Latinos Shifting Black-White Paradigm in Memphis Schools
By Stan Washington, New America Media
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Hispanic parents in this city care about the education of their children just as much as any other ethnic group, declared one Hispanic mother, Marta Lopez, during a recent town hall discussion on education.
Lopez, who works at a local school, said there is a false stereotype that Hispanic parents in Memphis aren’t engaged in their children’s schooling. There are some parents who may be reluctant to involve themselves in school life because of language barriers, she said, but that is changing.
“In the last couple years, I’ve seen a lot more Hispanic parents stepping up and playing more of a role in their children’s education,” said Lopez. “We’re not just sitting back in the corner waiting on someone to do something for our families, for our kids. We are actually stepping forward.”
Lopez was among a number of concerned parents who participated in a recent town hall meeting on education, co-sponsored by New America Media and Latino Memphis, a nonprofit agency that advocates for the Hispanic community in the greater Memphis area. The parents expressed a number of concerns about their children’s education to an audience of local teacher’s groups, PTA organizations, education advocates and local media.
The parents came looking for answers and assistance in navigating a school system that is currently very much
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Hispanic parents in this city care about the education of their children just as much as any other ethnic group, declared one Hispanic mother, Marta Lopez, during a recent town hall discussion on education.
Lopez, who works at a local school, said there is a false stereotype that Hispanic parents in Memphis aren’t engaged in their children’s schooling. There are some parents who may be reluctant to involve themselves in school life because of language barriers, she said, but that is changing.“In the last couple years, I’ve seen a lot more Hispanic parents stepping up and playing more of a role in their children’s education,” said Lopez. “We’re not just sitting back in the corner waiting on someone to do something for our families, for our kids. We are actually stepping forward.”
Lopez was among a number of concerned parents who participated in a recent town hall meeting on education, co-sponsored by New America Media and Latino Memphis, a nonprofit agency that advocates for the Hispanic community in the greater Memphis area. The parents expressed a number of concerns about their children’s education to an audience of local teacher’s groups, PTA organizations, education advocates and local media.
The parents came looking for answers and assistance in navigating a school system that is currently very much
SXSWEdu: Ideas, Change and Latino – Focused Thinking Spaces
By Jason Llorenz, LIN@R
“Can I tell you about my idea? I think this stuff is going to be revolutionary!” Asks an entrepreneur in her mid-20s roaming the halls of SXSWedu in Austin, Texas, with an idea for a mobile app and cloud-based ecosystem that could help K-12 teachers better serve English language learner students.
The digital divide has morphed into today’s significant “techpreneur” gap, where Latinos and African American entrepreneurs combined claimed only about 2% of startup investment dollars as recently as last year. Access to SXSW and its unique collaboration spaces is an important way of closing that gap. This year Latinos in Tech Innovation and Social Media (LATISM) is hosting a casita of Latino techpreneurs with a prototype, working, dedicated team, and an overriding focus on their startup.
“Can I tell you about my idea? I think this stuff is going to be revolutionary!” Asks an entrepreneur in her mid-20s roaming the halls of SXSWedu in Austin, Texas, with an idea for a mobile app and cloud-based ecosystem that could help K-12 teachers better serve English language learner students.The digital divide has morphed into today’s significant “techpreneur” gap, where Latinos and African American entrepreneurs combined claimed only about 2% of startup investment dollars as recently as last year. Access to SXSW and its unique collaboration spaces is an important way of closing that gap. This year Latinos in Tech Innovation and Social Media (LATISM) is hosting a casita of Latino techpreneurs with a prototype, working, dedicated team, and an overriding focus on their startup.SXSWedu also features spaces for thinking about Latinos, technology and innovation. The session moderated and organized by this author, “Mobile Technology and