SPRING 2003 HBLI Newsletter 1HBLI is dedicated to the improvement of Latino education

Shernaz B. García and Patricia L. Guerra,The University of Texas at Austin

n spite of more than 30 yearsof educational reform, therecontinues to be a significant

and persistent achievement gapbetween white, predominantly mid-dle-class students, and their poorand/or non-white peers (Berman,Chambliss, and Geiser 1999). Thesedisparities are particularly evidentin lower graduation and completionrates (Rubanova and Mortenson2002), accompanied by higher attri-tion (National Center for EducationStatistics 1998), higher rates of dis-cipline referrals (Townsend 2000),and disproportionate overrepresen-tation in special education andunder-representation in gifted edu-cation (Donovan and Cross 2002).Even though a focus on educationalstandards and accountability sys-tems appears to be raising passingrates across groups in many schooldistricts (Skrla, Scheurich, Johnson,and Koschoreck 2001), concernshave been raised about the sub-groups of students who either failthese tests or are not representedin these data because they did nottake the test (Haney 2001; Valen-cia, Valenzuela, Sloan, and Foley2001; Valenzuela 1999). In otherwords, many schools and districtsare still not achieving success withall students.

In their discussion of schoolreforms targeted at low achieving

students, Berman, Chambliss, andGeiser (1999) identify several fac-tors to explain why this “equitygap” persists. They challenge thetendency to locate the problemwithin the student (and family) orwithin the school without examin-ing the interrelationships betweenschool practices and student out-comes, and suggest that there isinsufficient “exploration of theinstitutional and individual prac-tices, assumptions, and processesthat contribute to and/or fail toweaken these patterns” (p. 10). Asa result, schools’ efforts to raiseachievement may be based onassumptions that are underminedby educators’ deficit views andbeliefs about the children whobecome the targets of reform

(Valencia 1997; Valencia, Valen-zuela, Sloan, and Foley 2001).These deficit views are further rein-forced when students from diversecultural backgrounds do notrespond to practices based on uni-versalistic assumptions about howbest to teach all students. As illus-trated in figure 1, these teacherbeliefs operate as a filter throughwhich reform efforts are interpret-ed and implemented, often result-ing in efforts which perpetuatedisparities in academic outcomesbetween groups on the basis of cul-ture, language, race, and socialclass. As suggested in figure 1,teacher beliefs permeate all aspectsof the teaching-learning process,including curriculum, instruction,classroom management, and rela-

tionships with students and fami-lies. For instance the use of “bestpractices,” which measure successin terms of conformity to the valuesand expectations of the dominantculture, is likely to result in highersuccess rates for students and fami-lies who share these values. Forthese students, the cultural assump-tions reflected in the instructionalprocess are an extension of valuesand assumptions of their home andcommunity. In contrast, studentswhose families do not share thesevalues are likely to experience dis-sonance in the learning process,resulting in academic and/or behav-ior difficulties. If the cultural dis-parities between teachers and the

See All Children Can Learn on page 5

he Leadership Seminars areunderway this season aftera two-year hiatus. The Ford

Foundation has provided fundingfor two more years, and our newstart incorporates lessons learnedfrom the Kellogg-funded seminars.Seminars were held in Arizona andCalifornia, and in the planningstages are seminars in Texas andNew Mexico. One lesson learnedwas to divide the curriculum intotwo sections. The seminar core cur-riculum addresses the following:membership do’s and don’ts, boardmember/superintendent relations,school/budget finance, and boardmember relations with local andstate officials. New curriculumaddresses state-specific issues/con-cerns that school board membersof each state would like to discussand that are selected based on sur-vey responses by school boardmembers.

The first leadership seminarwas held in Phoenix, Arizona,December 6-8, 2002, for Arizonaschool board members who repre-sented the following urban andrural school districts: Isaac SchoolDistrict, Miami Unified School Dis-trict, Patagonia Elementary SchoolDistrict #3, Phoenix Union HighSchool District, Picacho ElementarySchool District, Stanfield Elemen-tary School District #24, and TempeElementary School District. Theseminar started Friday evening witha reception and dinner and enter-tainment provided by MariachiPasión. On Saturday, the schoolboard members participated ininteractive training sessions. TheArizona facilitators were Mr. PánfiloContreras, Executive Director of theArizona School Boards Association,Dr. José Leyba, Associate ViceChancellor of the Maricopa Com-munity Colleges, Dr. John Baracy,

Superintendent of the Tempe Ele-mentary School District #3, and Mr.Jaime Gutiérrez, Assistant VicePresident for Community Relationsat the University of Arizona. StellaPope Duarte, author of Let TheirSpirits Dance, was the special guestspeaker at the Saturday eveningdinner. Based on school boardmember survey results two state-specific issues were identified andaddressed during the Sunday morn-ing sessions. Dr. Leonard Valverdepresented “Schoolwide Improve-ment Plan” and Dr. Josué González,Director of Southwest Center forEducation Equity and LanguageDiversity, discussed “Language Pro-grams for Limited English Speak-ers.” This seminar was well receivedby all the participants as stated byCynthia Matus-Morriss: “The lead-ership skills Hispanic school boardmembers received over a three-daytraining seminar will significantly

enhance the professionalism andprotocol at the board table. Boardmembers recognized the impor-tance of their roles and responsi-bilities, the relationship with the

See School Board Leadership on page 3

H I S P A N I C B O R D E R

LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

HBLI is a consortium of eight institutions of higher education: Arizona State University � California State University-Bakersfield � Maricopa County Community College District

New Mexico State University � Southwest Texas State University � University of California-Riverside � University of Texas-Pan American � University of Texas Brownsville

AdelanteAdelanteVolume 4, Number 1, Spring 2003

HBLI is funded in part by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation

and the Ford Foundation

Do We Truly Believe “All Children Can Learn?”IMPLICATIONS FOR COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL REFORM

T

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School Board Leadership Development Resumes

Pánfilo Contreras, Executive Director, Arizona SchoolBoards Association, Inc., and Cynthia Matus-Morriss,President of the Arizona School Boards Association.

BELIEFS

Values,

assumptions,

expectations

of the

dominant

culture

TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS

Culturally Culturalrelevant mismatch

� Curriculum and materials

� Instructional strategies

� Discipline/behavior management

� Relationships with students and families

OUTCOMES

Positive Negative

� Academic achievement

� Graduation rates

� Representation in special education

� Representation in gifted education

CONTEXTS

Culturally Diverse Community

District and School Vision� Policies/procedures� Budget/resources� Building relationships

with the community� Recruitment/hiring� Staff development� Curriculum� Instruction� Accountability system

FIGURE 1 Influence of beliefs on teaching, learning, and student outcomes.

BLI recently received a$75,000 grant from theLumina Foundation for

Education to provide early infor-mation to Latino students and par-ents about going to college. Thegrant was awarded as part of Lumi-na Foundation’s McCabe Fund,which supports organizations thatenable students-particularly first-generation college students, low-income students, and students ofcolor-to broaden and make themost of their opportunities in post-secondary education. The McCabeFund provides modest, competitivegrants for programs that workdirectly with students to improveaccess to postsecondary education.These programs expand successfulmodels or propose new approachesthat are ready to be tested in thefield. “We are optimistic that thesegrassroots initiatives supported bythe McCabe Fund will help reducethe nation’s college attainment gapby assisting organizations, such asHBLI, that help students achievetheir potential by expanding accessto an education beyond highschool,” said Martha D. Lamkin,president and CEO of LuminaFoundation.

Over the next year and a halfthe HBLI “Early Start to College”project will provide basic butessential early information to first-generation and low-income Latinostudents currently in middle andhigh schools about college academ-ic preparation, selecting a collegeto attend, admission requirements,and application process. In addi-tion, parents will be given informa-tion in Spanish or English abouthow to find money to support theirchild’s college education.

Other major activities will berole model presentations encourag-ing students to pursue higher edu-cation as a means to a moremeaningful and productive life,mock college recruitment nights atmiddle or high schools, communi-ty college campus visits by stu-dents, and in the summer of 2004 athree-day mini camp at ArizonaState University with short coursesand other directed activities forstudents and an information ses-sion for parents at the terminationof the camp.

HBLI has hired two highlyqualified staff members who willwork exclusively on the project:Jasmín De León and John A. Duránwill join the Lumina project as theparent and student advisors respec-tively. De León has been with HBLIsince August 2002 working as theadministrative assistant but nowmoves into her new capacity asparent advisor. In California sheworked for California State Univer-sity, San Marcos’s GEAR UP pro-gram and for the Escondido Union

School district in the area of parentinvolvement and early outreach.GEAR UP works with low-income,first-generation college-bound stu-dents and their parents by provid-ing them with the extra supportthey need to be successful inschool. Its goal was to bring aboutsystematic change and increase thenumber of students in higher edu-cation. In De León’s words, “One ofthe most rewarding aspects of hav-ing worked for GEAR UP was thatit gave me an opportunity to workwith middle-school students andtheir parents, school district per-sonnel, CSUSM faculty and staff,the City of Escondido, and variouscommunity leaders. . . . I have oversix years of college advising experi-ence and over five years of experi-ence working with parents. Beingbilingual and having worked at aninternational university has mademe appreciate cultural diversity,which I believe will be crucial forworking as the parent advisor onthe Lumina/HBLI project.”

Durán received a B.A. in histo-ry from the University of NewMexico and has worked in variouscapacities. “I bring a variety ofwork experience to HBLI. I havespent the last five years workingwith a variety of programs foryouth ages 5-21. I have workedextensively with public school staffand administration in the arena ofbefore- and after-school programsfor school-aged children. My inter-est in youth development grewafter I spent a summer in Oaxaca,Mexico, volunteering for a com-munity-based children and familyproject. After the wonderful expe-rience in Mexico, I spent timeworking with homeless youth in

Philadelphia for the CovenantHouse, which recruited youthfrom the street into the classroomand eventually into careers. I wasfortunate enough to go to schoolin New York with the MaryknollMissioners where I was providedthe opportunity to study interna-tional relations and policy. Theprogram also provided me withthe chance to visit the UnitedNations on several occasions tolearn about Latin American poli-tics. I continued work in Albu-querque as a case manager for anonprofit agency, teaching inde-pendent living skills to youth thatwere aging out of the foster caresystem. I believe that the goal inworking with youth is to helpthem realize the gift of self-empowerment. My experience anddiversity will bring a range of ideasand action to the Early Start toCollege program. I look forward toworking in the Phoenix area andbelieve that the Early Start to Col-lege program will help Hispanicyouth achieve their full potential.”

These past few years and mostrecent months have been difficultfor the nation. On the internation-al front, as we go to press, the Unit-ed States is ending the war in Iraq.

On the national front, the econ-omy continues to be depressed, andas usual the people in most needare hurt the most. That is to say,services provided by governmentfunds are eliminated and philan-thropic organizations are hardpressed to respond as they wouldlike or have in the past. Fortunate-ly, there are state and national lead-ers and groups working to provide acounter balance to these two oner-ous factors.

In the face of these toughtimes, HBLI has been able to notonly hold its own, but push for-ward on its mission of working toimprove the educational conditionof Latinos and build hope, if notopportunity. How?

� We continue through supportfrom the Ford Foundation to offerleadership development seminarsfor Latino school board members.(See related story about our PhoenixDecember 2002 seminar, San Anto-nio work in January 2003, Albu-querque contact in March, and theLong Beach, CA, seminar in May.

� With a new grant from theLumina Foundation, we start a neweffort called “Early Start to College.”Our work is directed to help pri-marily 8th and 9th graders and theirparents to think and get ready for acollege education. (See the relatedstory.) In times when college admis-sion standards are being raised andtuition are increasing and loanamounts decreasing, it is importantto start early to get our children andtheir parents to plan for college.

� We continue to generate newknowledge and understanding about

the problems Latino youth face inpublic schools. We have fundedresearch project by Drs. ShernazGarcía and Patricia Guerra, both atthe University of Texas at Austin.(See the related story about educa-tors’ attitudes toward students ofcolor and their effect on learning.)

� We are in the planning stagesof renewing our effort to train mid-level education managers tobecome leaders in community col-leges. (See the related story.)

� We are adding new capabilityto HBLI in the form of members tothe National Advisory Panel, newstaff, expert consultation, and anew funding source. (See the relat-ed stories on these individuals andthe College Board, Western Region-al Office.

I end by pointing out our newlogo. We believe the new logo sym-

bolizes our renewed push. The ris-ing sun in the logo for us representsa new day and new hope.

Adelante,

Leonard A. Valverde

SPRING 20032 HBLI Newsletter HBLI is dedicated to the improvement of Latino education

A D E L A N T E

Lumina Funded Project BeginsEARLY START TO COLLEGE FOR 8TH/9TH GRADE LATINO STUDENTS

John Durán

Jasmín De León

Leonard A. Valverde

H

From the TopFrom the Top NOTES FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

HBLI is dedicated to the improvement of Latino educationSPRING 2003 HBLI Newsletter 3

A D E L A N T E

SCHOOL BOARD LEADERSHIPContinued from page 1

superintendent, and an understand-ing of the budget process. Withthese three key points, educatedand objective decisions will posi-tively affect the education of thechildren in their districts.”

The California leadership sem-inar was presented May 2-4, 2003,in Long Beach California. Over 100school board members from theLos Angeles, San Diego, and sur-rounding areas were contacted, andHBLI received responses fromschool board members in the fol-lowing California school districts:Alhambra, Azusa, Charter Oak,Duarte, East Side Union HighSchool, El Monte Union HighSchool, El Rancho, William S. HartUnion High School, Jurupa, LittleLake City, Monrovia, National,Santa Monica/Malibu, Santa PaulaUnion High School District, Sweet-water Union High School, and SanYsidro. Some of the presenters at

the seminar were Mr. Sal Castro,school reformer, Dr. William Anton,former L.A. city school districtsuperintendent, Dr. Forbis Jordan,professor of school finance at Uni-versity of Nevada, Las Vegas, Ms.Francisca Sánchez, assistant super-intendent of instruction, SanBernardino County Office of Edu-cation, and Dr. Omar López, Col-lege Board consultant.

HBLI was well represented atthe Mexican American SchoolBoard Association of Texas Confer-ence in San Antonio in January2003. Dr. Leonard Valverde waspresenter at one of the breakoutsessions; his topic was “To ImproveStudent Achievement a Plan is aMust.” In addition to Dr. Valverde,Dr. Shernaz B. García, professor atthe University of Texas and Dr.Patricia L. Guerra, program assis-tant at the SWEDL Lab, both HBLIresearchers, facilitated a breakoutsession to discuss educators’ atti-tudes toward students of color (seerelated story in this issue). HBLI

also had an exhibit table withhandouts of HBLI’s “A Compro-mised Commitment” report andother informational brochuresannouncing the upcoming leader-ship seminar for school boardmembers in Texas.

The New Mexico School BoardAssociation held its 12th annualconference “Celebrating Educa-tional Opportunities for Hispanic

Students” March 21-23, 2003.HBLI was one of the exhibitors atthe conference, and staff had theopportunity to meet with schoolboard members from Arizona, Cal-ifornia, New Mexico, and Texas.

For more more informationabout our school board seminars(past and future), we refer you toour Web page: www.hbli.org under“Leaderships Seminars.”

The Mariachi Pasión who performed at the Arizona leadership seminar reception.

Community College Leadership Academy Being Designedith the arrival of our newASU president, MichaelCrow, comes new interest

and focus. One of the new direc-tions identified by President Crowis leadership development. Withinthe College of Education, our newdean, Gene García, translated thisnew interest into two fronts. Onefocus was public school superinten-dents, and the other targeted groupwas the community colleges. GivenHBLI’s history and success at lead-ership development, it was asked toassist in the design of the commu-nity college initiative. The impetusfor HBLI to become involved was agrant from the Ford Foundation toprovide leadership development tomid-level Latino administrators viathe use of an in-service (while onthe job) design. This three-yearproject was very successful. Manyof the participants moved on tobecome college presidents.

An executive advisory commit-tee, consisting of ten persons (seelist below), was assembled early onto conceptualize the Academy. As aresult of two meetings with theexecutive advisory committee mem-bers and consultation with others(see list of nine below), the follow-ing constructs were agreed upon:

� The targeted population to beserved will be women and personsof color currently employed atcommunity colleges or with careeraspirations of working at commu-nity colleges. The program will alsotarget future leaders who may cur-rently be working in professionsoutside of education but willing tochange careers.

� Curricular focus will be on issuesfacing students of color, the best waysto provide services, especiallyinstruction; how to better fund thesenew services; how to prepare facultyand staff to deliver such services.

� Academy delivery format: therewill be two seminars per calendaryear; each seminar to be 3-4 dayslong; intensive engagement, i.e., dis-cussion, workgroups; pre- and post-reading and writing via internet, i.e.,chat rooms, links to Web pages,audio/view via computer software;faculty to be drawn from recognizedpractitioners and noted scholars.This hybrid approach of on-groundand on-line instruction provides forongoing professional developmentbeyond the face-to-face experience.

� Participant benefits: Knowl-edge and skill enhancement to helpleaders be more effective in theircurrent role, network developmentwith colleagues, identification foradvancement by mentors (academyfaculty), academic credit, possibleadmission into doctoral program ofstudies at ASU.

� Two groups will guide theacademy, a national advisory com-mittee composed of prominentcommunity college leaders and asmaller (in number) executiveadvisory committee.

It is anticipated that the firstseminar will take place late in thecalendar year of 2003. The cost ofparticipation will be kept to a mini-mum in order to facilitate greateraccess. To assure greater access andparticipation, technology will beused extensively, site location of sem-inars may rotate to states with largeconcentrations of potential partici-pants, e.g., California and Texas.

Current activity is threefold:

� Finalize the conceptualizationof the academy organization

� Expand the executive advisorycommittee and create anational advisory committee

� Seek and secure externalfunding

Members of the Executive AdvisoryCommittee

Dr. Raúl Cárdenas, Retired, MaricopaCommunity College District

Dr. Augustine P. Gallego, Chancellor,San Diego Community Colleges

Dr. Fred Gaskin, Chancellor, Marico-pa Community College District

Dr. Eugene García, Dean, College ofEducation, Arizona State University

Dr. Rufus Glasper, Vice Chancellor,Maricopa Community College District

Dr. Kay McClenney, Director, Com-munity College Survey of StudentEngagement, New York

Dr. Tessa Polleck, President, OurLady of the Lake University, SanAntonio, Texas

Dr. Narcisa Polonio, Director ofBoard Services, Association of Com-munity College Trustees

Dr. John E. Roueche, Director, Com-munity College Leadership Program,University of Texas at Austin

Dr. Alfredo de Los Santos, Jr., Educa-tional Leadership and Policy Studies,Arizona State University

Individuals Consulted

Ruth Borger, Director of Public Rela-tions/Governmental Affairs, LansingCommunity College

Dr. George Boggs, President, AACC

Dr. Jack Daniels, President, LincolnLand Community College, Spring-field

Dr. Gary Filan, Executive Director,National Chair’s Academy

Dr. Edward Leach, Chief OperatingOfficer, League of Innovation

Dr. Ted Martínez, President, Gross-mont College, San Diego

Dr. Howard L. Simmons, Professor,Morgan State University, Baltimore

Dr. Mary Spilde, President, LaneCommunity College, Eugene, OR

September 19, 2003

HBLI is sponsoring a one-day forum,

entitled “Latino Educational Issues:

All One System-Increasing Educa-

tional Achievement, K-12, and

accessing Higher Education,” will be

held on the ASU campus September

19, 2003. The forum is intended to

present the schooling of Latinos as

interconnected from kindergarten to

graduate school. We are seeking

new viewpoints, proven programs,

and strategic approaches to histori-

cal problems faced by Latino stu-

dents in public schools, community

colleges, and four-year universities.

Among the presenters and partici-

pants will be the following people:

Dr. Jorge Chapa, director of the His-

panic Research Institute at Indiana

University; Dr. Angela Valenzuela,

University of Texas at Austin; Dr.

Albert Cortez, IDRA; Dr. Roberto

Haro, San Francisco State Universi-

ty; Baltazar Acevedo, Jr., University

of Texas Brownsville; Chancellor

Augustine Gallego of the San Diego

Community College District; Manuel

Frías, Principal, Sereno Group; Dr.

Eugene García, Dean of Education,

ASU; and Rob Melnick, director of

the Morrison Institute, ASU.

October 2003

At present, HBLI is planning for the

Texas school board member leader-

ship seminar that is scheduled for

October 2003 in San Antonio. We are

in the process of identifying presen-

ters, formulating a survey to be sent

to potential participants, and con-

tacting area hotels. Refer to our Web

page www.hbli.org for any updates.

WUPCOMING EVENTS

Leonard A. Valverde

Note: Abstract originally printed in TheHispanic Outlook magazine, April 7, 2003.

ven though AffirmativeAction has not fulfilled itstrue purpose—to eliminate

biased actions and compensate forunequal education—the currentRepublican administration wantsto end it.

Even though university andcollege leaders have finally come toappreciate the value of applyingAffirmative Action so as to creatediverse student bodies and facul-ties, President Bush is moving tostart the dismantling of a processinitiated by executive order someforty years ago. This policy wasresisted by institutions from thestart, has been constantly chal-lenged to date, and as a result dilut-ed over its life span. . . .

Even though AffirmativeAction has not been embracedentirely by institutions nor enforcedfully by elected bodies and has ben-efited more to advance gender equi-ty in higher education than racialequality, opponents continue towork against it. In so doing, theattacks have become better dis-guised. For example, “As we workto address a wrong of racial preju-

dice, we must not use means to cre-ate another wrong,” states PresidentBush. But where was the wrong?The University of Michigan usesrace as one factor in its admissioncriteria, as the U.S. Supreme Courtcurrently allows, based on its 1978Bakke decision. It does not have aquota system as the president mis-takenly assumes and claims.

Although opponents to Affir-mative Action claim to be in favorof diversity, they do not offer astronger means to help reach thetrue intent of Affirmative Action.President Bush states that he is infavor of diversity, even racial diver-sity. Even though his conservativecolleagues do not proffer an alter-native, he calls for race-neutraladmissions policies like the Texas10 percent plan. When the resultsof the Texas 10 percent plan and thestingier sister California 4 percentplan are examined, we see that His-panic and African American admis-sion percentages are smaller thanbefore the inception of AffirmativeAction policies. So documents thecurrent study conducted by Profes-sor Marta Tienda of Princeton Uni-versity, titled, “Closing the Gap?Admissions and Enrollments at theTexas Public Flagships Before andAfter Affirmative Action.”

What meaning can we inferfrom the president’s challenge tothe University of Michigan case?One meaning is his priority. Clearly,the current Republican administra-tion places the needs and difficul-ties of persons of color lower thanthe interests and preferences ofwhites. Even the president states hecannot deny that “our society hasnot fully achieved equal treatment.”Detractors of Affirmative Actionprefer to end it and in so doing puta hold on the unfinished agenda offair treatment and maintain the sta-tus quo of white privilege. . . .

But will this “narrow challenge”as exposed by the Bush administra-tion satisfy those who are anti Affir-mative Action? Others and I thinknot. The former University ofMichigan president, Mr. Bollinger,states that the “movement to ridcampuses of diversity” will move onto challenge other educational pro-grams, especially the awarding ofscholarships using race as one crite-rion.” Already we see state universi-ties raising the cost of tuition tocompensate for a bad economy andthe growing trend of declining statefunding. Federal loan amounts tostudents are currently inadequate tothe rising cost of a college educa-tion. (A late 2002 study by the Col-

lege Board reports this finding.)Compounding this economic hard-ship, universities are raising theiradmission standards at the sametime that public schools are strug-gling to prepare for college theirever-growing multicultural, multi-lingual, and diverse student bodies.

To those against the currentmeans used to implement Affirma-tive Action but who are for the pur-pose of Affirmative Action-fairnessand equal opportunity-[I encourageyou to] channel your thinking tohelp construct a means that willproduce a more representative andegalitarian society. Do not expendmuch needed energy on being neg-ative; instead, offer alternatives thatwill be more effective in creatingmore inclusion. Help right past andpresent wrongs; help to unite us,not divide us. Bring sincerity to thedesign table, not just rhetoric andcriticism. . . .

*As we go to press, the SupremeCourt has heard oral arguments inthe Michigan Affirmative Actioncase. The first reaction to the ques-tions posed by the case is that therewill be a likely 5 to 4 decision, butthat it is still too close to call as towhether the original decision willbe reaffirmed, modified, or struckdown.

A. Reynaldo Contreras, San FranciscoState University

Robert E. Slavin and Margarita Calderón,eds., Effective Programs for Latino Stu-dents. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence ErlbaumAssociates, 2001.

he successful education ofculturally and linguisticallydiverse students is a com-

plex endeavor that involves manyfactors in addition to the acquisitionof English. Schools that recognizestudents’ needs and provide thenecessary leadership and supportin planning, implementation, andevaluation of quality instructionalprograms will address those needs.Unfortunately, many of our schoolsperpetuate negative stereotypes,thereby continuing to fail students.Latino students are the fastest grow-ing diverse student group. As such,they are our most vulnerable.

Thus, as the debate over educa-tional reforms continues, the focuson the issue of culture and linguis-tic diversity remains an essentialdynamic to the argument. Mostattention remains focused on thelanguage in which English lan-guage learners should be taught.Lost are questions of whether thesestudents are actually learning, ofeducational equity, and of the qual-ity of their school programs.

It is in this setting that EffectivePrograms for Latino Children entersinto this debate. The book high-lights a variety of research projectsthat have sought to answer some ofthe more difficult questions con-

cerning the schooling of Latino chil-dren. The chapters go far beyondissues of language to address morechallenging questions having to dowith dropout, transition, emergentliteracy, and program quality thataffect Latino student outcomes inAmerican schools.

The first chapter evaluateselementary and middle school pro-grams and describes their effective-ness in terms of their applicability toLatino students, their evaluationsas compared to control groups, andthe potential to replicate them. Theauthors describe 24 programs thatare divided into six categories:school-wide reform; cooperativelearning methods; reading, writing,language arts; math; pre-school; and,tutoring programs. Concise descrip-tions of the programs are providedalong with evidence of their effec-tiveness. The authors recognizethree conditions that were presentin effective programs:

1. Clear goals with methods,materials, and assessmentrelated to these goals.

2. Well-specified components,materials, and professionaldevelopment procedures.

3. Extensive professional devel-opment.

The authors confront schoolsworking with Latino children bychallenging them to step out of thestatus quo in selecting an appropriateprogram for their own adaptation.

In the second chapter, six pro-grams that meet the criteria of

effectiveness, replicability, andapplicability for Latino students areexplored. Seven additional pro-grams that did not meet the effec-tiveness criteria are described due totheir prevalent employment withLatino students. Four commonthemes in effective programs areidentified: personalization, connect-ing students to an attainable future,targeted academic assistance, andstudent status and recognition.

The third chapter provides amore detailed view of three effec-tive programs for Latinos that weredescribed briefly in the previouschapters. The elementary program,Success for All (SFA), is describedprimarily through the lens of theprincipal. While this is insightful,an exploration of alternative view-points would have been beneficial.Lacking are voices of students andparents participating in the program.The middle school program, theCoca-Cola Valued Youth Program, isexplicitly described by the outliningof how the program overcame obsta-cles and barriers to implementation.It would have been effective todescribe how the other programshave also attended to barriers. Thehigh school program, Project AVID(Advancement Via Individual Deter-mination) is described. On thewhole, this chapter provides a quali-tative complement to the initialchapters, which focus on quantita-tive confirmation of program suc-cesses. The chapter provides anopportunity for those consideringadaptation of one of the programs to

have a more intimate insight into theprocess of implementation. Thefourth chapter presents an ethno-graphic study of a two-way bilingualprogram in El Paso, Texas. Theundertaking explored

1. Program design and imple-mentation adjustments.

2. Teacher performance and pro-fessional development.

3. Pedagogy.

4. Role of the principal in pro-gram and structure.

The inquiry provides a goodview of the complexities involvedin the various stages of the imple-mentation of a two-way program. Itpresents an in-depth look at thetwo-way adaptation of Success forAll (SFA) and issues related to cur-riculum development, team teach-ing, separation of languages,instructional methods, and profes-sional development. The analysisemphasizes the importance ofinvolving teachers as researchers,and the importance of their atti-tudes and collegial relationships.Moreover, the study concentrateson the unique role of the principalin the two-way program and thesignificance of cultural and racialtension, historical inequities, andnegative attitudes of staff.

This is an important chapter inlight of the proliferation of two-way programs across the UnitedStates. Eight recommendations areprovided for schools considering

See Asking Questions on page 5

SPRING 20034 HBLI Newsletter HBLI is dedicated to the improvement of Latino education

A D E L A N T E

Affirmative Action: Time to Advance Not Retreat

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Answering Questions about the Schooling of Latino Children

HBLI is dedicated to the improvement of Latino educationSPRING 2003 HBLI Newsletter 5

A D E L A N T E

ALL CHILDREN CAN LEARNContinued from page 1

latter group of students remainsunquestioned and unexamined, theacademic and behavioral difficultiesare more likely to be interpreted asa student deficit, leading to morediscipline referrals, disproportion-ate high representation in specialeducation, and higher attrition.

However, when teachers’understanding of the teaching-learning process acknowledges therole of culture in student learning,they are more likely to realize thatcultural discontinuities between

home, school, and community cancontribute to lower achievementpatterns for students of color andlow-income students. They are thenable to create learning environ-ments in which all students canlearn by altering the structure ofschools—including classroom orga-nization, curriculum, instruction—so that they are responsive tocultural differences in socialization,cognition, and patterns of commu-nication (García and Domínguez1997; García and Guerra, in press).As a result, educational practiceswould be differentiated in ways thataccommodate students’ culturally

based patterns of learning andbehavior, foster the development ofbicultural/bilingual competenceamong all students, and lead tohigh academic outcomes for allgroups of children (see figure 2).

The framework depicted in fig-ure 2 has important implicationsfor the ways in which schools con-ceptualize and implement the vari-ous components of school reform.From this perspective, such effortsmust go beyond professional devel-opment targeted at teachers. Rather,existing school reform models, andeven the goals and standards of theNCLB Act, must be examined

through an equity lens to ensurethat the multiple perspectivesreflected in culturally and linguisti-cally diverse communities are takeninto account, that they guide ourdevelopment of reform activities, aswell as our final evaluations of suc-cess. This has implications at sever-al levels, and all aspects ofeducational leadership, for ulti-mately we cannot relegate studentachievement to teachers only; wemust be willing to examine ourown beliefs and assumptions abouthow to create equitable educationalopportunities and achieving highacademic outcomes for all students.As we have noted elsewhere (Garcíaand Guerra, in press),

In order to achieve suchchanges, however, it is essential toclosely examine the cultural under-pinnings of our educational systemand to struggle with questions like,“If a central purpose of schooling iscultural transmission, whose cul-ture should be transmitted, and whodecides?” “How can an educationalsystem that is essentially based onthe dominant culture’s (vs. pluralis-tic) view of success be effective ineducating students who do notidentify with these values?” “Whichcultural and educational ideologiesare most likely to support educa-tional success for all students?”

ASKING QUESTIONSContinued from page 4

implementing two-way programs.The recommendations are practicaland thought provoking. This is anexcellent ethnography that high-lights a number of useful ideasrelated to teaching and teacherdevelopment. Furthermore, ithighlights the complexity of issuesrelevant to two-way programs.

The fourth chapter discusseswhat may be the future of bilingualeducation, while the fifth chapterfocuses on the widely used currentmodel: transitional programs. Theauthors describe a multiyear designfor transition, based on the theoreti-cal principles of comprehensiveness,continuity, challenge, and connec-tions. They report findings from alongitudinal, comparative evalua-tion of the design at a school in Cal-ifornia. The outcomes presented

include observed student practicesin literacy and attitudes towardreading and writing in English andSpanish. The study offers optimisticresults in all areas and identifiesshortcomings of the model inaddressing the needs of low achiev-ing students, in dealing with new-comers, and in replicating theprogram with large numbers ofteachers.

Chapter 5 is a key contributionin light of the contemporary impe-tus toward the one-year languageimmersion model that is occurringin a number of states as an effort tophase out bilingual instruction. Themultiyear longitudinal evaluationdesign illustrates that transition is acomplex process and must be treat-ed as such. While acknowledgingthat the transitional model may notbe the most effective for Englishlanguage learners, the authors pro-vide a strong argument for making

it as effective as possible given itsprevalence in American schools.

The sixth chapter summarizessix studies on English as a SecondLanguage adaptations of Success forAll (SFA) and Éxito Para Todos(EPT), the Spanish version of Suc-cess for All (SFA). Brief descrip-tions of the programs are provided,as are the evaluations of each one.All the studies used control groupsof students, yet more informationcould have been provided on howstudents were matched. Resultsfrom bilingual classes illustratepositive effects of the Éxito ParaTodos (EPT) model, however theauthors recognize that some resultsare tentative. The findings fromÉxito Para Todos (EPT) appraisalshighlight the need for research onheritage language literacy develop-ment and note the compoundingfactors involved with studentsbeing transitioned out of Spanish

literacy development programs.The findings from the English as aSecond Language (ESL) adaptationof Success for All (SFA) reveal posi-tive effects for Spanish languagespeakers as well as speakers ofother languages. The authorsacknowledge the inconsistency ofthe findings and call for additionalexploration into the topic.

The seventh chapter extendsthe exploration of Éxito Para Todos(EPT) presented in the precedingchapter and describes an ethno-graphic study of two schools in Cal-ifornia and one school in Texasinvolved in the initial stages ofimplementing the Éxito Para Todos(EPT) model. The research questionfor the study is “What does readinginstruction in Éxito Para Todos looklike?” The investigators used partic-ipatory observation over a period of

See Asking Questions on page 6

BELIEFS

Pluralistic

values,

assumptions,

expectations

reflecting

multiple

perspectives

TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS

Culturally responsivefor all students

� Curriculum and materials

� Instructional strategies

� Discipline/behavior management

� Relationships with students and families

OUTCOMES

Positive for all students

� Academic achievement

� Graduation rates

� Representation in special education

� Representation in gifted education

CONTEXTS

Culturally Diverse Community

District and School Vision� Policies/procedures� Budget/resources� Building relationships

with the community� Recruitment/hiring� Staff development� Curriculum� Instruction� Accountability system

FIGURE 2 Framework for culturally-responsive school reform.

References

Berman, P., D. Chambliss, and K. Geiser. 1999. Making the case for a focus onequity in school reform. Berkeley, CA: RRP International. Retrieved April 5,2003, from http://www.rppintl.com/HPLC/Equity_FINAL.pdf

Donovan, M. S., and C. Cross, eds. 2002. Representation of minority students inspecial and gifted education. In Minority students in special and gifted educa-tion. Report of the National Research Council’s Committee on Minority Rep-resentation in Special Education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

García, S. B., and P. Guerra. n.d. Conceptualizing culture in education: Implica-tions for schooling in a culturally diverse society. In Culture [Re]Defined:Analyzing culture from diverse viewpoints, edited by J. Baldwin, S. Faulkner, S.Lindsley, and M. Hecht. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, forthcoming.

Haney, W. M. 2001. Revisiting the myth of the Texas miracle in education:Lessons about dropout research and dropout prevention. Paper presentedat the Dropout Research Conference sponsored by the Harvard Civil RightsProject, Cambridge, MA. Retrieved April 5, 2003, from http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v8n41/

National Center for Education Statistics. 1998. Dropout rates in the UnitedStates: 1996. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of

Educational Research and Development, National Center for EducationStatistics.

Rubanova, N., and T. Mortenson. 2002. Public high school graduate rates bystate: 1981 to 1999. Postsecondary Education Opportunity. Retrieved April 6,2003, from http://www.postsecondary.org/ti/ti_24.asp

Skrla, L., J. J. Scheurich, J. F. Johnson, and J. W. Koschoreck. 2001. Account-ability for equity: Can state policy leverage social justice? International Jour-nal of Leadership in Education 4, no. 3:237-60.

Townsend, B. L. 2000. The disproportionate discipline of African Americanlearners: Reducing school suspensions and expulsions. Exceptional Children66:381-91.

Valencia, R., ed. 1997. The evolution of deficit thinking. London: Falmer Press.

Valencia, R., A. Valenzuela, K. Sloan, and D. Foley. 2001. Let’s treat the cause,not the symptoms: Equity and accountability in Texas revisited. Phi DeltaKappan 83:318-21, 26.

Valenzuela, A. 1999. Subtractive schooling: US-Mexican youth and the politics ofcaring. Albany: State University of New York Press.

SPRING 20036 HBLI Newsletter HBLI is dedicated to the improvement of Latino education

ASKING QUESTIONSContinued from page 5

two years to answer the question.The investigation describes the fac-tors that make Éxito Para Todos(EPT) classrooms recognizablewithout difficulty and how teachersadhere to and individualize theÉxito Para Todos (EPT) model. Theauthors describe classes that “lookalike” in terms of materials neededfor Éxito Para Todos (EPT), but donot offer specifics on the materials.In a similar vein, a sequence ofactivities is given without a thor-ough review. The authors recognizethat the data “reflect surface interac-tions in the classroom and do notaddress close, face-to-face interac-tions between students.”

The eighth chapter explores theeffectiveness studies, articles oneffective reading programs, andexisting instructional materials todescribe the current state of teach-ing English reading to Englishlanguage learners. The authorsdescribe factors affecting the read-

ing achievement of Latino stu-dents and underscore the need foradditional research on this topic.Moreover, they call attention toindividual factors that can impactstudents’ abilities to succeed inreading. In presenting commonpractices in teaching Spanish read-ing, the authors utilize a series ofdetailed vignettes. The chaptersdescribing ESL reading techniques,the transition from Spanish toEnglish, and two-way bilingual pro-grams could have benefited fromsimilar vignettes. The authors’briefly mention home literacy expe-riences that suggest the absence ofsuch programs. The authors’ ques-tions for schools are thought pro-voking and extend beyond thebasics to more personal issues ofteachers’ professional development.

The ninth and tenth chaptersdo not directly deal with effectiveprograms for Latino students. Chap-ter 9 is useful in providing statisticaldata that describe factors placingLatino youth at risk of education-al failure. The factors are divided

into three categories: personal fea-tures/characteristics, environmentalfactors, and school/learning condi-tions. The authors suggest that datain all categories must be collectedand analyzed by the schools in orderto create systemic, comprehensive,and informed school reform. Thechapter serves as a reminder to con-sider individual needs of students inimplementing any reform effort.The concluding chapter is a moreconceptual examination of reasonsfor Latino students’ academicachievement levels. The authorspresent brief descriptions of 11 his-torical models, including culturaldeficit, cultural difference, invol-untary vs. voluntary immigrantmodels, as well as lesser known co-ethnic peer communities and dualframe-of-reference explanations.They identify patterns and disconti-nuities in research on Latino stu-dent achievement and presentpolicy implications based on theirresearch. Of the recommendationsthey offer, two seem to expandbeyond what has often been sug-

gested. The recommendations, theneed to look at different types ofsocialization and to identify patternsof family resilience, provide a broad-er view of possible solutions in deal-ing with Latino underachievement.

Overall, this publication suc-ceeds in providing an in-depth lookat a number of the deeper issuesaffecting the education of Latinos.The book can be read as preferred oras needed, since each chapter standson its own in fully describingresearch procedures and results.Those interested in elementary edu-cational issues will find more infor-mation here than those interested inmiddle or high school levels. Howev-er, there are worthy programs to learnabout at every level. The volume is anespecially helpful resource for thoseinterested in learning more aboutSuccess for All (SFA) and Éxito ParaTodos (EPT) as options for schoolreform. The book succeeds in meet-ing the authors’ expectation that itconveys anticipation about whatschools for Latinos can be and whatLatino students will attain.

Hispanic Border Leadership Institute

Farmer Building

Suite 414

Arizona State University

P.O. Box 872411

Tempe, Arizona 85287-2411

www.hbli.org

A D E L A N T E

Irma Rangel. It is with much sad-ness that we inform our HBLI com-munity that Texas RepresentativeIrma Rangel died this past March.While in the Texas Legislature, sheserved on the Higher EducationCommittee and championed greaterHispanic student access to college,and she was the prime architect ofthe10 percent plan. In honor of herservice and lasting contributions,we will continue to list her as amember of the NAP for one year.

Eddie Basha continues to be a ded-icated community servant. His lat-est effort, among many for whichhe is noted, is his contribution tothe establishment of a worker cen-ter in Chandler, Arizona, for daylaborers.

Albert Kauffman, after more thantwenty years as regional counselfor the Mexican American LegalDefense and Education Fund(MALDEF) in San Antonio, hasmoved to Boston and now isengaged in the Civil Rights Projectat Harvard University. He joinsforces with an HBLI scholar, profes-sor Gary Orfield, who is the codi-rector of the Civil Rights Project.

HBLI is pleased to welcome twonew members to the NAP:

Felipe Alanís is the recentlyappointed Texas Education Com-missioner for K-12 education byTexas Governor Rick Perry. Inaccepting our invitation to serve,Dr. Alanís wrote:“Ongoing collabo-ration between ele-mentary/secondaryeducation and high-er education canclearly serve to help improve theacademic experiences of all chil-dren, and I am grateful for yourpartnership in the ongoing pursuitof educational excellence.”

Juliet García, president of the Uni-versity of Texas at Brownsville, willserve on the NAP given that UTB isour newest memberto the HBLI con-sortium. We areinformed that Dr.García has recentlybeen asked to serveon the New York-based Ford Foun-dation Board of Directors.

Mariela Rodríguez, doctoral studentat New Mexico State University, hascompleted her dissertation entitled“Perceptions of Principals andTeachers in New Mexico: A Com-parison Between Staff in SchoolsWith and Without Two-Way DualLanguage Immersion Programs”and will be awarded a doctorate ineducation at spring commence-ment. Dr. Rodríguez is currentlyserving as assistant professor at Uni-versity of Texas, Brownsville.

With the completion of Dr.Rodríguez, HBLI has been success-ful with sixteen of the thirty originalfellows. This is a very good comple-tion rate given the time frame to sat-isfy all requirements, i.e., four years.

We anticipate that two or threeUniversity of California-Riversidefellows will complete their disser-tations by the end of this calendaryear. We hope to list their names inour next newsletter and to extendto them our congratulations.

In late March, the leadership ofHBLI met with James Montoya,vice president, western regions,for the College Board and head ofthe western region, in Phoenix,Arizona, to have exploratory dis-cussions on how HBLI and theCollege Board, Western Region,might work collaboratively oncommon matters of import. As aresult of the meeting, the WesternRegional Office of the CollegeBoard will support HBLI in its

leadership development of schoolboard members. They will do so intwo ways. First, they will providemodest financial support over aone-year period of time. Second,they will provide at no cost toHBLI, experts to facilitate informa-tion sharing and discussion in onesession of the HBLI planned three-day leadership seminars scheduledfor California, Texas, and NewMexico.

NOTES ABOUT MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ADVISORY PANEL (NAP)

NEWS ABOUT HBLI FELLOWS

THE COLLEGE BOARD, WESTERN REGIONS,OFFERS SUPPORT

AntojitosAntojitos NEWS AND NOTES

Feliz Cinco de MayoFeliz Cinco de Mayo

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HBLI’s Adelante newsletter is published periodically throughout the year, Dr. Barbara Firoozye, editor (barbara.firoozye@asu.edu).