On Sept. 11, 2008, The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans convened a one-day summit at the U.S. Department of Education. The Summit on Education Reform and Hispanic Education Attainment focused on the promising practices various White House Initiative partners and the Education Department are employing to improve education outcomes for Hispanic students. (See photos.)
Speakers and summit attendees represented a wide cross-section of partner organizations and stakeholder groups, including: representatives from Hispanic parent and family involvement groups; community-based, nonprofit and faith-based organizations; Hispanic-serving schools and school districts; Hispanic Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) associations; the corporate sector; state and federal government; and the Hispanic business community.
Keynote speaker U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings highlighted the impact of No Child Left Behind on education for Hispanic students and lauded the grassroots efforts of White House Initiative partners and conference attendees to reduce the academic achievement gap and increase high school graduation rates and postsecondary degree attainment:
[NCLB] came about because of a rare bipartisan coalition of parents, policymakers, business and civil rights leaders, and practitioners like you. Thanks to your hard work, since 2002, Hispanic students are achieving all-time highs on the Nation's Report Card. Math scores for Hispanic fourth-graders went up 5 points from 2003 to 2007—that's the equivalent to an extra half-year of instruction! Yet, we still have a long road ahead. Today, only about half of our Hispanic students graduate from high school on time. That's unacceptable, especially at a time when 90 percent of our country's fastest-growing jobs require postsecondary education. It's up to all of us to build on the progress we've made by carrying the accountability movement forward.
In addition to the secretary, distinguished speakers included U.S. Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral, who provided the luncheon address, and Under Secretary of Education Sara Martinez Tucker, who gave the welcoming remarks. Also representing the U.S. Department of Education were: Assistant Secretary Lauren M. Maddox, Office of Communications and Outreach; Assistant Secretary Kerri Briggs, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; and Assistant Deputy Secretary Doug Mesecar, Office of Innovation and Improvement. Other noted regional and national leaders in education, government, and the corporate, private and nonprofit sectors included: James Montoya, vice president, The College Board; John Winn, chief program officer, National Math and Science Initiative; Charles Hiteshew, chief operating officer, America's Promise Alliance; Augustine Martinez, president and CEO, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Mike Acosta, director, U.S. Mexico Foundation for Science Border Office, Office of University Relations, The University of Texas at El Paso; Eduardo Cancino, superintendent, Hidalgo Independent School District, Texas; and Maria Lopez, director, Institutional Advancement, El Valor.
Conference sessions addressed a range of topics, including: education reform; early childhood development; academic preparation and college completion; Hispanic family involvement; and Hispanic education in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Speakers and presenters highlighted the work that is being done by their respective organizations to improve education outcomes and close the achievement gap for Hispanic students. Department officials focused on the positive impact of No Child Left Behind on academic achievement, while educators and school administrators revealed the promising practices they are employing and that are making a difference in their communities.
The White House Initiative also presented its culminating report, A Summary of Activities, Accomplishments and Hispanic Education Attainment: 2001-08, to Secretary Spellings.
The summit, part of the White House Initiative's plan to showcase the work of the department and community was a resounding success, with more than 230 participants converging in the Nation's Capital. According to White House Initiative Executive Director Adam Chavarria:
Education reform, particularly the NCLB and the America COMPETES Act, has been instrumental in helping close the achievement gap for Hispanic students in the early grades; however, much more work remains to be done, particularly at the high school and postsecondary levels. This summit highlighted the substantive progress we have encountered to date and the work that still remains to ensure that Hispanic American students receive a high-quality education, graduate from high school, and attain a postsecondary degree.
The summit was well received by participants. Many in the education community were quick to laud the accomplishments of the White House Initiative and the scope of the one-day event: "On behalf of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the very comprehensive and informative summit which you sponsored yesterday. I was delighted with the ... presentations, and my colleagues and I have brought back many great ideas to follow up with here in our state." Others expressed their sincere gratitude for the content and resources that were shared: "Thank you for having this conference. It's the best that I've attended because [it] focused a lot on parental involvement. Most education conferences or summits talk little of parental involvement, and it's ... great to see an actual parent speaking." In sum, in the words of yet another participant: "It was an inspiring experience and we sincerely enjoyed sharing with others our commitment to improving the educational outcomes of the Hispanic community."
To read and download the summit program and speaker presentations, visit http://www.yesican.gov/news/2008-summit/program.html.
To better inform its partners and constituents of the work of the office since its inception in January 2001, the White House Initiative released A Summary of Activities, Accomplishments and Hispanic Education Attainment: 2001-08 at its Sept. 11, 2008, Summit on Education Reform and Hispanic Education Attainment held at the U.S. Department of Education. The comprehensive report summarizes the activities conducted by the White House Initiative over the span of seven years. It also encompasses the work of the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans (the commission), as well as its recommendations and their implementation.
Executive Order 13230 established the commission and the White House Initiative at the U.S. Department of Education. The White House Initiative was designated as the office that would provide staff support and assistance to the commission in fulfilling its charge to examine the underlying causes of the education achievement gap existing between Hispanic American students and their peers. The commission's work resulted in two reports, the second and final of which was submitted to President George W. Bush in March 2003. The final report contained six recommendations for increasing the education achievement of Hispanic Americans.
The newly released report summarizes the ways in which the White House Initiative has worked to meet the recommendations set forth in the commission's final report. It includes information on its partnership network, outreach activities, community resources and publications. Also included is information on No Child Left Behind's impact on Hispanic education, and the state of Hispanic education today.
The report was released to White House Initiative partners and a wide range of stakeholders at the Sept. 11 event. The White House Initiative's partners are composed of more than 400 Hispanic parent and family involvement groups; community, nonprofit and faith-based organizations; Hispanic-serving schools and school districts; the corporate sector and the Hispanic business community; local, state and federal agencies; Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs); and local, state and regional Hispanic organizations.To order free copies of the White House Initiative report A Summary of Activities, Accomplishments and Hispanic Education Attainment: 2001-08, visit www.yesican.gov, or call 1-877-4ED-PUBS with identification number ED004468P, while supplies last.
To read and download the report, visit http://www.yesican.gov/publications/pdf/summary-activities.pdf [PDF, 1.5M].