should be expected to become interculturally competent. Professional training programs must demonstrate that the curriculum is preparing educators to meet the needs of today’s Church and society vis-à-vis cultural diversity. Arch/dioceses can offer ongoing formation programs that introduce Catholic school personnel to Hispanic culture and religiosity. Bilingual leaders and teachers are vital to serve in a Church that in many regions, especially the regions where it is growing faster, is a de facto bilingual and bicultural reality. A very small percentage of principals, and an even smaller percentage of teachers and board members identified in this study, are Hispanic. This reality calls for critical conversations: how do we support the capable work of current Catholic school leaders and teachers as they welcome more Hispanic families? How can we be certain that the next generation of Catholic school personnel is prepared to serve well in an increasingly Hispanic Church? Who is developing the required resources and programs for Catholic school leaders and teachers? How will the leadership of the Church work with Hispanic families to partner with leaders and teachers to build a stronger Catholic school experience?
Working Together for Change
Because Catholic education remains deeply rooted in the life of the Church, now is the time for Catholic bishops to intensify their efforts in partnering with Catholic universities and other organizations to address the challenges just described. Given the current demographic realities, investment and support must be established for leadership programs that attract educators and school leaders who are bilingual and bicultural, and in particular those who are Hispanic. Also, this is the time to seriously assess traditional school governance structures, expand board recruitment strategies, and craft inclusive planning agendas emphasizing the educational needs of school-age Hispanic children. This may well establish a new set of priorities for the Church in the United States and for further university research and programming. ■
Questions for Dialogue and Reflection
1. What must your school, parish, dioceses or organization do cultivate Catholic school teachers and administrators who are Hispanic and/or bilingual?
2. How can we collaborate with our Catholic schools to develop cultures in them that are sincerely welcoming to Hispanic families and students?
3. What do you think about the unique value of two-way immersion Catholic schools? Name a few strategies to communicate the good news about this model in your own professional and ministerial circles.
Section II: Students and Their Families
“Partnership between a Catholic school and the families of the students must continue and be strengthened: not simply to be able to deal with academic problems that may arise, but rather so that the educational goals of the school can be achieved.”
—Congregation for Catholic Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School (1988), n. 42
Hispanic Students in the United States
Ninety-three percent of all Hispanic/Latinos younger than 18 were born in the United States.
The vast majority of Hispanic students are enrolled in public schools. National data indicates that 96% of all school-age Hispanic children attend public schools, just over 2% are enrolled in Catholic schools, and 1.5% attend private, non-Catholic schools.
FIGURE 3
DISTRIBUTION OF K–12 HISPANIC STUDENTS IN THE U.S. BY SCHOOL TYPE
Hispanic Students in Public Schools
Based on estimates from the National Center for Education Statistics, 25% of students enrolled in public schools during the 2013–14 school year identified as Hispanic. Specifically, Hispanics comprised almost 12.5 million of approximately 50 million public school students.37
In most individual states the percentage of students who self-identify as Hispanic is higher in public schools than in Catholic schools,38 except for eight states: Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Maine, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Such was the case during the academic year 2012–13 for which most recent complete state-level data is available. Florida is the state where this reality is more prominent: 35% of Catholic school students are Hispanic compared to 29% of students in public schools.
FIGURE 4
HISPANIC CHILDREN ENROLLED IN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
Sources: 1) Gray, Mark M. (2014, June). Catholic Schools in the United States in the 21st Century: Importance in Church Life, Challenges, and Opportunities. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University. 2) McDonald, D. & Schultz, M.M. (2014). United States Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools 2013–14: The Annual Statistical Report on Schools, Enrollment and Staffing.
Note: Numbers are approximations.
Poverty Among Hispanic Children is Real
In the 2014 report America's Hispanic Children, the. Child Trends Hispanic Institute provides troubling statistics about the economic condition of Hispanic children in the United States. The report notes that 62% of Hispanic children live in low-income families, approximately one-third live in poverty, and one-in-eight lives in deep poverty. More than one-third of Hispanic children live in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty.39 Only 11% of non-Hispanic white children live at or below the poverty level.
Family Life
Most Hispanic children live in low-income households. The majority (58%) live with parents who are married. Fifty-nine percent share home-cooked meals with their families at least seven times per week, which is a higher percentage compared to non-Hispanic whites, blacks, and the U.S. population as a whole. Seven out of 10 Hispanic children have at least one parent who is employed fulltime throughout the year.40
Language
Eighty-seven percent of school-age Hispanic children speak only English at home or speak English very well. Among foreign-born Hispanic school-age children the proportion is 70%.
Hispanic Adults Raising Hispanic Children
Among Hispanics between the ages of 20 and 49, 51% are U.S. born and 49% are immigrants.
More than 60% of Hispanic adults 18 and older say that they only speak English at home or speak English very well. English language proficiency drops by half among foreign-born Hispanic adults: only 32% report the same level of English language ability.41
Six in 10 Hispanic adults ages 25 and older have earned a high school degree or less. Approximately one in four has an associate’s degree or attended some college, and 14% hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.42
As of 2013, Hispanic adults 18 and older self-identified with the following religious traditions: Catholic: 55%, Protestant: up to 21% (16% Evangelical/Pentecostal; 5% mainline), Non-religiously affiliated: 18%, Other Christian: 3%, and Other: 1%.43
Hispanic Catholic Students
More than half of all school-age Catholics in the
