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Initiative on Educational Excellence |
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In Collaboration with the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence:
The 3rd Regional Conference of the Partnership for Hispanic Family Learning and 9th Latino Summit |
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Did you know that across the country…? |
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| Hispanics now account for 19% of K-12 students enrolled in our public schools? |
| Nearly 80% of English language learners in our schools are native Spanish-speakers? |
| Only 48% of Hispanic male students graduate from high school compared to 71% of white males? |
| Foreign-born Hispanics account for more than 25% of all students who drop out of school in the U.S.? |
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| The Latin American Association is pleased to announce that this year, we will be co-presenting our 9th Latino Summit together with the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. Entitled "The 3rd Regional Conference of the Partnership for Hispanic Family Learning and 9th Latino Summit," this significant event will also involve the collaboration of the Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education at the University of Georgia, Georgia Afterschool Investment Council, Georgia Department of Education, Junior Achievement, and Target Market Trends. |
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| The 2007 Summit, which is expected to have a national reach, will bring together a wide range of experts from across the country to discuss the common goal of raising Latino student achievement. The conference will highlight successful efforts both on the national and local levels, and focus on strategies for closing the Latino achievement gap through family and community involvement. Panelists will address issues of Latino education at all levels, from early education programs to post-secondary opportunities. Informational sessions will include a discussion of the President’s "Good Start, Grow Smart" initiative, a program designed to transform existing early education programs into centers of excellence that provide high-quality early education to young children, especially those from low-income families. In addition, the No Child Left Behind initiative and its impact on Latino students will be addressed in depth through a series of breakout sessions on different aspects of the legislation. |
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| The role of the family will be also addressed through an examination of ways organizations are currently collaborating with schools to increase family involvement and improve educational outcomes, as there is considerable evidence that parent involvement leads to improved student achievement, better school attendance, and reduced dropout rates. The last day of the Summit will be focused on Latino families and will offer special parent workshops so that parents can explore these issues in depth. There will be student sessions as well. |
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| This conference is focused on closing the achievement gap for Latino students. It brings together national experts, best practices and opportunities for collaboration across sectors and across the country. "It is a privilege to be able to collaborate with the White House Initiative on Hispanic Family Learning and we recognize our local partners in this effort, Georgia Department of Education, Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education at the University of Georgia (CLASE), Georgia After School Investment Council, Junior Achievement, and Target Market Trends who are committed to address such a critical issue." |
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We hope that you will join us!
For more information please call (404) 638-1815. |
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From the
Director |
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Recently I was passing through our family services department and began a conversation with one of our caseworkers. A young man approached her door, hesitating to interrupt our conversation. We paused for a moment as he said, "Do you remember me?" I did remember him--he had been one of the participants in our youth summer program two years earlier. What he said next was a reminder that we have to think beyond short-term program results. He said, "I just wanted you to see me…and to tell you that in case you don’t think you are making a difference, you are." He had been working since his high school graduation to save enough money to begin attending Perimeter College in January. "We are making something of ourselves and I thought it was important for you to know," he said, speaking on behalf of those who had participated in the summer program with him. Can you think of anything more meaningful to hear from a student whose odds of success were not the greatest when he first came through our doors?
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| But this young man is not the only one with this kind of story. |
| A couple of months earlier I saw another young man who had been in our programs. He was waiting in our employment department hoping to find a second job so that he could afford to begin his college career in 2007. These are students, very typical in the Latino community, who have no one else to help them pay for or plan for their future. They rely on self-determination and perseverance, and they don’t allow others to take away the most valuable asset they will gain to help them achieve their dreams–an education. |
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Every day we are concerned with analyzing, measuring and documenting the outcomes and impact of our programs so that we can show a return on investment to our funders. But the seeds we sow now are also producing benefits that we cannot measure at the end of the school year or at the end of the summer. They are the long-lasting effects of really caring about and nurturing our children. |
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| | I hope the New Year brings continued success and opportunity to our inspiring youth. This year, the LAA renews its commitment to work with other organizations to improve Latino youths’ chances for success with events such as the 9th Annual Latino Summit, co-presented with the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, and our 8th Annual Latino Youth Leadership Conference, which in its seventh edition brought together over 1,200 students, parents and teachers from all over the state. With these events we aim to help close the Latino achievement gap through family and community involvement. These are just a sample of the many ways we will work together this year to help young people create a brighter future for themselves. |
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Thank you for your part in all of this. Our best wishes in 2007. |
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Corporate Partner: Mundo Hispánico |
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Strategic media partnerships are an essential piece to any nonprofit’s success. Over the years, the LAA’s relationship with Cox Enterprises, specifically the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Mundo Hispánico–the popular metro-Atlanta Spanish language newspaper-has proven to be an important part of our success and growth. Annually, they contribute over $115,000 in valuable publicity to support the LAA’s mission. |
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Mundo Hispánico has helped us reach out to a rapidly increasing Latino population in metro Atlanta. Together we raise awareness of important issues many Latinos face and promote solutions that benefit the entire community. |
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Each year, Mundo Hispánico supports the LAA by donating media space; sponsoring annual events such as Latin Fever, Career Expo, Youth Leadership Conference, Housing Fair and the Compañeros Awards Luncheon; and by working closely with our staff to provide guidance advertising, event and media planning. |
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Additionally, Mundo Hispánico generously provides regular opportunities for our staff to publish educational articles on topics such as fraud prevention, fair housing and homeownership. We also are proud to contribute to their "Pasos: Steps to a Better Life" – a weekly how-to magazine that helps people make the most of living in Atlanta. |
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Speaking to the success of our relationship, Raúl Trujillo, sales and marketing director for Mundo Hispánico, has been a member of the planning team for our annual Latin Fever Ball for four years. "My family has a long history of involvement with the LAA, beginning with my grandmother, Amparo York, when the organization was first founded. It is an honor to continue that legacy by working closely with the LAA. I am proud to support them in making Atlanta’s Hispanic community better every day." |
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Faces: Heidy Lough |
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"Knowledge, skill and heart--those are the three things that we need to do our job," says Heidy Lough, Director of Family Services and Youth Programs at the LAA. Heidy should know, because she processes all of these gifts and brings all three of to her work at the LAA.
Heidy earned a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from her home country of Colombia, where she had a private practice for three years, and is currently studying for her Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling here in Atlanta. "I am interested in why people are the way they are, why people are so different. The human mind is fascinating to me. Humans are the most fascinating things are earth," she says. |
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Heidy has used her knowledge of individuals and their needs to grow the family services department, which now includes ten programs currently offered to individuals, parents, couples, and youth. As Heidy points out, there are now programs that provide services to people at all points in their lives--from newborns to senior citizens. "It doesn’t matter what stage you are in life," she says, "You can come to the family services department and there is a program for you." |
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Under Heidy’s direction, programs have been developed that teach parents to have a greater sense of responsibility toward raising their children. "Hispanic fathers, in particular," Heidy says, "understand their role as provider for the family, but learn that they also need to be emotionally available. The programs also help to change their concept about their wives, so the husbands become more caring and intimate. This reduces child abuse and neglect as well as family violence." |
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Heidy’s skills in working with individuals in crisis are especially valuable in the family services department. "We work with the clients with the biggest needs," she says. "Nobody comes in because they are happy and stable. We have clients in crisis situations every day. I am able to stabilize them, to close the door and talk to them. They calm down and that way they are able to make better decisions." |
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But more than anything, it is Heidy’s compassion and desire to help others that makes her so successful in her work. "I love being here," she says. "I love to see how a person who comes here with their life in pieces can become, in a few months, a stronger person, a person who has decided to be a better person. It really shows—they are around their children more, they are happier and more productive. But she doesn’t take all the credit. "I have the best team in the world," says Heidy. "All of them are passionate about their work and compassionate. They really put their hearts in everything they do. They really care about each person that walks in here." |
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Partnership in Action: City of Norcross |
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Few instances illustrate the great power of partnerships better than the LAA outreach centers. LAA has been working with this model since 2005 to put the organization’s programs and services right where clients need them–in their own communities. This model has helped LAA leverage relationships with the local governments and business community, and to solidify program partnerships for the benefit of our clients. |
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One of our newest partners in this successful model is the City of Norcross. LAA entered this private/public partnership in 2006, when the city’s officials offered to lease a property to the LAA that otherwise would have been demolished. Since then, the two organizations have worked closely together and brought corporate sponsorship and volunteer support into the mix to renovate the property in Norcross’s historic downtown district, which will serve as a new LAA community outreach center. This center will leverage funding and program partners to provide high quality services to the local community. It is a wonderful opportunity to expand LAA’s capacity to serve the growth in demand for its services. The new site is located in downtown Norcross at 128 Lawrenceville Street, Norcross, Georgia 30071. |
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"As the demand for programs such as ‘Mami y Yo’, our early learning initiative, continue to grow, we are thankful to be able to join with partners such as the City of Norcross in responding to those needs," said Maritza Pichon, LAA Executive Director. "This move is the continuation of LAA’s commitment to building alliances with local government, the faith based community, the business sector and high quality program partners to promote community engagement and the best environment for children to succeed. We are proud to be a partner with the City of Norcross in this effort." Speaking on behalf of the City of Norcross, Warren Hutmacher, City Administrator commented: "We are excited to be a small part of the exciting efforts of the LAA. Norcross is a diverse community. We have made a conscious choice to embrace our diversity. This new outreach center will assist us in engaging young people and involving all of our citizens in the community. We are looking at the opening of this outreach center as a first step in a long term and critical relationship with the LAA. We are glad they chose to be in Norcross." |
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The LAA has been serving Gwinnett’s Latino community since 1990 through its outreach centers, most recently located in Tucker. The new location is close to the future community center and auditorium, allowing for an increase in capacity for the programs and educational classes that the organization offers, including English as a Second Language, citizenship, and parenting classes. |
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