La Opinión Launches ‘Newspaper in Education’ Program.

La Opinión announced the launch of its ‘Newspaper in Education’ Program to benefit thousands of students. The program will begin in September 2005 and is a cooperative effort between the newspaper, corporate sponsors and school districts within the Southern California area.

“We are very proud of our ongoing work in the community, and especially our focus on education. This program will target our youth and provide them with an informative, educational and entertaining tool where they can learn about the world, their community and the issues that affect their lives, said Monica Lozano, La Opinión Publisher and CEO. “Our newspaper’s mission is to provide resources that improve the lives of our readers and our community. We are pleased with the response we have received from local schools who see us as a key partner in improving the educational achievement levels of Latino youth.”

La Curacao, ranked among the top 100 electronics and appliance retailers in the US, has signed up as the programs charter sponsor. “We are thrilled to be a part of La Opinión’s Newspapers in Education program,” said Ruth Garcia, Advertising & Marketing Manager for La Curacao. “Not only is it an important educational program but it is also an excellent way to reach Hispanic youths.”

According to the California Department of Education, Hispanic children have the highest percent of enrollment in the state of California with forty-six percent. In Los Angeles, the Hispanic student population is even more significant with more than sixty percent of total enrollment. Additionally, surrounding school districts in Southern California such as Orange County, San Bernardino, Ventura and San Diego all have Hispanic student enrolments of over forty percent.

The ‘Newspaper in Education’ Program is a partnership between La Opinión, corporate sponsors, Southern California area school districts, educators and the community. A critical program goal is to offer the paper in the classroom with a structured curriculum that meets state educational standards. La Opinión has partnered with two well respected educators to develop the curriculum: Martha Montoya, for the elementary and junior high program and Barbara Neder for the high school program. Montoya is Founder and President of Los Kitos, is an award winning bi-lingual comic strip that is syndicated to over 200 newspapers across the country. Neder has extensive experience in developing curriculum with more than 20 years in the education and literacy arena.