It is sobering that our legislators have not yet shared in the worry for the future of our more than 13,000 Hispanic students in kindergarten through fourth grade - one-fourth of all K-12 Latino students - who are more than likely to test below basic levels in reading and math when they reach the fourth grade.
According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 58 percent and 56 percent of Latino students in Utah tested below basic levels in reading and math, respectively, in 2003. And most of the enrollment growth in our elementary schools is attributed to those same very young Latinos. The Utah State Office of Education shows that 73 percent of the three-year enrollment growth between 2001 and 2003 came from mostly U.S.-born children of Latino parents.
Therefore, it would seem obvious that beyond the anxious calls for Latino role models, Latino college students and Latino public servants, the means to secure a future educated community is to commit to improving the performance of failing Latino students.
Amazingly, however, a blissful peace prevails among stakeholders, especially between legislators and the education establishment. Colleges and universities progress marginally to meet diversity quotas from high school selections that are severely eroded by the high Latino dropout rate. Advocates and community groups are content with the small crop of private and public scholarships that continue to be inefficiently harvested by the same eroded pool of graduates.
And public officials continue to pursue only politically viable programs that (by definition) will not endow long-term strategic remedies. This self-serving harmony nurtures an educational status quo, and those stakeholders are further lulled into complacency by the media's regular coverage of the state's comparatively good performance.
A case in point was the recent Las Llaves Del xito education fair, the well-intended "Keys to Success" Hispanic seminar. It was plainly absent of any effort to address elementary-level performance. Other than the murmured mantra of more parental involvement, nothing was offered to improve fourth-grade reading and math.
At the opening gala dinner some 50 Latino high school students were singled out for recognition while notable speakers underscored the rich Hispanic heritage in our state's education. They also offered tired stories of individuals overcoming the circumstantial odds to a higher education. It was a well-organized resource and cheerleading event for our Latino community, but yet another lost opportunity to air the education predicament of our youngest and most precious resource.
Reading below basic level in the fourth grade is (a) a severely limiting condition that cannot be treated without rigorous intervention, that (b) puts students on the path to becoming functionally illiterate and (c) this dynamic will ultimately weaken the social fabric.
The task of intervention, however, is daunting. Thousands of students need to be extracted from regular curricula and given special help, creating demands on schools that are likely to be extraordinary if not prohibitive.
No proposition exists to improve early Hispanic performance, and none is likely so long as the negligent peace among lawmakers and educators prevails.
The larger picture of the future is a vigorous, strong and diverse community. But we continue to undermine this future by neglecting the educational needs of 10,000 young Latinos in this generation of elementary students.
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Gonzalo Palza is a Latino entrepreneur, SCORE counselor, Latino advocate and member of the Governor's Hispanic Advisory Council.
