Santa Clara County legislators begin discussion on barriers
Hispanics face in attaining a college education
San Jose – Legislators staged a press conference and hearings to discuss the obstacles Hispanics must hurdle to earn a college diploma.
During the four-hour hearing Wednesday in the Santa Clara County Office of Education board room, state Senator Elaine Alquist (D-San Jose), Assemblyman Joe Coto (D-San Jose), education officials and leaders in the Latino community talked about the status of Hispanics in California schools and how the county is responding to the growing demographic.
Wednesday’s hearing is the first in an ongoing effort to address the issues facing Latinos in California schools, said Alquist Chief of Staff Sallaja Cherukuri.
Through the hearings they hope to “Improve opportunities for Latino youth to learn high value job skills either through higher education, community college or vocational education.”
Although the Hispanic population continues to grow in California, the group is still a rarity on college campuses and have a high drop-out rate.
One in three Californians are Hispanic but only 10 percent possess a four-year college degree, according to the 2005 Report Card on Racial Equality. By 2050, one in two Californians will be of Latino descent, according to the California Budget Project’s November 2005 report. Also, two out of five Latino teens drop out of high school.
In the Gilroy Unified School District, 66 percent of the students are of Hispanic descent.
