Presidential Commission on Hispanic Education Points to Promise of ENLACE Initiative

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s ENLACE initiative was singled out in a new report by the President’s Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. The report, From Risk to Opportunity, Fulfilling the Educational Needs of Hispanic Americans in the 21st Century, lauds ENLACE as a promising program that addresses the need to set higher expectations of success for Latino students.

In the report, ENLACE is called “a promising program that demonstrates proactive participation in educational issues.” The initiative focuses on Latino access to and success in college by:

Strengthening selected Hispanic-serving institutions of higher education, public schools, and community-based organizations to serve as catalysts and models for systemic change in education.

Supporting higher education/community partnerships that increase community involvement and academic success among Hispanic students.

Supporting the creation and/or implementation of education models based on research-proven best practices that increase high school retention and college enrollment and improve students’ academic performance and graduation rates.

Facilitating the expansion and sustainability of successful academic enrichment and community engagement programs through strategic planning, networking, leadership development, and policy efforts.

Disseminating to key stakeholders within Hispanic communities information about effective programs, models, and educational strategies in order to stimulate changes in policies and practices related to the education of Hispanics.

“We are encouraged by the commission’s findings and recommendations to President Bush,” said Miguel Satut, the Foundation’s lead program director for ENLACE. “It is our hope that this report will not only increase awareness of the current state of Latino education in the United States, but also raise the participation level in solutions as well.”

The ENLACE initiative seeks to increase the number of Latino graduates from high school and college by weaving a path of success from elementary school to college. Meaning link or weave in Spanish, ENLACE is made up of 13 partnerships of universities and colleges, K-12 schools, and community oranizations in seven states. Those states include Florida, New York, Illinois, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. For more information, see www.wkkf.org/ENLACE. For the full commission report, see www.yic.gov.