Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - 22

Miami-Dade Educators’ Advice To Districts: Embrace Diversity
when it comes to educating Latino students, the nation’s fourth-largest school system has a long track record and some success
By christina a. Samuels

M

Miami

ore than a third of the students enrolled in the nation’s urban districts are Hispanic—a milestone the Miami-Dade County, Fla., schools met and surpassed years ago. The 347,000-student district, the fourth-largest in the nation, is about 65 percent Hispanic. About 54 percent of students speak Spanish at home, with sizable percentages speaking such other languages as Haitian Creole, French, and Portuguese. Seventy percent of the district’s students qualify for free or reducedprice lunches, a measure of poverty. Its demographic challenges notwithstanding, Miami-Dade has largely managed to buck the negative trends seen in many other big-city districts with large populations of Hispanic students. Local educators say part of that success is due to an education system that has had years of practice in educating students whose home language is Spanish. Another piece can be linked to the district’s ties to a community where Hispanics are not only present in large numbers, but also have political clout and an appreciation for maintaining bilingualism. “We embrace the cultural and linguistic diversity that

students bring to us,” says Alberto M. Carvalho, who has been superintendent since 2008. For decades, people from Cuba, Central America, and South America have migrated to South Florida, laying down roots that have extended for generations. At the same time, the area’s demographic makeup has been shaped by political upheaval, such as the massive Mariel boatlift in 1980 that brought 125,000 Cubans to Florida in the span of five months. The new arrivals included many with far fewer economic resources than the Cuban immigrants who came before them. However, the district’s 4th and 8th grade Latino students have managed to earn above average scores in mathematics and reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The achievement gaps between Latinos and whites in these subjects are also smaller on average than they are for other large, urban school districts and the nation as a whole. In addition, Miami-Dade ranks first in the nation in both the number of ap exams taken by Hispanic students and the number of Hispanic students earning a 3 or higher, out of a possible 5, on at least one ap exam, according to statistics provided to the district by the College Board, the New York City-based sponsor of the testing program. The U.S. Department of Education has directed states to use a new graduation-rate calculation, which includes standard diplomas but excludes the ged and special diplomas. By that calculation, Miami-Dade’s graduation rate for His-

panic students in 2010-11 was 72.8 percent, compared with 69.4 percent for Hispanic students statewide. The overall graduation rate for the district was 71.3 percent versus 70.6 percent statewide. That still leaves a lot of nongraduates. Using a different formula, the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center elsewhere in this report names the district as one of 25 “dropout epicenters” for Latino students—largely due to its size and its high concentration of Hispanic students. But the overall progress of Hispanic students here appears to be better than for many other big-city districts with similar socioeconomic stresses.

Community Support
In maintaining its above-average performance, MiamiDade County has some advantages that other districts grappling with large Hispanic student populations may not have. For one, the district has had decades to hone its English-language-learner programs, and it also has a high percentage of teachers and administrators who are familiar with the cultures that students bring to school. Spanish language and Hispanic culture is tightly woven into the fabric of the community. Students in the community “stay very well connected to their Hispanic or Latino roots,” says Mileidis Gort, an assis-

PerforMance in urBan diStrictS
the 2011 naeP trial urban district assessment provides achievement-gap data on a national group of 18 large, mostly urban school districts. across those systems, Latino students on average score lower than their white peers in both reading and mathematics. the achievement gaps between Latino and white 4th and 8th grade students are consistently smaller in the Miamidade county district than they are for tuda districts on average or the nation as a whole.

Latino-white achievement Gap in naeP Scale-Score Points

20

24

30 18 23 14

NatioNal average

tUDa District average

MiaMi-DaDe coUNty

NatioNal average

tUDa District average

MiaMi-DaDe coUNty

4th Grade Math
22
education week | June 7, 2012

8th Grade Math



Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012

Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012
Table of Contents
Latinos’ School Success: A Work in Progress
A ‘Demographic Imperative’: Raising Latinos’ Achievement
Mexico
Immigration Law Casts Shadow Over Schooling in Alabama
Puerto Rico
N.J. District Bucks the Trend, Draws Latinos to Preschools
El Salvador
College Remains Elusive Goal For Many Latino Students
Dominican Republic
Special Barriers Can Constrain Latinas’ Educational Progress
Cuba
Miami-Dade Educators’ Advice to Districts: Embrace Diversity
Guatemala
Graduation Rate Keeps Climbing; Strong Gains for Latino Students
Graduation in the United States
As New Federal Rules Kick In On Graduation Rates, States Change Their Calculations
A Focus on Latinos
Graduation Policies For the Class of 2012
Sources and Notes
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - Cover2
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - Table of Contents
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - Latinos’ School Success: A Work in Progress
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - 3
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - A ‘Demographic Imperative’: Raising Latinos’ Achievement
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - Mexico
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - 6
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - 7
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - Immigration Law Casts Shadow Over Schooling in Alabama
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - 9
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - Puerto Rico
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - 11
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - N.J. District Bucks the Trend, Draws Latinos to Preschools
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - El Salvador
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - 14
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - 15
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - College Remains Elusive Goal For Many Latino Students
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - 17
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - 18
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - Dominican Republic
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - Special Barriers Can Constrain Latinas’ Educational Progress
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - Cuba
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - Miami-Dade Educators’ Advice to Districts: Embrace Diversity
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - 23
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - Guatemala
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - Graduation Rate Keeps Climbing; Strong Gains for Latino Students
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - Graduation in the United States
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - As New Federal Rules Kick In On Graduation Rates, States Change Their Calculations
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - A Focus on Latinos
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - 29
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - Graduation Policies For the Class of 2012
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - 31
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - Sources and Notes
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - Cover3
Diplomas Count - Issue 34, 2012 - Cover4
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