Minorities Need More Help to Make the Grade

The influx of minority students is having an impact on Orange County campuses from kindergarten to college. But that impact is not always positive for students or the community.

Although many Latino, black and Asian students do well, a significant number of minority students have problems that should be of major concern to the entire county.

In recent days, three stories in The Times have focused needed attention on the increasing dropout rate of Latino students, on the need to reverse the trend of a declining number of black students in the nation’s colleges and universities and on the difficulty Vietnamese students are having overcoming cultural differences and getting involved in campus life at Cal State Fullerton. All require immediate and positive steps to help break the patterns that breed continued educational and personal problems.

The records show that the dropout rate for blacks and Latinos is higher than for Asians and Anglos and that fewer Latinos and blacks take college-prep courses or go on to colleges or universities. In fact, 80% of the Latino and black students in the state are behind by the third grade.

Statewide, 25% of all ninth-graders fail to finish high school, but the dropout rate is higher for blacks and Latinos than for whites. Latinos make up 23% of the county’s school enrollment but about 41% of the dropouts.

The Latino dropout rate in the county is so alarming that the Orange County Human Relations Commission and National Conference of Christians and Jews have released a special report calling the problem to the community’s attention, lest another generation be doomed to economic hardship and failure.

One reason many Latino students drop out is poverty--the need to work and earn money. But leaving school traps them in a vicious cycle; failure to complete their education and develop a marketable skill dooms most dropouts to lower-paying jobs, unemployment, low self-esteem--and little success. The community also pays a price: losing potential workers needed to support its business and industry and bearing the social as well as the economic costs.

Another main reason for leaving school before graduation is teen-age pregnancy. In 1984, 3,000 teen-age unwed girls in the county delivered babies, and four out of five of the new mothers dropped out of school.

The joint report urges a number of steps to help keep more students in school, including early identification of potential dropouts, expanded sex education to reduce teen-age pregnancies, programs to keep teen-age mothers in school and stronger parent and school relationships.

In addition to the high school dropout rate, the black community is also concerned about the declining number of black students who go on to get a college or university degree. Anglo enrollment has remained steady, Latino enrollment has increased (although it remains low in proportion to Latino population) but black enrollment has been decreasing.

One effort to counteract that trend is the Saturday Academy, which is being operated by the head of UC Irvine’s tutorial assistance program to help black youngsters develop the studies and skills needed to meet college entry requirements.

Black students from the third to eighth grade take special academic, cultural and ethnic courses to supplement their regular school week and better prepare themselves to qualify for college. Recognizing the importance of parental interest and support, the children’s parents are an integral part of the program and must attend at least half of the 10-week course with their children.

The Vietnamese students, who are the largest foreign nationality group on the Cal State Fullerton campus, have a different problem. According to a campus study, Vietnamese students, who generally stay in school and pursue higher learning, have multiple academic pressures, few cultural resources on campus and are emotionally torn between their new culture and their old. More sensitive understanding and better communication are needed between Asian and Anglo students. As the study noted, the Fullerton campus could use a Study Center and classes in Vietnamese language and history to go along with its special Chicano and black studies programs.

By the year 2000, population growth is expected to propel today’s minorities into the new century’s majority in state schools and workplaces. That is all the more reason for minority students to finish high school, go on to a college or university and assimilate into the community as productive residents.