unitEd Latino VoiCES

of Contra CoSta County

a CaLL to aCtion!
laying the groundwork for academic success for contra costa latino children
United Latino Voices of Contra Costa County, a countywide coalition of Latino Leaders and our supporters, recently convened the first Contra Costa Latino Education Summita dialogue between our community and three Contra Costa school districts (Mt. Diablo, Antioch, and Pittsburg). These districts have the highest Latino student population in the county and also suffer from the highest dropout rates. Our organization was shocked by the data which reflects the dismal state of academic achievement by our Latino students. Data such as: EngLiSh LEarnErS graduation ratES: Antioch School District: 59.4% Mt. Diablo School District: 55.1% Pittsburg School District: 53.3% West Contra Costa School District: 63.6% graduation ratES for EngLiSh profiCiEnt Latino StudEntS: Antioch School District: 72.1% Mt. Diablo School District: 71% Pittsburg School District: 70.6% West Contra Costa School District: 70.6%
As parents we need to get much more involved in our schools...actually go to the school, and talk to the principal...

...(and) principals and administrators must build better relationships with parents. Carmina Ciguenza, parent, Mt. Diablo School District

Compare these rates to Californias overall public high school graduation rate of 76% and Contra Costa Countys public high school graduation rate of more than 82%. Why are Latino students doing so poorly when compared to the rest of the students in our county?
A childs educational success requires children, parents, and teachers to work together. Nuria Jovel, parent, Pittsburg School District

The purpose of the summit was to help us to understand:

1. What was being done to help English Learners succeed in the districts
and what was their proof of success?

2. What was being done to improve the Latino graduation rates in these
districts and what is the data to substantiate this? community in these improvement efforts?

3. What was being done to engage Latino parents and the Latino
What was challenging during the summit was school district staff used school district jargon and terminology, which made it hard for most of us to really understand what strategies they were implementing and what success they were having. There was much discussion about school districts master plans, but not enough detail on how specific components of those plans are being implemented, measured and shared in a way that someone other than school district officials could understand.

The summit also provided an opportunity for our community parents to voice their concerns and perspectives about these three issues. From the parents we heard:

1. There is a lack of trust, and relationship-building between parents and

school district staff.

2. There is lack of cultural sensitivity among school district staff as well as

lack of linguistic support and access for parents.

3. There is a lack of understanding of school district terminology, goals, rules. 4. There is a lack of enhanced parent and Latino community engagement
plans and strategies. These four key areas must be addressed if we are to create a strong foundation for Latino student achievement. United Latino Voices seeks to serve as a bridge between the district and our Latino community so that jointly we can improve educational outcomes for Latinos in Contra Costa Countywhich is a core principal of our long term mission.

Without the support of my mother I would not have had the motivation to do well in school. Maria Siliezar, student, Mt. Diablo School District

a CaLL to aCtion
the Latino achievement gap is a complex and multi-faceted challenge but in todays society, with all our keen minds and technological advancements, we are also equipped to effectively address this challenge if we all work together. united Latino Voices, as a community organization, is committed to reducing the Latino achievement gaps in Contra Costa County. We pledge to work with parents and public schools to improve these outcomes and invite concerned and committed parents, individuals, organizations and institutions to join us in addressing this highly important issue.

United Latino Voices Education Summit Planning Committee: damian alarcon Congressman George Millers office Member, United Latino Voices carmen angulo Member, United Latino Voices Julio correa Member, United Latino Voices ernie detrinidad Member, United Latino Voices concepcion James Executive Chair, United Latino Voices John e. marquez Board of Trustees, Contra Costa Community College District Council Member, United Latino Voices miriam medina Member, United Latino Voices eren mendez Member, United Latino Voices doreen moreno California Latino Leadership Network maria Panameo-Bailey Education Chair, United Latino Voices mary rocha Council Member, City of Antioch Council Member, United Latino Voices honorable cecilia Valdez Mayor, City of San Pablo Chair, West Contra Costa United Latino Voices

unitEd Latino VoiCES

ulvofcontracosta@gmail.com

of Contra CoSta County

@ulvcontracosta

facebook.com/unitedlatinovoicesofcontracosta

The Contra Costa Latino Education Summit and this Call to Action have been produced in partnership with our friends at California Forward.

Drawings by Graphic Recorder Gabriela Melano. Data source: California Department of Education. Education Demographics Office.