of not belonging. A crucial means by
which students attach to school and
form supportive friendship groups is
through extracurricular activities—
sports, band, newspaper, and other
clubs. Unfortunately, Latino students are
less likely to participate in these activities, either because they perceive the
club to be exclusive or because of logistical problems, like needing to work or
help out at home after
school or not having transportation or the money
required for the activity.
Latino students’ absence
from these activities is also
related to their lack of
access to the same social
circles as their middle-class
peers, reducing their
chances of being invited
into these activities.
Schools that effectively
address this issue find ways
to incorporate clubs, sports,
and other activities into
school routines and bring
the benefits of these activities into the classroom. For
example, some schools mix
students in heterogeneous
classes and create conditions for
students from different groups to
interact in conditions in which they are
more equal in status (see Gibson,
Gándara, & Koyama, 2004).
neighborhood and school segregation
through thoughtful and progressive
planning. The apartments that have
sprung up in formerly downtrodden
areas typically market to professional
single people and young couples
without children—the assumption being
that young families do not want to live
in the city center. We need to create
attractive options by offering desegre-
How School-Community
Partnerships Can Help
Schools alone cannot close the yawning
gaps in achievement. But schools can
partner with other institutions to help
narrow those gaps. Collaboration in the
following three areas can make a significant difference for many Latino students.
■ Create magnet schools that appeal to
middle-class parents. Some interventions
are not costly in terms of dollars but
require spending political capital. For
example, in gentrifying areas of the inner
cities, we could attack the problem of
gated, high-quality schools adjacent to
open spaces that could serve both the
families of young professionals and
inner-city residents. Because dual-
language programs often appeal to
middle-class parents, it would make
sense to include such programs as
features of new inner-city magnet
schools.
