Opinion
Education Opinion

Championing Education for Latino Preschoolers

By Sara Mead — September 06, 2012 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Last week the White House the President’s Advisory Council on Educational Excellence for Hispanics named 10 “Champions for Change"--exemplary Hispanic educators who are making a difference for Hispanic students. It’s particularly good to see pre-k teacher (and TFA alum) Vanessa Lugo-Acevedo on the list. Nationally, Hispanic youngsters are significantly less likely to attend pre-k than their white and black peers, despite clear evidence that pre-k has real early learning benefits for Hispanic students. That makes highlighting the accomplishments of Hispanic early educators all the more important.

More than half of Hispanic youngsters live in the 7 states that constitute the American Southwest (including Colorado, where Lugo teaches), and the region is a demographic bellwether for the nation. A series of new reports from First Focus looks at the regions changing demographics, as well as effective strategies and big ideas to improve learning outcomes for kids in the region.

The opinions expressed in Sara Mead’s Policy Notebook are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.