Hispanic students are continuing to succeed in schools across the nation, according to a new report.

According to a report from America’s Hispanic Children, “preschool participation, academic achievement, and high school graduation rates are rising for America’s growing population of Hispanic students, who continue to trail their white peers in many areas of academic success,” said an article on DistrictAdministration.com.

“It’s a growing population of children in the country, and there is diversity within the population that we need to understand as well,” said Tamara Halle, a senior Child Trends researcher who studies early childhood education and dual-language learners. “They are coming from different regions and backgrounds—it’s not a homogenous group.”

To close the gap between Hispanic students, “we need to train educators in the changing demographics of the classroom, and in the research-based practices to support these students,” Halle said. “This includes more ELL training, and developing assessments that measure the skills of ELLs.”

Teachers “can also adopt instructional practices to develop students’ literacy in their first and second languages,” Halle said. “For example, teachers can strengthen relationships with and between their students when they use a child’s primary language.”

“A teacher doesn’t have to be fluent in Spanish—it could be as simple as using a word or two in the child’s home language to make that connection with the child,” Halle said.

According to data released by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, “racial minorities including Hispanics remain more likely than white students to be suspended from school and to be taught by less experienced teachers; minorities also have fewer opportunities to take rigorous math and science classes.”

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Article by Kassondra Granata, Education World Contributor