The White House Blog: Civil Rights

Improving Latino Education to Win the Future

April 27, 2011. (by Carlos Llano, Official Miami-Dade College Photos)

Today at a community conversation at Miami-Dade College, the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics and the U.S. Department of Education released the report Winning the Future: Improving Education for the Latino Community. The President will be delivering a commencement address at Miami-Dade College Friday evening. To view the report, click HERE.

The report shows that Hispanic success in education and in the labor market is of immediate and long‐term importance to America’s economy. It also shows that Hispanics have the lowest education attainment level overall of any group in the U.S. Hispanics are by far the largest minority group in today’s American public education system, numbering more than 12.4 million in the country’s elementary, middle and high schools. Nearly 22 percent, or slightly more than 1 in 5, of all pre‐K-12 students enrolled in America’s public schools is Hispanic, but they face persistent obstacles to educational attainment. Less than half are enrolled in any early learning program. Only about half earn their high school diploma on time; those who do complete high school are only half as likely as their peers to be prepared for college and only 4 percent have completed graduate or professional degree programs.

As part of the community conversation in Miami today, Senior Obama Administration officials met with dozens of educators and community leaders, to exchange ideas and outline strategies to meet President Obama’s goal for the nation to have the best-educated workforce in the world by 2020.

April 27, 2011. (by Carlos Llano, Official Miami-Dade College Photos)

Alejandra Campoverdi is the Deputy Director of Hispanic Media.

Meet Raul Perea-Henze

As part of the launch of WhiteHouse.gov/Hispanic, we'll be featuring interviews with Obama Administration staff whose work impacts the Hispanic and Latino communities. This interview is with Raul Perea-Henze of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

What is your key responsibility?

The Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning at the Department of Veterans Affairs leads policy, strategy and interagency partnerships for the Department.  VA is the second largest Cabinet Agency in the Federal Government with 312,000 employees responsible for delivery of health, education, disability and other benefits to 23 million Veterans and their families.

Where did you grow up? What is your educational background?

Born and raised in Mexico, I started my medical career as a clinician caring for underserved populations in developing countries.  Research, academia and global health followed after receiving a Masters degree in Public Health from Yale University, School of Medicine.  Most recently, I completed several leadership courses at JFK School at Harvard University, Princeton University and INSEAD, France.

Are you a member of a notable community organization, church, or volunteer/mentorship program?   

Public service has been an intrinsic core value in my family for generations.  For the past two decades, I have served as a Board Member of several prominent non-profit and philanthropic organizations in the areas of HIV/AIDS, mental health, leadership, Hispanic affairs and human rights.

Over the years, I have also maintained affiliations with other civic organizations that advance the medical profession and global health in a variety of ways, such as the New York Academy of Medicine, the Council of Foreign Relations, the Clinton Global Initiative and the World Medical Association.

Meet Mayra Alvarez

To mark the launch of WhiteHouse.gov/Hispanic, we'll be featuring interviews with Obama Administration staff whose work impacts the Hispanic and Latino communities. This first interview is with Mayra Alvarez, from the Department of Health and Human Services.

1)  What is your key responsibility?

I am the Director of Public Health Policy in the Office of Health Reform at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In my position, I coordinate with various operating and staff divisions in HHS to make sure we’re implementing the public health, prevention, and healthcare workforce policy provisions in the Affordable Care Act in an effective and timely manner.  In addition, I have the great opportunity to be out in the community and participate in many Affordable Care Act outreach related activities, and in particular our effort to ensure the Latino community is engaged.

2)  Where did you grow up?

I grew up in El Cajon, a city in the East Valley of San Diego County, California. Though I was born in the border town of El Centro, California, my family moved to El Cajon when I was four years old, and it’s the city I still consider “home.”

A Celebration of Cesar Chavez at the White House

En Español

At the White House, historic days happen quite frequently, but Wednesday marked an especially profound day as individuals from across the nation came to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to honor the life and legacy of one of the greatest civil rights leaders of our time: Cesar Estrada Chavez, marking what would have been his 84th birthday.

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack joined members of the Chavez family, including Cesar’s granddaughters Julie Rodriguez and Christine Chavez, who now serve in the Obama Administration.