Order renewing commitment to Hispanic education "President Obama"

President Obama has signed an Executive Order declaring that he and the Department of Education are committed to their continued efforts to improve education for the Hispanic segment of the population. His intent is to do so by engaging communities in the education process and continuing and improving upon the efforts of past administration.

In a press release dated October 19, 2010, the White House released the following information:

Among the changes, the new Executive Order provides a better structure for the Initiative to take action and forge partnerships between the public, private, and non-profit sectors in local communities nationwide. An enhanced inter-agency working group and a 30 member Presidential advisory commission will now work with the Initiative to bring the voice of the American people into the policy making process. The presidential advisory commission will be Chaired by Eduardo Padrón, President of Miami Dade Community College.

“Making sure we offer all our kids, regardless of race, a world-class education is more than a moral obligation, it’s an economic imperative if we want America to succeed in the 21st century,” said President Obama. “But it’s not something that can fall to the Department of Education alone. It’s going to take all of us – public and private sector, teachers and principals, parents getting involved in their kids’ education, and students giving their best – because the farther they go in school, the farther they’ll go in life.”

The new Executive Order is based on feedback gathered by the Initiative in more than 100 community conversations across the country with experts in education, community leaders from more than 30 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and from comments from more than 10,000 Americans on how to develop real solutions to the challenges confronting the Hispanic community in education.

The initiative dates back to 1990.

Latinos represent the largest minority group in the United states with more than 11 million students in America’s public elementary and secondary schools and constitute more than 22 percent of all pre-K–12 students. According to the Department of Education, more than one in five students enrolled in America’s schools is Latino.