That time of the year is here once more when we get to celebrate the accomplishments of our students who navigate their way toward a diploma, be it a GED, trade certificate, High School, Jr. College, College or University BA, Master’s, PhD or any other professional degree like a JD.

While it is a moment of gratification for many families, it also is a deplorable state of affairs for our Raza. We are among the worse of the worse when it comes to educational attainment. It is not entirely our fault either, as parents or students. Intercultural Development Research Associates (IDRA) of San Antonio, Texas has annually been producing reports or years on those kids who do not finish high school. I use the term “push outs,” others use “drop outs” and still others use “attrition rates.” Our kids do not choose to leave school, they are pushed out by several reasons, mainly teachers who cannot teach, poverty, hunger, and the Anglo-Centric curriculum that instills inferiority in them. Our kids do not choose to leave school, they do not drop out by choice, usually it is the same conditions as those who are pushed out. Calling this phenomenon “attrition rates” just hides who is responsible and makes them all exempt from blame.

IDRA’s research concludes that Texas schools have pushed out no less than 4.2 million students since 1986 when they began tracking this phenomenon. Between 2023-2024, Texas public schools lost over 66,383 students; that is about 7 per hour! So who are these pushouts? Black students lead the pack with pushout rates of between 27% to 21% followed by Raza kids at 26% to 22%.  That is 53% to 43% of all students who are pushed out of schools and destined to a life of unemployment, poverty, hunger, possibly crime, and a sorry mental health state. In 2022, the US military stopped taking volunteers without a high school diploma; some branches made an exemption in 2024 if they passed a test.

The so-called “attrition rate” does not stop in high school. Back in 2006, the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center reported that of 100 Chicano kids in elementary schools only 46 would go on to graduate from high school then of those only 26 would go to college but 17 would go to Jr. college and only 9 would go to a university. It gets worse. Only 1 would transfer from the Jr. college to a university and only 8 of them would get a BA or BS degree. Thereafter, only 2 would obtain a graduate or professional degree. While 0.2 would get a PhD.

Using US Census data from 2005, that agency recording population and trends, found that 2.7 million Hispanics had less than a high school education. 1.6 million had some college and less than 1 million had a degree or higher. By 2021, there was some improvement. In 2021, less than 1.5 million had no high school diploma. Those with a high school diploma reached 2.9 million. Realistically what can you do with a high school diploma in this day and age other than join the military? Those with a BA or BS or higher degree reached 2.2 million. But in 2021, we were a national minority of some 62.5 million people; 19% of the US population. If you do the math, notice that in 2021 only 5.1 million  of the 62.5 million had some college education?

So why don’t our national organizations speak up on this huge and on-going crisis? Where are the Hispanic Caucus at the national and state levels on this critical issue? Why are the officials in NALEO, the various school board members associations like MASBA in Texas, UNIDOS US, and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce not speaking up.  The least we can do is begin organizing our own Charter Schools. Texas will begin its voucher program next school year there by ending public education as we knew it. There is little to no oversight over Charter Schools in Texas or other states.

Our universities will also begin to cut back on any programs and courses that include mention of any diversity, inclusion, and equity for minorities. The Anglo-Centric curriculum will be like the Christian Bible in importance to White supremacists who are in charge now of the US government, most state legislatures and judiciaries, and local police under the 257 (g) program that allows them to enforce immigration laws. Impending scenario at private universities, especially in San Antonio, Texas is the specter of them closing their doors. There are two in critical stage: Our Lady of the Lake University and Incarnate Word.  Given online capabilities, we should form our own universities via the internet. Who wants to be the ones to start these two projects up?