Hispanic Pilot Project | College and University Awareness Program

Projects Receiving CUAP Funding

Education and Success

Ynes R. Ortega

The objective of this project was to inform High School Hispanic students and their parents of the advantages of completing high school and going on to higher education

The Hispanic population in the state of Georgia is dramatically increasing every year. A large proportion of them are Catholics. In 1990, the total Hispanic population in the 69 counties supported by the Archdiocese of Atlanta was almost 73,000 residents. In 1999, it was estimated that the population surpassed 450,000 persons of Hispanic origin. It is projected that in the year 2,050, 50% of all Catholics will be of Hispanic origin. This figure includes the invisible presence of thousands of undocumented Hispanics.

The Hispanic youths' decision to finish high school and go onto higher education is greatly influenced by their relatives and environment; therefore, it was important not only to inform the Hispanic students about the advantages of a high school and post secondary education, but also the parents, who will influence and provide advice.

Because of the high Hispanic population of Catholic faith, three Catholic churches were included in this program. They were approached and have expressed interest in this project. The area that was covered included the south east region of Atlanta. The farthest community was Griffin, where the University of Georgia Griffin Experiment Station is located. The Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Griffin hosts about 320 families, of which 75 are of Hispanic origin. This church serves counties Pike, Lamar, Upson, Monroe and Spalding. The second location was the Holy Trinity Catholic Church located in Peachtree City with approximately 3,000 families of which 300 are Hispanic. This church serves various counties such as Fayette, Coweta and South Fulton. The third location, Saint Philip Benizi Catholic Church in Jonesboro, serves 5,000 families, of which about 500 are Hispanics from Clayton and Henry counties.

Hispanic adults are mostly involved in the construction, poultry, restaurant, and factory businesses.

This project reached interested parents and their children in several forms:

Posters and handouts, printed in English and Spanish, were distributed at informational meetings at each church. Posters were posted at the lobbies of each of the churches together with brochures, at both the English and Spanish community bulletin boards.

Informational meetings were delivered at the three Catholic churches. All meetings with participants were done on Sundays after the Spanish Mass services. At each meeting, booths were set up with information about different areas of study that can be pursued. Professionals of Hispanic origin informed and explained why a high school diploma and secondary degree was important in their lives and their personal experience in achieving such goals. This project also provided information related to higher education and opportunities for minorities, particularly of the Young Scholars Program at the University of Georgia, where they can work in a laboratory and learn first hand the experiences of working in a research atmosphere. The number of families and teens reached by these presentations was determined. At the beginning of the meetings, an anonymous questionnaire was distributed among the participants. These questionnaires were in English and Spanish and participants were asked to use whichever language they felt more comfortable with. On these questionnaires people had to opportunity to express whether the information was helpful and if they have specific information they would like to receive from this program.

At the Saint Philip Benizi church, during their annual picnic (June 14, 2003), a booth was also placed in which attendants had the opportunity to ask about the program and specific information on their future education.

Magnets and pencils were prepared and distributed in the sessions. Attached are the materials produced for this program.

A Web site was designed with the help of a junior student from Georgia Technical College at www.griffin.peachnet.edu/educationsuccess. He also provided tips to capture the interest of this age group. The success of this intervention will be known later in the year. This is however, not an efficient strategy because many of the families do not have access to computers at their homes. The number of hits will be recorded. This strategy may be more effective during the school year where teens have access to the internet during school hours.

Although difficult to quantify, the potential number of Hispanic families that this program reached was high as the posters are on display on church bulletin boards. In addition to the informational sessions, by request of the priest, a short but concise message to the Hispanic community was presented to all the individuals present at the Spanish mass of the St. Philip Benizi church. The message was given in Spanish on two different occasions. Families and children at high school age met after the service with the program lecturers.

Saint Philip Benizi Church. The importance of secondary education and higher education was presented to about 650 attendants. Handouts were distributed among attendants. After the presentation, 33 attendants requested specific information related to admissions and opportunities to returning students in two informative sessions.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Invitations (250) in English and Spanish were distributed together with the church Sunday bulletins. About one hundred church members were informed about the project objectives. Sixteen people attended the session.

Holy Trinity Catholic Church. Invitations (250) in English and Spanish were distributed by the Hispanic ministry leaders to the youth groups and their families. About 250 Hispanics were informed of the project informative sessions. Eleven people attended the meeting. One of the young participants is currently enrolled in the young scholars program at the Griffin campus.

Informative sessions at both Sacred Heart and Holy Trinity Churches were lead by Drs. Ortega and Robert Shewfelt and Mr. Jesus Mata. At the Saint Philip Benizi Church, Mr. Mata and Dr. Ortega directed the informative session. Admissions requirements and opportunities for minorities during and after high school were explored. After talking with the participants and reading the questionnaires, several serious issues have become evident in this particular ethnic group. The legal status of the participants and the financial aid to continue studies are some of their most important concerns.

Conclusions

This project has been a learning experience for both groups, the lecturers and the parishioners. First, the Hispanic population is diverse, therefore strategies to reach them need to be done in different ways. Second, the legal status of the Hispanic population plays a major role in goal achievement and education success. Two major groups have been identified:

Hispanics born in the US and living many years in the US
This group is already integrated in the American society. Parents are planning for their children to attend college/university. Students are fluent in English and attend mostly activities directed to young parishioners. This group can be better targeted for enrollment to higher education. This is the small proportion of the Hispanic community. By talking to their school peers, they are aware of the admission requirements of the schools, but they are not as well informed of the opportunities available for minority groups.
Recently emigrated Hispanics
Their knowledge of English is limited and they have not fully integrated in the teen groups of the churches. These groups are directed but not exclusive to English speaking teens. The legal status of residence of this group will not allow them to pursue college/ university education. Upon entering the university or college education, verification of their legal status in the US will disqualify them from attending college and obtaining financial support for their studies. This group is the largest and more challenging than the former group because of the complicated legal issues.

Upon talking with Hispanic families, one of the strongest messages obtained from this project is that a change of the educational and immigration system has to be considered in order to reduce the number of Hispanic drop-outs.

Future Plans

The handouts will be given to the Hispanic ministries of each church for their future use. Their institutions will be empowered to motivate their own church members to continue this program and be self-sustained. Improvement, success, and confidence of youth members is a goal for all religious faiths. This program could potentially be used in other churches which have a large number of Catholic Hispanics.
A request by one of the priests to give an informational session at the Our Lady of the Americas Catholic Mission in Doraville has been accepted and will be done in the following months.