Majority/Near-Majority of First Graders in Top Ten U.S. Cities are Latino.

Latino children now constitute a majority or near majority of first graders in nine of the nation’s largest cities, according to analysis conducted by the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) at the University of Southern California. In cities such as Los Angeles and Dallas, the percentage of Hispanic first graders is even higher – three out of four first graders in these school districts are Latino (see Table). In 2020, this demographic wave of Latino first graders will graduate from high school and enter collegiate education or the labor market.

“The future is now in terms of challenges presented to school districts across the nation by this influx of Latino youth,” stated Harry Pachon, President of TRPI and professor of public policy at the University of Southern California. “A large percentage of these students are U.S. citizens by birth,” Pachon continued. “Paradoxically, our public schools are in the unusual position of teaching English to native born American children.”
Columbia Professor Rodolfo de la Garza and Vice President of Research at the TRPI observed, “This is a profound demographic change, which provides a challenge for American education, just as European immigrants created a new foundation for New York through their ambition to excel and succeed. Latinos, if provided support and respect, will be in a position to strengthen our cities and our nation.”

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