CHCI Launches Partnerships for Latino Education Success in Los Angeles

Education Forum to Address Challenges, Best Practices for Improving Latino Education

LOS ANGELES, April 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today one in three entrants into the U.S. labor force is Hispanic, and by 2025, Hispanics will be half of all new workers.  Yet the high school dropout rate for Hispanics is nearly 20 percent – more than three times the comparable rate for non-Hispanic whites -- and Latinos have made virtually no progress in the level of college completion in the last 30 years.

In response, CHCI is launching a national dialogue in Los Angeles on April 8, 2011, featuring education policy forums that bring together leading education experts, advocates, local and national elected officials, and practitioners to examine the unique education challenges facing young Latinos, define the barriers to higher education attainment, and identify best practices for addressing these to help reach President Obama's national goal of 60 percent college attainment rate by 2025.

This initiative is in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, California State University, Dominguez Hills, Excelencia in Education, the Lumina Foundation, NALEO, and Univision.

Future forums held in Washington, D.C. during CHCI's 2011 Public Policy Conference and in New York in the fall, will expand the conversation beyond the education community and discuss the roles of other important stakeholders that will be critical in achieving this goal, such as philanthropic foundations, corporate America, small businesses, and media and entertainment, among others.

CHCI's Partnerships for Latino Education Success

Agenda – April 8, 2011

2:00 pm

Welcome Message: Dr. Millie Garcia, CSUDH President

Introductory Remarks: Esther Aguilera, CHCI President & CEO

Special Video Message: The Honorable Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education

Education Policy Panels

2:15 pm - 3:45 pm

Keeping the Promise: Determined to Lead, Compete, and Succeed

A number of public and private sectors leaders, as well as some education foundations, have embraced the national goal of increasing U.S. college degree attainment to 60% by 2025. However, the data is clear that the nation will not achieve this goal without accelerating Latino degree attainment. Panelists will address concrete action steps to increase Latino student success in the current political, economic, and educational climate.

Moderator:

Deborah Santiago, Vice President Policy and Research, Excelencia in Education

Panelists:

Ivelisse Estrada, Senior VP Corporate & Community Relations, Univision

Tina Gridiron Smith, Program Officer, The Lumina Foundation

Jorge Haynes, Senior Director External Relations, California State University System, Office of the Chancellor

Jose Rico, Deputy Director, White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, U.S. Department of Education

Fred Ruiz, Regent, University of California System

Michele Siqueiros, Executive Director, Campaign for College Opportunity

3:45 pm - 5:30 pm

Keeping the Promise: Creating Access and Accountability

Education is the great equalizer in this country. Yet Latinos continue to lag dramatically behind other demographic groups in education attainment levels. Panelists will engage in a critical conversation on the need to ensure accountability for Latino student success across all levels of the education spectrum.

Moderator:  

Arturo Vargas, Executive Director, NALEO Education Fund

Panelists:

John Mockler, Former Executive Director, California State Board of Education

Rep. Laura Richardson, Member of Congress

David Sanchez, President, California Teachers Association

Juan Sepulveda, Executive Director, White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, U.S. Department of Education

Suzanne Elise Walsh, Senior Program Officer, Postsecondary Improvement, Bill & Melinda & Gates Foundation

Maria Elena Yepes, Member, LA County Board of Education  

5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Reception

Keeping the Promise for Latino Education Success: Continuing the Conversation

Sponsored by Fox Deportes/Fox Group.

About CHCI

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), a nonprofit and nonpartisan 501(c) (3) organization, provides leadership development programs and educational services to students and young emerging leaders.  The CHCI Board of Directors is comprised of Hispanic Members of Congress, nonprofit, union and corporate leaders.  For more information call CHCI at (202) 543-1771, visit www.chci.org, or join us on Facebook, Twitter (chci) and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute