Cultural Opinions on Hispanics According to an article by Fox News on January, 2013, Latino high school graduation rates have

gone up 10 percent. According to the report done by the National Center for Education Statistics, Hispanic students graduated at a rate of 71 percent in 2010 (Garcia, 2013). This is a large increase from 61 percent from 2006. According to the article, while Latinos are performing better, the numbers are also up because more people are identifying themselves as Hispanic. Here is the article: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2013/01/22/latino-highschool-graduation-rates-up-10/

I found these facts about the people of the Dominican Republic concerning education: In a 2008 study of academic achievement for 3rd and 6th grade students in 16 Latin American countries, the Dominican Republic came in dead last in the areas of math, reading and science. Dominican Republic Preschool Enrollment is around 32%. The Dominican Republics public investment in education is 2.3% of their gross domestic product, which ranks 122nd out of 132 countries. Around 85% of poor Dominican parents have never completed primary education. For every 100 Dominican children entering formal education, only 75 complete grade 4; 63 complete grade 6 and only 52 complete the 8-year primary level. This situation is even worse in rural areas where most schools stop at grade 5. The Dominican Republic was ranked 101 out of 177 countries in terms of literacy. The Dominican Republic high school enrollment rate is 61% The primary school dropout rate in the Dominican Republic is 14%. Only 12% of low-income students who start high school will complete their studies, compared to 62% of those from higher income brackets in the DR.

http://dominicandream.org/about/facts

I can see why so many families are deciding to come to America to get a better education for their DR children. Becoming more educated is a goal for many DR students that I have dealt with and they would have not ben able to achieve it in their own country.

There is also no doubt that the Hispanic population continues to increase in the United States. This means major changes in many areas of the economy including unemployment, healthcare, and insurance. Many minority groups including Hispanics are not carrying insurance, keeping steady employment, or getting the healthcare necessary to keep families from contracting illnesses. This is another great article with further information about the economic impact of Hispanics in America: http://www.jec.senate.gov/public/?a=Files.Serve&File_id=7a08df2f-2485-422d-806e0c239bebab5a

The American Dream for many is becoming employed and living a normal life with a home and a family. For many Americans, Hispanics portray a negative cultural stigma of living off the government and carrying ACCESS cards from 3 different states. Although I have seen this negative situation in my area, I have also met many great Hispanic families that work hard and provide for their families in an honest way without relying on the government for dishonest assistance. Being in a school district where Caucasian students are a minority, it more important now than ever to instill the importance of education and honest living when the students leave the public school system. I encourage Hispanic students to do their best and choose to stay in school to be someone who can contribute to society.