Chicano Educational Achievement

First published in 2000. This study compares two urban schools based on their ability to provide an effective education for Hispanic students. Broderick High School began as an elite, Anglo-dominated institution and evolved into a school whose student body was 82% Hispanic. It is large, public and with a history of sporadic racial tension, walkouts, and a high dropout rate for Hispanic students. Escuela Tlatelolco is small, private, and Chicanocentric. Founded in 1970 by Rodolfo Corky Gonzales, a leader of the Chicano Civil Rights Movement, it was designed to provide Chicano students the opportunity to reinforce pride in their language, culture, and identity.

Through interviews of administrators, teachers, graduates, and students at both schools as well as personal observations, a significant difference was discovered between the experiences and attitudes of those who attended the public school in the 1960s through 1980s and those who graduated in the 1990s. As the public school increased Hispanic administration, teaching and operating staff, and changed its curriculum to include Hispanic history, Hispanic students expressed a greater degree of satisfaction and fulfillment.