|
Welcome to Our Service Provider Section
|
Search |
May 11, 2009 by Jennifer Brandt
Filed under Education
More Latinos than previously assumed use public libraries in the United States, according to a new study, Latinos and Public Library Perceptions, sponsored by WebJunction in partnership with 40 state libraries and conducted by the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI). It also recommends how to draw more Latinos to libraries, stressing service, outreach, and user privacy.
A previous study by the American Library Association estimated Latino library use at 49 percent; the new study, based on a more representative sample of 2,860 Latino adults, reports 54 percent. Specifically, 1 percent reported daily visits, 11.2 percent reported weekly visits, and 17.8 percent reported monthly visits. Also, 9.7 percent reported visits every other month and 14.1 percent said they went to the library once or twice a year. However, 23.6 percent said they last went to a library more than a year ago and 22.5 percent said they’d never been to a library.
Drawing more users
While Latinos in the United States generally hold positive perceptions of libraries and value the availability of Spanish-language materials, more important is service. Latinos and Public Library Perceptions recommends that library workers get to know the local Latino community, to understand demographic diversity. Also, advertising in Spanish or via Spanish-language media should stress that the library is a place to learn English, via English-learning materials and children’s programs. (Nearly 47 percent of Latinos with less than a high school education had never been to a library.)
Since only 47 percent of Latinos who use the library for Internet access have such access at home or work, the availability of public access computers should be stressed. Finally, given that foreign-born Spanish-speakers—about half the adult Latino community—may worry that libraries reveal personal information, the report advises libraries to stress confidentiality in library public relations materials and also in Spanish-language signs and posters.
As with the larger population, frequency of Latino library visits is affected by sex, age, income, and education level; however, for Latinos, other factors include birthplace, generation in this country, and language preference. The strongest predictor of library visits among Latinos is English fluency.
Reasons to visit
Why do Latinos go to the library? Borrowing movies or music were the top reasons. Learning English was more of an influence than reading or borrowing books. Other strong lures were using the computer and taking children to the library.
First-generation immigrants disproportionately reported never attending the public library, according to the report, and second-generation immigrants, born in the United States to foreign-born parents, disproportionately reported going to the library less than once a year.
To see full article click here.
Source: The Library Journal
April 16, 2009 by Jennifer Brandt
Filed under Civic Participation, Education
Rosario Méndez, Hispanic outreach coordinator for the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection in Washington, D.C., said that a study by the FTC found that Hispanic consumers are twice as likely to be victims of fraud as non-Hispanic whites. And a new one-day survey of news media found hundreds of advertisements targeted to Hispanics that potentially could violate federal and state laws.
“ We’re looking for new opportunities to educate Latinos before they become victims,” Attorney General Rob McKenna said, “We recognize the advantage of coordinating with partners across all sectors, public, private and nonprofit, to be more effective. It’s a big job and a significant challenge, but together we can make a difference.”
Latinos may fall victim to fraud more often because of:
According to the study three out of the top four categories of fraud are related to credit. Consumers with high levels of debt are more likely to be victims of fraud, because they buy into credit repair scams.
Two resources that we trust here at Acceso Hispano to help clients fix their credit and help prevent foreclosure on their homes are:
Acorn Housinghotline 888-409-3557
and The National Foundation for Credit Counseling
English hotline 1-800-388-2227 Spanish Hotline 1-800-682-9832
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: Msnbc.msn.com
February 16, 2009 by Elizabeth Beachy
Filed under Education
By Carla Rivera, LA Times
LOS ANGELES– Three public schools in California led the nation in helping Latino students outperform their counterparts in other states on Advanced Placement exams in Spanish language, Spanish literature and world history, according to a report released Wednesday by the College Board.
Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach was cited as the public school with the largest number of Latino students from the class of 2008 earning a 3 or better in AP world history. Exams are scored on a scale of 1 to 5, and many colleges and universities give students course credit for scores of 3 or higher. Advanced Placement courses offer college-level material in a variety of subjects.
Latino students at Fontana High School outpaced their peers on the AP Spanish-language exam, and San Ysidro High School in San Diego had the most Latino students who succeeded on the AP Spanish literature exam.
Overall, 30.8% of California students in the class of 2008 took at least one AP exam during high school, compared with 25% nationwide. More than 20% of California students received a 3, 4 or 5 on at least one exam, ranking California sixth in the nation. Maryland ranked first, with 23.4% of its students achieving a 3 or better.
Miguel Solorio, a 2008 graduate of Wilson High who earned a 5 on the AP world history exam, said the courses were a good steppingstone to his studies at Cal State Long Beach. Solorio took nine AP courses and earned enough credits to place him as a junior in only his second semester in college.
“It’s a very good foundation of information if you take them seriously,” said Solorio, a history major. “I’m taking all upper-division classes, and in my Latin American nation class, for example, I already know about decolonization because of the AP world history class I took.”
One of the key criticisms of the AP program is that school districts in poor, urban areas have far fewer offerings than more affluent districts. Some private schools have dropped AP classes, creating similar courses instead that officials say are more challenging and less dependent on rote learning. But the College Board cites research that AP participants have better college grades and are much more likely to earn a college degree in four years.
Read full article
Source: LA Times
December 5, 2008 by Elizabeth Beachy
Filed under Education
In 2001 President George W. Bush designated the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans as the office that would provide staff support and assistance to the commission in its charge to examine the underlying causes of the existing education achievement gap between Hispanic American students and their peers.
The White House Initiative staff, originally designed as a support network for the President’s Advisory Commission, works to enhance education awareness and access for Latino students and their families and improve academic achievement for all Hispanic Americans.
The Initiative provides a host of resources on their website, along with tips for parents and educators at each educational level (elementary, high school, college and beyond).
November 20, 2008 by Elizabeth Beachy
Filed under Education
The National Center for Children in Poverty at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health recently published a study funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation that highlights the importance of addressing chronic absence in kindergarten and primary school, to improve educational outcomes in the later grades.
According to the report’s authors, “At the core of school improvement and education reform is an assumption so widely understood that it is rarely invoked: students have to be present and engaged in order to learn. That is why the discovery that thousands of our youngest students are academically at-risk because of extended absences when they first embark upon their school careers is as remarkable as it is consequential.”
They continue with a call to action for all teachers and parents: “Schools and communities have a choice: we can work together early on to ensure families get their children to class consistently or we can pay later for failing to intervene before problems are more difficult and costly to ameliorate.”
“…During the early elementary years, children are gaining basic social and academic skills critical to ongoing academic success. Unless students attain these essential skills by third grade, they require extra help to catch up and are at grave risk for eventually dropping out of school.”
If you are already a member, and have had any changes in your organization, like contact, phone number, address or services provided, please update your information.
Newest ListingsHelp us receive a US$50,000 donation from the Pepsi Refresh project by voting for our cause every day during May. Thanks for your support!
Refer your clients to our toll-free
bilingual helpline
1-800-473-3003
Loading ...
Find all articles published so far.
Help us reach those in need
