WASHINGTON ― Leaders from Excelencia in Education and Congress, as well as the business and foundation world, discussed the crucial role that Hispanic and Latinos will play in shaping the nations’ future at a roundtable discussion Thursday.
“Every 10 years we confront the fact that Latinos are the second-largest community in this country, that the population continues to increase, and that by 2060 Latinos are projected to represent 31 percent of the total U.S. population,” said Excelencia President Sarita E. Brown, whose organization is commemorating 10 years of work to improve Hispanic and Latino educational outcomes.
Brown referred to data from Excelencia’s as of yet unreleased 2014 Factbook, The Condition of Latinos in Education. Factbook data are derived from a number of sources, such as the National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.
The good news is that overall, more Latinos are in the K-12 system and are going on to college.
“We are looking at a Latino participation in K-12 that is roughly 24 percent, projected to be 30 percent by 2023,” Brown said. “Looking at the data, there has been ― this is very good news ― an increase in Latino college-going. In terms of the increase over the last 10 years, 2004-2013, [it has been a] 71 percent increase, from 3.8 million to 6.5 million.”
