Latino students ‘left behind’ in Washington state
*This happens way too often. As unions battle government, inner city children (read Latino) suffer the consequences. Kids should not be an afterthought. VL
By John Benson, Voxxi
Latino students are once again caught in the crossfire of politics.
Last month, Washington State legislators voted down a measure to make teacher and principal evaluations tied to mandatory statewide tests. In doing so, the U.S. Dept. of Education said it was pulling more than $40 million in No Child Left Behind (NCLB) funding that targeted low-income students.
“It’s because the unions are very strong here,” King County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Chairman and Consolidar co-founder Mike Sotelo told VOXXI. “They’re the biggest contributors to the Democratic party, and they are dead set against any kind of testing for the teachers.
“It was just kind of predictable. They really didn’t give a reason other than they said their schools were fine and nothing needed to be done. It was just more politics than anything else.”
Sotelo said Washington has upwards of 900,000 undocumented with a statewide graduation rate of 50 percent among Latino students. He added that in agricultural areas such as Yakima County, the graduation rate “drops significantly.”
The loss of NCLB funding kicks in next school year affecting pay for after school lunches and various community services.
More so, the recent news ties in directly to the efforts of Consolidar, which is a management-consulting firm that provides strategic guidance to organizations supporting Washington State Hispanic communities. The for-profit group’s goal is to increase college attendance rates among Latino youth by 2027 through healthcare, education and cultural reform.
While there are current discussions among Washington State school districts whether they can follow efforts by California school districts to seek a NCLB waiver, and avoid the loss of funding, experts say odds are the tactic won’t have any traction.
The picture for Latinos in Washington State may seem bleak, but Sotelo is hoping the recent announcement acts as a spark to ignite a wildfire in Hispanic communities.
“There’s a lot more interest in Latino voting,” Sotelo said. “So it is rallying a lot of people to understand that their vote is significant and does count, but the turnout isn’t as good as it should be in our community.”
He points to a recent city council race in Yakima, where despite the fact the general population is 50 percent Latino, a Hispanic councilwoman was unable to get voted in due to low voter turnout.
“This is helping bringing up issues and raising awareness to where people are starting to understand the only way they’re going to make a difference is to elect or un-elect somebody,” Sotelo said. “This definitely is rallying the troops. You can’t agree on everything but one thing you can agree on is the education for your kids. So you have a universal front.
“Barack Obama and Jay Inslee both got over 70 percent of the Latino vote nationwide and here in Washington. There were a lot of promises made, and we’re still waiting for those things to happen. Yes, it’s got our attention. The numbers are growing. Our middle class is exploding. We’re placing more kids in college, so it’s an evolution. And that part of it is definitely positive.”
This article was originally published in Voxxi.
John Benson is employed as a fulltime freelance writer writing for local/national outlets. When he’s not covering news, music or entertainment, he can be found coaching his boys (basketball, football and baseball) or spending time with his wife, Maria.
[Photo by Gates Foundation/Flickr]
