poverty, showing a correlation between low scores and government-subsidized lunches.

Exacerbating the problem is many Hispanic families plan to return to their native countries, County Commissioner Tom Stone said. (Tom.Stone@Eaglecounty.us)

"They see their time here as temporary, so there’s no motive to integrate,” he said.

“Ten years ago, there was not much to do in Mexico,” Martinez said. “The economic situation in Mexico wasn’t so good. Now it’s better...

Staff Writer Nicole Frey can be reached at 949-0555, ext. 14621, or nfrey@vaildaily.com.

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