Hispanic Forum: Mentoring, parent support play vital role in future success for Latino youth

Academic preparation, cost and financial aid challenges and information constraints are the three main obstacles to Latino youth proceeding to college after high school, according to Dr. Stella Flores, assistant professor of public policy and higher education at Vanderbilt University and a nationally known expert on the impact of state and federal policies on college access and completion.

 

Flores recently spoke at the second annual Hispanic Forum at Lipscomb University, Abriendo Puertas (Opening Doors) II, Thursday. More than 100 community leaders in education, social service and business along with 16 local Hispanic youth gathered in the Ezell Center to discuss education access and opportunities for Latino youth.

 

In addition, President L. Randolph Lowry announced the creation of a new full-paid scholarship to Lipscomb for one Latino student funded by SunTrust Bank. Lowry is actively pursuing 12-15 additional full-paid scholarships from local corporations to benefit Latino students, he said.

 

Following Nashville’s 2009 English-only referendum, Lipscomb inaugurated this “conversation of significance” to bring together leaders from business, government, education, health care, advocacy and nonprofit organizations to find common ground on the challenges facing Nashville’s growing Hispanic community.

 

“Latino youth are losing the motivation to succeed early on because they don’t believe a college education is available to them,” said Candice McQueen, dean of the Lipscomb University College of Education, which coordinates the forum. “The truth is there are many opportunities out there for Latino youth to enter college, but many families don’t have the information and guidance they need to take advantage of them. Mentoring, high expectations and parent support emerged as major factors in helping Latino youth to succeed in college and beyond in American society.”

 

In addition to establishing the Hispanic Forum, Lipscomb University has established several scholarships and a strong relationship with the YMCA of Middle Tennessee’s Latino Achievers program in order to make a college education more accessible and affordable to Nashville’s Latino youth. Also, La Sangre Llama, YMCA Latino Achievers and State Farm Insurance have all partnered with Lipscomb to launch a new Latino youth mentoring program in Nashville.

 

Those kinds of one-on-one relationships are needed in Tennessee, which is among the top five fastest-growing states in terms of numbers of children of immigrants, said experts at the conference.

 

“If you are going to work with a Hispanic family, it is not a one-time phone call,” said Jessie Van De Griek, director of the YMCA Latino Achievers program. “It will take a lot of family engagement.”

 

In the past 30 years, the Latino student completion rate for college has topped 10 percent only one year, Flores reported at the conference. Much of the problem is that the student loan system is confusing and daunting for Hispanic parents, she said. Transparency and additional information on available loans is key to enrolling more Latino youth in college, she said.

 

Renata Soto, executive director of Conexión Américas, reported to the group how her organization’s Parents as Partners program tries to bring that needed information to the parents of Latino youth through regular training sessions and group gatherings.

 

“The parents didn’t feel welcome in the schools before, because they didn’t know how to go through the door, even if it was open,” Soto said.

 

Gini Pupo-Walker, the change coach at Overton High School, said the 400 Latino students at Overton need to be held to high, not lower, expectations. In addition, Overton offers Spanish heritage classes, allowing Latino youth to become completely fluent in Spanish, and thus obtain the skill to become a professional translator or international businessperson as an adult.

 

Ricky Holaway, Lipscomb’s senior director of admissions, said that providing more information to higher education institutions on the need is also important. “I had no idea this was even an issue until someone asked a question,” he said, telling how one meeting at the YMCA about Lipscomb’s college offerings drew 80 students and family members.

 

Sixteen Latino seniors from Overton High School also attended the Hispanic Conference and provided feedback to the community leaders.