1. Increasing Latino Enrollment in Our Catholic Schools
October 28, 2014

2. Hispanic Recruitment Initiative
Catholic Schools Foundation, Boston
Background
Results
Strategies

3. Step One: Outreach/Relationship Building
HRI Strategies
Step One: Outreach/Relationship Building
Understand Your Community Demographics
Build Community Bridges
Reach Out to and Inform New Parents
Step Two: Admissions
Provide Enrollment Assistance
Track and Follow up in Spanish
Step Three: Retention
Offer Family Support
Celebrate Culture

4. Understand your Community Demographics
Know your community
Keep track of demographic trends
Identify growing immigrant communities
Step One: Outreach/Relationship Building

5. Where to Find Resources
U.S. Census; census.gov
Topics  Population  Hispanic Origins
Pew Research Hispanic Trends Project; pewhispanic.org
“Mapping the Latino Population, By State, County and City” by Anna Brown and Mark Hugo Lopez
Masses, local stores, and advertisements
Step One: Outreach/Relationship Building

6. Latinos are the nation’s largest minority group and among its fastest growing populations.
The Latino population in 2012 was 53 million, making up 17% of the U.S. population.
Latino population growth between and 2010 accounted for more than half of the nation’s population growth.
Brown & Lopez, 2013
Step One: Outreach/Relationship Building

7. Hispanic Population in Connecticut
Latinos are the largest minority group in CT
Puerto Ricans are the majority origin group of Hispanics in CT (54.8%)
Total Hispanic Population: 494,000 (U.S. rank: 17)
Hispanics as Percent of State Population: 14% (U.S. rank: 11)
Number of Hispanics Enrolled in K-12: 115,000 (U.S. Rank: 19)
Hispanics as Percent of All K-12 Students: 19% (U.S. Rank 13)
Step One: Outreach/Relationship Building

8. Hispanic as Percent of Population by County
Hartford: 16.6%
38% increase since 1990; 3% increase since 2000
26.8% of the population under 18 is Hispanic
Litchfield: 5.2%
104% increase since 1990; 5% increase since 2000
New Haven: 16.4%
63% increase since 2000; 2% increase since 2000
Between 2000 and 2010, Waterbury’s Hispanic population increased by 11,000 individuals
Step One: Outreach/Relationship Building

9. Focus on Building a Relationship with and Presence in your Parishes
Provide a constant school presence at local churches
Speak at Masses; be present following
Host a coffee hour after Mass
Speak to religious ed. classes and directors
Speak to parents individually; ask pastors and deacons to refer families
Survey parish communities
Step One: Outreach/Relationship Building

10. Address Reasons Why Families Are Not Applying
Ask families why they do not enroll their children
Current
Interested families that do not enroll
Survey your parishioners (in English and Spanish)
Erase the myths surrounding public and Catholic schools
Step One: Outreach/Relationship Building

11. Sample Parish Survey and Results
The purpose of this survey is to collect data for the Catholic Schools Foundation on Catholic schools. Your answers will help schools to reach out and offer
assistance to interested families.
What type of school does your child attend?  Public Catholic
What grade is your child in? ________
If your child is in a Catholic school, please skip to question # 7 if not, please continue.
Do you know what Catholic schools are in your area?  Yes  No
If you answered yes, please list the school/s ______________________________
If you answered yes, please indicate how you know of the school. (Mark all that apply
 I have seen the school building
 I know someone who has a child in the school
 I have seen the school advertised
 The church promotes and talks about the school
Other: _______________________
What keeps you from having your child attend a Catholic school? (Mark all that apply)
 Cost of tuition
 Language
 Difficult applications
 They will ask for personal information I am not comfortable providing
 My child will struggle (academically or behaviorally)
 I don’t know much about the school
Other: _________________________
How much, approximately, do you think Catholic schools cost without financial assistance?
$_____________monthly (or annually)
What can the Catholic school in your area do to help you to apply and register your child? _____________________________________________________________
What do you believe are advantages to sending your child to a Catholic school? (mark all that apply)
 Religion in school
 Strong academics
 Good morals/ethics
 Student behavior is better
 School is open to accepting families
 Student will have a better future
 there are no advantages
Other:____________________________
Thank you for filling out this survey! Your answers are important to us!
Sample Parish Survey and Results

13. Step Two: Admissions Models of Admissions
Hispanic Recruitment Initiative
2008-Present
Catholic Schools Admissions Collaborative
2011-Present
Madrinas or Family Liaisons
2013
Step Two: Admissions

14. Create a Relationship with the Family
Keep in mind how important “relationship” is to a Hispanic family
Track and follow up in Spanish
Provide language support if necessary
Step Two: Admissions

15. Provide Translated Materials
Work with local translation services
Translate websites
Provide translators at large events
Bilingual Front Office Staff
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, it goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, it goes to his heart.” –Nelson Mandela
Parent Volunteers,
Google Translate,
Apps such as Vocre
Step Two: Admissions

16. Step Three: Retention Identify Key Players in your School
Who do families communicate with when reaching out to your school?
Are they the best person for this job?
Which teachers and staff members are passionate about outreach to Latinos?
Step Three: Retention

17. Hispanic Families’ Relationships to Education
Respect for the Teacher and School
High Expectations
Family Relationships
Belief that Catholic Schools are for the Elite
Step Three: Retention

18. Partnering with Families
Communicate in the parents’ first language as much as possible
Explicitly explain parts of U.S. school culture we may take for granted:
Back-to-school nights, conferences, PTO functions, fundraising, field trips, lunch forms
Keeping in Mind:
Scheduling
Transportation
Childcare
Step Three: Retention

19. Provide Student Support
Address ELL students early
Teachers should not assume students are already receiving additional help
Provide opportunities for leadership roles
Step Three: Retention

20. Celebrate Culture Connect school, home and community
Step Three: Retention

21. Understanding Your Students’ Backgrounds
Incorporate children’s cultures into the curriculum
Ask students to teach you about their culture
Classroom or School Ideas: Family Shields, Questionnaires, Student Interviews, Parent Letters, Home Visits
Step Three: Retention

22. Resources ColorinColorado.org PewHispanic.org
“Helpful Words and Phrases in Spanish”
“How to Reach Out to Parents of ELLs”
“Lessons Learned from Immigrant Families”
“FAQs: Multicultural Education”
“Getting to Know Your ELLs: Six Steps for Success”
“Hispanics of Puerto Rican Origin in the United States, 2011”
“Hispanics of Dominican Origin in the United States, 2011”
“US Hispanic Population by County ”
“Second-Generation Americans: A Portrait of the Adult Children of Immigrants”

23. Resources ESL Certification Programs USCCB Web Searches and Handouts
National Hispanic Month
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Las Posadas
National Migration Week
Oscar Romero
Megan

24. Conclusion
“The Church of the twenty-first century will be, as it has always been, a Church of many cultures, languages, and traditions, yet simultaneously one, as God is one – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – unity in diversity.” (USCCB, 2000)

25. Megan Adzima Director of the Catholic Schools Admissions Collaborative
Director of Hispanic Outreach
Catholic Schools Foundation
260 Franklin Street suite 630 • Boston, Massachusetts 02110