The right message

Latino groups stress importance of education

The lagging scores of many Latino pupils on Massachusetts’ standardized achievement tests are prompting community organizations across the state to step up their involvement in education.

The trend is welcome.

Speaking at the annual meeting of Centro las Americas in Worcester, Antonia Jimenez, former chief financial officer in the Executive Office of Education, stressed that high-stakes testing means Latino parents and community leaders cannot afford to “sit on the sidelines.”

Parents and active groups in 18 communities already are forming committees to address the issue. Each will develop and work toward three to five measurable achievement goals for Latino pupils.

Jimenez cautioned the old ways of doing things won’t wash. “One of the goals will not be bilingual education, because of the perception that bilingual is the only subject Latinos are concerned about,” she said.

Indeed, it would be counterproductive to get bogged down in a divisive, politically provocative rehash of that well-worn issue.

If the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test results proved anything, it is that “transitional bilingual education” in Massachusetts has fallen far short of giving Latino children the educational preparation they will need to succeed.

It is encouraging that the impetus for the heightened involvement Jimenez endorsed appears to be coming from Latino parents, business people and community leaders. After all, they are the major stakeholders in the children’s education.

That involvement promises to produce new, productive ideas and sends the right message about the importance of education.



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