Public schools aiming to improve academic outcomes for Latino students can find inspiration from a pair of charter public schools doing just that!

In our new brief, Two Charter Public Schools, One Mission: Latino Academic Excellence, we take a closer look at Libertas College Preparatory Charter and Santa Rosa Academy, and the building blocks both schools are using to boost the academic performance of their Latino students.

Some of those building blocks include monitoring the development of academic skills, recruiting more educators of color, and increasing community service and engagement. The results of their approaches are exceptional: both schools are in the 85^th percentile on the annual state assessment (CAASPP) and are handily outperforming neighboring district schools in serving Latino students.  

Hear from Libertas College Prep Charter Principal Alma Zepeda on how monitoring academic skills works: 

Watch Santa Rosa Academy Executive Director Robert Hennings explain what the school's greatest strength is:

We also learn that a higher proportion of charter public schools are accelerating the closing of opportunity gaps for Latino students, highlighting the charter sector’s progress in helping to ensure an education system that works for all students. But overall, the brief’s findings should be viewed as a wake-up call for all public schools to do a better job in delivering a quality education to a growing and underserved community of students.

Other key data points about the education landscape for Latino students in our state, include:

• Latino students make up 55.3 percent of the public school student population in California, the single largest ethnic group in the state’s K-12 education system.
• Within charter public schools, 52.4 percent of charter public school students are Latino. That’s a five percent increase over the past seven years.
• Latino charter public school students are a diverse group: 26 percent are English Language Learners, 13 percent are on specialized learning plans, four percent are homeless, and sadly, 77 percent live poverty. 

Download the full brief today and learn how charter public schools are helping more Latino students achieve academic success.

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