Solving the American Education Gap TOGETHER

USA - English

• Latin America - español

CHICAGO, Sept. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to address the growing U.S. education gap, New Futuro, Allstate Insurance Company and over 300 organizations from the education, non-profit, business and government sectors have partnered to launch a first-of-its-kind, bilingual educational community designed to help Latino families get their students into college. The White House, Teach for America, Communities in Schools, New York City Department of Education, Lumina Foundation, and Stanford University are among the organizations joining New Futuro's initiative.

The announcement was made at a press event in Los Angeles, Calif., where Latinos make up 74 percent of the high school student body, but fewer than 40 percent of Hispanics graduate, according to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) report "Fingertip Facts 2009-2010." Nationally, only thirteen percent of college graduate-aged Latinos report having earned a bachelor's degree or higher – three times less than their non-minority counterparts, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. While these numbers are discouraging, a recent poll indicates that the overwhelming majority of U.S. Latinos expect their children to attend college. Why the huge disparity? Multiple sources cite lack of access to resources, cost and family responsibilities as the top reasons for Latinos not pursuing or completing college. 

To help solve this education gap, New Futuro launched its free, high-touch, high-tech bilingual educational community designed to help families get their students into college and beyond, nationally and plans to reach more than 15 million Latinos in 2012 alone. The New Futuro program includes a national College Prep Tour presented by Allstate and a dynamic, educational and career planning website, www.NewFuturo.com.This fully bilingual site currently hosts the largest database of Hispanic scholarships available online. 

However, most notable is the innovative Collective Impact Social Change model the organization is using as its framework. According to the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Collective Impact is a best practice model, which creates large-scale social change by bringing together leaders from various sectors to focus on a common agenda. Using this model, New Futuro is bringing together hundreds of world-class partners to focus on getting more Latinos into college.

"Increasing Latino college education rates is key to the future prosperity of our nation. It's not a Latino issue, it's an American issue and one that can only be solved by working together," said Marty R. Castro, Esq. Chairperson and Co-Founder of New Futuro. "We have brought a real solution to the table. By uniting hundreds of community, education, government and corporate partners we have created a powerful ecosystem designed to help Latino families and their students achieve their educational and career goals."

Allstate is the presenting sponsor of New Futuro's College Prep Fairs and Road to College Workshops, nationally. Recognizing the significant impact the program had on Chicago's Latino community in 2011, Allstate was one of the first organizations to support New Futuro in its national launch. "Allstate is committed to protecting and enhancing the future of America, and we are proud to join forces with New Futuro again on this important and impactful initiative," said Mike Escobar, vice president, chief diversity and organization effectiveness officer for Allstate Insurance Company.  "Together, we hope to make a difference on the future of education with Hispanic students and families throughout the country."  

This announcement comes on the heels of the recently released 2012 ACT Condition Report, which shows that while nationally ACT scores have slightly improved, the gap between racial groups continues to widen. According to the report, only 13 percent of Hispanic students are meeting college-readiness benchmarks compared to 32 percent of whites. Amanda Fernandez, VP of Latino Community Partnerships for Teach for America, one of New Futuro's education partners, added, "Teach For America is proud to be partnering with New Futuro and applauds its efforts to help close the devastating achievement gap that impacts far too many of our Latino youth." 

To kick-off this national program, New Futuro will host five College Prep Fairs presented by Allstate around the country in Los Angeles (September 29), Houston (October 6), New York City (October 20), Miami (October 27) and Chicago (November 10). The free events include hundreds of bilingual representatives from universities, colleges, and community organizations, as well as dozens of small educational sessions with college and career experts. These individuals will be there to answer questions and help students get into college and beyond. Additionally, thousands of dollars in scholarships will be awarded at each event. To learn more and register for the event in their city, students and families can visit www.NewFuturo.com.

About New Futuro 

New Futuro is a socially innovative Hispanic education community helping families get their students into college and beyond. With their free, bilingual tools, resources and ongoing guidance and support, New Futuro is creating a pathway to success that is helping millions of Latinos achieve their educational and career goals. This innovative high-touch, high-tech, platform is bringing together hundreds of community, education, government and corporate partners to connect those that need help with those who can provide it. To learn more, visit www.NewFuturo.com or connect with New Futuro on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/NewFuturo) and Twitter (www.Twitter.com/NewFuturo).

About Allstate^®

The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurer, serving approximately 16 million households through its Allstate, Encompass, Esurance and Answer Financial brand names. Widely known by its slogan "You're In Good Hands With Allstate^®," Allstate offers insurance products (auto, home, life and retirement) and services through Allstate agencies, independent agencies, and Allstate exclusive financial representatives, as well as via www.Allstate.com and 1-800 Allstate^®. As part of Allstate's commitment to strengthen local communities, The Allstate Foundation, Allstate employees, agency owners and the corporation provided $28 million in 2011 to thousands of nonprofit organizations and important causes across the United States.

SOURCE New Futuro