Students and groups work to bridge Hispanic grad rate gap

Black down 1 percentage point

White down 7 percentage points

Here’s a look at the 2013-14 graduation percentage rates for Hispanic students in metro Atlanta’s largest school districts:

Cobb 64.6%

Fulton 62.1%

Gwinnett 59.3%

Atlanta 52.8%

Clayton 48.6%

DeKalb 48.6%

Source: Georgia Department of Education.

Ana Sanchez, a senior at Gwinnett County’s Meadowcreek High School, was at a workshop last summer when she and other Hispanic students were asked what the state’s graduation rate is among fellow Hispanic students.

Sanchez guessed slightly more than 50 percent.

The four-year rate for Georgia’s Hispanic students is higher, 64 percent, and it is rising steadily, up from 43 percent a decade ago. However, it is the third-lowest in the nation for that ethnic group, according to U.S. Education Department data released Monday.

Georgia’s graduation rate for all students, 72.5 percent, is sixth-lowest in the nation, according to Monday’s data. The U.S. graduation rate is 81 percent.

Sanchez is part of a group called HoPe, or Hispanic Organization Promoting Education, which, along with others, is trying to raise graduation rates among Georgia Hispanics.

“It’s something we need to improve,” said Sanchez, 17, who moved with her family from Mexico when she was 6. “We want to motivate (Hispanic students) to become leaders of the next generation.”

Ensuring Hispanic students are prepared for college and careers will be critical to the state's long-term economic future, as the percentage of Hispanic students in Georgia continues to surge. Between 2004 and 2013, Hispanic enrollment in Georgia's public schools nearly doubled, from seven to 13 percent, more than any other racial group, according to a state study. Much of the growth is in metro Atlanta districts such as Clayton, DeKalb and Gwinnett. About 27 percent of Gwinnett's students are Hispanic, the highest percentage of this region's 10 largest school districts.

On Monday, federal education officials released graduation rate data that showed the state’s grad rate increased by nearly one percentage point between the 2013 and 2014 school years. For Hispanic students, it rose by 1.6 percentage points.

Language barriers, difficulty transitioning to American schools and students who don’t see the correlation between a good education and strong career prospects are reasons for Georgia’s substandard Hispanic graduation rate.

Georgia requires students to pass more courses than most states to graduate, and state officials believe that is also a factor in the overall lower graduation rate.

State education officials point to efforts to work with all students in the early grades on reading and math, along with programs exposing high school students to various careers, as ways to boost graduation rates.

Much of the work to help Hispanic students is being done through community organizations and foundations.

The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education received a five-year grant that ended this year from the Goizueta Foundation to improve Hispanic student achievement and graduation rates in the Calhoun City and Tattnall County, which are on opposite ends of the state. More students passed their classes and more parents got involved in their child’s academics during that period, the study found. The districts will use the findings in efforts such as peer tutoring and pre-kindergarten reading programs.

The greatest barrier to top-notch academic performance and higher graduation rates may be money. In the Atlanta region’s 10 largest school districts, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found the highest graduation rates for Hispanic students are in Forsyth and Henry counties, 76 percent and 75 percent respectively, which also have the highest median household incomes among Hispanic families. Similarly, school districts with higher median incomes among all residents typically have higher graduation rates.

Parents with more money can be involved in their child’s academic progress in ways less affluent parents cannot, said Elisa Olivarez, the grant’s project manager.

“It could make a difference if you don’t have gas money to get to a meeting or if you don’t have $1,200 to join band,” she said. “All of that could make a difference.”

Some educators, such as Meadowcreek High principal Tommy Welch, are trying to close the achievement gap by putting more Advanced Placement courses in his school, a step that was part of his five-year academic turnaround plan for the school. Meadowcreek, in Norcross, is 66 percent Hispanic. All Gwinnett schools are now participating in a program, also sponsored by the Goizueta Foundation, to increase Hispanic student participation in AP courses.

The College Board, which supplies AP courses to schools, began a campaign last summer to get more black and Hispanic students in them. In 2013, less than 30 percent of Hispanic students took at least one AP exam, compared to about 60 percent of Asian students.

One Gwinnett-based group trying to improve graduation rates is HoPe, the one Sanchez is in. It was started seven years ago by David Araya and a former high school classmate, Angela Hurtado, who were frustrated by the lack of resources for Hispanic students once they enrolled in college. They fell in love and got married along the way. HoPe teaches students to help their classmates perform better through tutoring, workshops and other activities. HoPe, a nonprofit, is in 27 Georgia high schools, mostly in metro Atlanta. One of its largest chapters is at Meadowcreek, with about 200 students.

Sanchez learned about the chapter last school year and is now an officer. Last week, she and others held an after-school workshop on job interview tips. The 60 students were split into four teams and had to comb through a pile of clothes for business-casual attire. One student showed the group how to tie a necktie. Others discussed eye contact and to avoid saying “um” through an interview.

Sanchez, who led the meeting, said she currently has the fifth-best grade point average in her class. Sanchez hopes to her inspire her younger siblings and other Hispanic students to graduate on time, and go to college. She would be the first in her family to go to college.

“If I did it, then they have all of the capabilities to do it too,” she said.

METRO ATLANTA HISPANIC STUDENT GROWTH

Click on the map image below to view our interactive graphic about the increase in Hispanic student population for each county's school district.

Source: Ga. Dept. of Education