At 60.6 million and growing, Latinos are the fastest-growing and youngest demographic in the country, expected to double by 2050. To bring this closer to home: 43.1% of students enrolled in the Worcester Public Schools are Hispanic. Thus, the current and future prosperity of the City relies heavily on Latino student success. While youth have made significant gains in academic preparedness since the 1960s, when Latinos first began arriving in significant numbers, we are still falling behind other student groups. Latino families have high academic aspirations for our children. In 1973, the Concilio de Padres (Hispanic Parents Advisory Council) was created to demand equal educational opportunities for Latino students and its legacy is still being felt today. So the question becomes: How can the public schools and other education-based organizations address existing inequities so as to allow all our children to achieve their full potential now and in the future? The Latino Education Institute (LEI) at Worcester State University provides some answers, with programs to help families understand expectations for parental involvement in the U. S. educational system, after-school enrichment for Latino youth focused on everything from college access and preparedness to opportunities on STEM disciplines, research into best educational practices, and mother-daughter relationship building. Other successful initiatives in Worcester aimed at improving educational outcomes for the most at-risk groups include The Jacob Hiatt Center for Urban Education at Clark University, the North High/Quinsigamond Community College Partnership, The Nativity School/Holy Cross Partnership, and the Worcester Youth Center. The importance of education for Latino youth is not about unsubstantiated beliefs or moral imperatives; it is about the future of this country’s shared prosperity. (Narrative by Valentina Maza Izarra, Holy Cross ´23)

Sources

''Creating the Will: A Community Roadmap to Achieving Educational Excellence for Latino Students in Worcester." The Commission for Latino Educational Excellence. Office of Mayor C. O’Brien. Worcester, MA, 2011.

''A Way Forward: Latino Youth and Families in Worcester.” Worcester Mayoral Commission on Latino Education and Advancement. Office of Mayor Petty, 2021.

Richard J. Burrows. ''Parents Ask Schools For Bilingual Plans'' The Worcester Gazette. 1972.