Better information on student aid means more opportunities for Latinos

By Harry Reid & Eddie Escobedo, Sr.

Education opens the door of opportunity, and helps hard-working Americans build a better future for their families.

As the fastest growing population group in the United States , Latinos share our values of hard work and devotion to family. But too many young Latinos find that the door of opportunity is being slammed shut because they lack the education they need.

The simple fact is, while Latinos already account for one-third of the new workers in our labor force, they aren't prepared to compete for the best jobs.

Only 20 percent of young Hispanics attend college, about half the ratio of their white counterparts. Meanwhile, most of the good jobs are being created in fast-growing fields that require a college degree, such as healthcare, professional, scientific, and technical services.

There are several reasons for this education gap. Some Latino youth simply don't realize how much a college education would enhance their lifetime earning potential. But the major barrier is cost.

Tuition fees have been increasing rapidly, putting college out of reach for many middle-class families. Student loans and scholarships are available, but many Latino families don't know about them. Even if they are aware of student aid, these families often don't know how to apply for it.

A survey conducted by the Tomas Riviera Policy Institute this year found that 75 percent of young Hispanics not attending college would have been more likely to go if they had more information about financial aid.

Among the parents of Latino children who went to college, two-thirds said the availability of financial aid was a major factor in their ability to attend. Yet most parents of Latino high school students never receive any information about student aid.

This lack of information is partly the result of a language barrier, and partly because these parents aren't familiar with the academic world because they didn't attend college themselves. We must remove these barriers, so young Latinos can enjoy the same opportunities as their counterparts.

We have taken some steps in the right direction. Over the past year, the National Association of Hispanic Publications Foundation (NAHPF) has distributed thousands of directories listing sources of financial aid in Southern California , and at seven White House-sponsored education fairs. But those directories reached a small fraction of the Latino families that need it.

The press foundation also launched a public announcement campaign through Hispanic print media that reached approximately one million readers. This is laudable, but still falls short when one considers the total Hispanic population is more than 40 million.

America 's Hispanic publishers cannot act alone. They need the active support of the federal government to provide information about college and student aid to the Latino community. If we fail to reach out, we will only widen the education gap that already exists, and slam the door of opportunity in the face of future generations.

(Harry Reid is the senior Senator from the State of Nevada and is the incoming Senate Minority Leader. Eddie Escobedo, Sr. is the the publisher of El Mundo in Las Vegas , Nevada , and chairman of the National Association of Hispanic Publications Foundation.)