The Hill, September 14, 2016: (Op-Ed) Closing the Gap

“While there are many obstacles facing our education system as a whole, issues such as poverty and English language proficiency have a particular impact on Latino children. Statistics show children in low-income households miss more days of school than their more affluent peers, largely as a result of increased responsibilities such as needing to work or care for family members. On average, impoverished children have smaller vocabularies, below average reading skills and lower test scores. Economic status also impacts the family dynamic, which is directly correlated to educational success. These families have less time and fewer resources to spend educating their children, who, as a result, are less likely to be academically successful and more likely to exhibit behavioral issues. The biggest obstacle to educational achievement for Latinos is the English language barrier. More than 20 percent of California public school students are English language learners, with nearly 84 percent of those students speaking Spanish. Furthermore, nearly 60 percent of children who are English language learners are from low-income families; this combination exacerbates the difficulties in obtaining educational success.”