Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
The number of Latino public school students is growing—and growing

The Latino population in the United States is experiencing exponential growth, which will have a marked impact on schools, institutions of higher learning and the workplace. Hispanic Heritage Month is Sept. 15-Oct. 15, and the AFT wants to help you recognize the occasion and the important contributions Latinos have made in our country.

There are now many new resources teachers can use for the month that go beyond the usual one-time celebrations, which often focus only on food and music. Some of these resources can be found at www.colorincolorado.org/calendar/celebrations and www.aft.org/teachers/hispanic.htm.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are nearly 40 million Latinos in the United States, most of whom are U.S.-born. In 2001, Latinos surpassed non-Latino blacks as the largest minority in the country.

In 1972, Latino students made up only 6 percent of the U.S. public school population. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that in 2005, approximately 20 percent (9.6 million) of preK-12 public school students in the United States were Latino. The national school-age population is expected to be 25 percent Latino by 2025, and it’s anticipated that states such as California, Florida, New York and Texas will have public school districts that are more than 50 percent Latino.

Working Mother shines spotlight on teachers
Connecticut high school teacher featured on magazine's cover

Elizabeth Warren figured that somebody with way more experience and offspring would be picked for Working Mother magazine’s back-to-school cover. As it turned out, she was wrong. Spurred by a union notice “calling all teacher moms” to submit a short essay to the magazine, Warren was tapped within weeks and is now smiling from the cover of the August/September issue with her children, Maxwell, 3, and Darren, 6.

Warren never expected to win the Working Mother honor because she considers herself an average person living a normal life. “What I do is what everybody else does,” she says. Which is precisely the point.

The Connecticut high school English teacher and track coach applied for the honor at the prompting of Patti Fusco, president of the West Haven Federation of Teachers, and further urging from fellow AFT member Dana Clifford, who now proudly considers herself a “casting director.”

“[Warren] definitely was a good choice,” says Fusco, who forwarded Working Mother’s call for entries to members of the West Haven local after receiving it from the AFT. “She’s an excellent teacher. She even coaches, which a lot of young teachers with children aren’t able to do.”

Warren began her teaching career seven years ago in Bridgeport, Conn., an urban school district. Eventually, she moved to a school in West Haven, where she had grown up. This year she’s working with an interdisciplinary team, a nice change because team members swap their observations about students and share them with parents.

This November, Warren plans to run in her first New York City marathon.

AFT Human Rights Conference

The AFT Civil, Human and Women’s Rights Conference will be held at the Loews New Orleans Hotel, Oct. 26-28. This year’s conference promises to explore issues such as the healthcare funding crisis, mobilizing for the 2008 elections, and the growing economic and education disparities that affect our communities.

The conference theme is “Rebuilding the Labor Movement Through Civil, Human and Women’s Rights.” Workshops will cover a wide range of topics, including the resegregation of schools, HIV/AIDS awareness, the war on workers’ rights, and community coalition building.

Attendees will be introduced to two traditions of the “Big Easy” culture: Mardi Gras Indians, the response of New Orleans’ black residents to the Mardi Gras parades; and the New Orleans Brass Band, often seen in funeral processions.

Participants also can see the realities of New Orleans post-Katrina on a tour of the city’s Ninth Ward. For more information, call the AFT human rights and community relations department at 202/879-4434.