In the K-12 public
education
system, there are about
14.1 million Hispanic students
. The Latino student population in the U.S. is booming, but our system is ill-prepared to support the specific needs of this community.
According to a survey conducted by Conoce tus Opciones Escolares,
64.6% of Latino parents
have considered switching their children to a different school in the last year. That number has grown since January 2022, when a different survey asked the same question and 52% of Hispanic parents admitted they were looking for other options.
Unfortunately, many Hispanic parents were and still are not aware of the opportunities available to them.
It is no secret that Latino families face extra challenges in the country,
from pay gaps
to high
dropout rates among high school students
. It’s even difficult to enroll their children into the education system in the first place, thanks in large part to the language barrier.
The lack of access to effective education hurts the most vulnerable students in the Hispanic community: immigrant children and children living below poverty lines. Last year’s
National Assessment of Education Progress
proved as much. Even though students across the country experienced a historic drop in test scores, according to the report, black and Hispanic students fared worse than any other group.
School choice policies are the key to making sure
Hispanic
students close the achievement gap and thrive in the education system. It’s also a way to make sure families feel comfortable sending their children off to school every day. Safety is a legitimate concern for many parents. In fact, a Pew Research survey last October found that
about a third of K-12 parents
are very or extremely worried about safety at their children’s school.
I understand this firsthand. A few years ago, when faced with a potential violent threat at my children’s school, our family decided that our sons were not to attend that school until the threat was completely removed. We transferred them to a private school until the safety threat was resolved, and now I realize how fortunate we were to be able to do so. Through the whole process, it was clear to me that feeling safe in a school was a privilege.
School choice could change that — but first, the Hispanic community needs to be educated on what school choice is, what it means for their families, and the potential it has to help their children succeed.
That’s why last fall, we launched an innovative and unique project called Conoce tus Opciones Escolares, which seeks to help Hispanic and Spanish-speaking parents understand the K-12 system and the school choice options available to them. Through dozens of direct one-on-one conversations with parents, we realized how few resources there are out there for parents who need help understanding and navigating the education system. We have talked with frustrated and, on occasion, hopeless parents who feel relief to know someone can help them with everything from enrollment in public schools to guidance on applying for scholarships.
School choice
is not a magical solution, but we believe it opens a range of possibilities that can improve a family’s life. Every student deserves an education that adjusts to their individual needs, and every family, regardless of their background or native tongue, deserves the chance to find that education for themselves.
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Krissia Campos Spivey is a Salvadoran American and mother, and the director of Conoce tus Opciones Escolares, a project of the National School Choice Awareness Foundation, which helps U.S. families who speak Spanish explore their K-12 education options and choose a great school for their children.
