Partners in Hispanic Education
NCCEP's Role
NCCEP serves as a founding partner in the Partners in Hispanic
Education initiative that is being led by The White House Initiative on
Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans and some of the
nation's leading Hispanic and other organizations, corporate
leaders, and national private entities. A historic collaboration,
Partners in Hispanic Education is dedicated to improving education for
Hispanics in the United States and to empowering the Hispanic American
community by equipping families with educational tools and informational
resources afforded under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in order to assist
them in becoming better advocates for their children's education,
from early childhood through college completion. The partners will
work with local communities to reinforce positive expectations that
include educational excellence, academic attainment, parent involvement
and awareness, academic preparation, mentorship, engagement of the
business community, accountability, and enrollment in college. To
accomplish these goals, partnership participants have committed to host
education programs in six pilot cities over the next several months.
Each education program will involve a series of events including a town
hall
meeting; educational workshops for parents, students, educators, and
business and community leaders; and a seminar on student financial aid
and scholarships. Conference participants will highlight the importance
of public/private partnerships as a means of disseminating critical
education information to local communities.
Background
The formation of a historic collaboration, Partners in Hispanic
Education was announced on July 9, 2003, in Washington, D.C. "Partners"
brings together the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for
Hispanic Americans (WHI) and some of the nation's leading Hispanic
organizations, corporate leaders, and national private entities in the
important mission to improve education for Hispanics in the United
States. The goal is to empower the Hispanic American community by
equipping families with educational tools and informational resources
afforded under NCLB.
Partners
Partners in Hispanic Education includes the following: White
House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans;
United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation; MANA, A National
Latina Organization; Girl Scouts of the USA; Hispanic Association of
Colleges and Universities (HACU); National Council for Community and
Education Partnerships (NCCEP); State Farm Insurance Companies; National
Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP); U.S. Army; Hispanic College
Fund (HCF); Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options (CREO);
National Society of Hispanic MBA's (NSHMBA), Association for the
Advancement of Mexican Americans (AAMA); Cuban American National Council
(CNC); El Valor; and College for Texans Campaign, Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board; El Valor and the Mexican Institute of Greater
Houston.
Local Community Involvement and Sustained Community Effort
Seven cities have been selected for this pilot effort. In each
city, different partners will take on the responsibility as "lead
partner(s)" and, in concert with local community leaders, coordinate the
planning and implementation of the partnership events. A local steering
committee is formed in each city in order to ensure that partnership
events are informative and adapted to meet the educational needs of each
community. Through the local steering committee, the community is not
only actively engaged in the planning of events, but serves as a conduit
to the community for providing updates, facilitating the dissemination
of information about local education opportunities, and organizing
follow-up conferences and events for local partners, based on identified
needs.
Pilot Cities, Lead Partners and Preliminary Timetable
Pilot cities were selected using an information matrix taking into
account several factors including: percentage of schools in need of
improvement, percentage of Hispanic students enrolled in local school
districts; change in Hispanic population from 1990-2000; percentage of
English Language Learners enrolled in local school districts; percentage
of schools with Free or Reduced Lunch Program (as determinant of
low-income families); and whether Partner organizations have a local
presence.
Partnership Events
Town Hall
A bilingual town hall meeting will be held in each city to allow
the partners to hear directly from community members about local
educational needs and to serve as a forum for educating the community
about NCLB. Panelists will respond to questions from the audience about
NCLB and other educational issues and concerns. In addition, WHI and
Department publications, as well as education-related Partner
publications, will be available for distribution at the event.
Participants in the events will include public officials, prominent
Hispanic role models, local business, community, and education leaders,
and Hispanic parents and students.
Education Conference
A one-day education conference will be held to educate community members
about NCLB, place the education tools for success into the hands of the
parents, and raise awareness about local and national programs available
to help Hispanic students in the area. The conference will be conducted
along with concurrent strands, each directed towards a different
stakeholder, such as students, parents, educators, education
administrators, and community and business leaders
Financial Aid Seminar
As part of the education conference, a financial aid seminar will be
held to inform middle and high school students and their parents about
saving for college and leveraging financial aid resources. Speakers will
include personnel from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of
Student Financial Aid, as well as independent experts. The objective of
the seminars will be to familiarize Hispanic students and their parents
with the process for securing financial aid resources.
Project Evaluation and Assessment
In upholding the spirit of NCLB accountability, the Partners in
Hispanic Education pilot program includes project evaluation and
assessment. Preliminary findings following a year of implementation will
allow the partners to make adjustments to existing programs for even
higher levels of success. Comprehensive evaluation will require an
initial measurement of defined variables before the education events and
a reassessment of the same variables after one year.
For more information contact NCCEP at 202-530-1135.
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