WHITE HOUSE INITIATIVE ON
EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE FOR HISPANICS
December 23, 2013
Dear Stakeholder:
On behalf of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, I invite you to attend a roundtable
discussion on the status, challenges, and opportunities for increasing educational attainment and other life outcomes
for young Hispanic males. The roundtable will take place at 2-4 pm on Friday, January 10, 2014, in the Eisenhower
Executive Office Building of the White House, in Washington, DC.
The future of our nation is inextricably linked to the future of the Hispanic community. With over 54 million
people, Hispanics are the largest, youngest, and fastest-growing minority group, and will represent 60 percent of
our nation’s population growth between 2005 and 2050. Moreover, Hispanics are the largest minority group in our
nation’s schools – nearly 1 in 4 Pre-K through 12 students is Hispanic. Hispanics are now also the largest minority
group among the nation’s four-year college and university students, and make up a quarter of all two-year college
students. It is clear that because our future workforce will increasingly be made up of Hispanics, to remain globally
competitive, a strong educational, social, and economic foundation for Hispanics is critical.
Progress has been made in some areas – more Hispanic students are enrolling in AP courses, high school graduation
rates have increased over the past decade, and college enrollment among Hispanic high school graduates continues
to rise. However, while some indicators are pointing in the right direction, there are still significant challenges
faced by the Latino community. For example, educational achievement of Hispanic males continues to lag behind
Hispanic females throughout the educational spectrum, from early childhood education to postsecondary education.
In the workforce, Hispanic males are disproportionately represented in the lowest wage jobs, and have a higher
unemployment rate than their white peers. And in the criminal justice system, Hispanic males are significantly
more likely than white males to enter prison during their lifetime.
Therefore we believe that all stakeholders – the public, private, and nonprofit sectors – can and should dedicate
more attention and resources to addressing this issue, to ensure that Young Latinos are able to achieve their full
potential in education and other areas, and strengthen our economy and nation. At this roundtable we will explore
the current state of young Hispanic males, and begin to map the landscape of research, effective practices, and
public policy that impact young Hispanic males, to identify and build on opportunities for advancing this work.
There are a number of conversations similar to this taking place in various arenas; our hope is to help coalesce and
maximize those efforts by exposing various stakeholders like you to each other, while forging common ground.
From this roundtable, new collaborations and partnerships may emerge. Finally, by convening this meeting, we
hope to shine a light on this important issue, drawing media attention to it, and raising awareness about the
challenges and opportunities that exist for this population.
To confirm your participation in this important dialogue, if you have questions or need more information, please
feel free to contact me at 202-453-7023 or [email protected]. We hope you will join us!
Sincerely,
Marco A. Davis
Deputy Director
400 MARYLAND AVE. S. W.WASHINGTON, D.C. 20202
MAIN: 202-401-1411  E-MAIL: [email protected]