Rising Latinx student population puts their needs in focus

By the end of the decade, Latinx students will comprise 30 percent of the total school-aged population, according to data from the U.S. Education Department. The growing numbers mean that their success and needs will be increasingly at the center of education policy and strategy. One place where that is already the case is Kansas City, where some 28 percent of the population is Hispanic or Latinx – making recruitment and retention of Latinx teachers a central need. It was that need that drove Edgar Palacios to found the Latinx Education Collaborative.

“I think schools across the board – whether they’re traditional or charter – struggle with the fact they don’t have enough Latino teachers or Latinos in leadership, especially in the Midwest where there are emerging Latino communities,” Palacios told USA TODAY. “It’s intensive work, and it’s about starting early and planting the seed.”