ETS Experts Address Hispanic Education Issues at Fifth Annual Prepárate Conference

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San Antonio (March 14, 2011) —

Experts from Educational Testing Service (ETS), were among nationally recognized professionals who gathered in San Antonio last week to discuss the opportunities and challenges for Latinos and Latinas in education, business, science and politics. They appeared in connection with the College Board's fifth annual Prepárate: Educating Latinos for the Future of America conference.

The two-day College Board conference began in 2005 with the aim of preparing more Latino students for success in college. Organizers contend that meeting President Obama's goal of 60 percent of young Americans having a college degree by 2020 is contingent upon increasing significantly the number of Latino students graduating from the nation's two- and four-year colleges and universities.

Lenora M. Green, Director of Client Relations for ETS's Social Investment Fund moderated a panel discussion titled, Creating Latino Student Success Through Role Models, Mentors, and Families in Schools: HISPA and Parents Step Ahead. The session focused on the innovative work of these two organizations to improve educational outcomes for Latino students using role models and mentors and promoting parental involvement in low-performing schools. Panel members included Ivonne Díaz-Claisse, Founder and President, HISPA, NJ; Lupita Colmenero, Founder and Board Chair, Parents Step Ahead, Inc., TX.

John Young, Director of Research at ETS participated in a panel discussion titled, Best Practices for ELL Instruction, Technology Integration and Assessment. In discussion with experts from University of Texas San Antonio and Educational Testing Service, participants in this session established best practices for language and content-area instruction, including the integration of technology in the classroom, and for developing and evaluating large-scale content assessments for English language learners (ELLs). From these discussions, it is hoped that participants will develop strategies for implementing these ideas in their own ELL classrooms. Other speakers included Juliet Langman, Associate Professor, University of Texas San Antonio, and Shannon Sauro, Assistant Professor, University of Texas San Antonio.

About HISPA

(Hispanics Inspiring Students' Performance and Achievement) is a non-profit organization that works with middle and high school students to keep them on the path to graduation, plan for higher education and inspire them to achieve at the highest level. HISPA also assists teachers in improving essential skills for dealing with Latino youth and putting their students on a college track.

About Parents Step Ahead, Inc.

(PSA) is a non-profit organization that provides parent education programs, which enable and empower parents to take a proactive role in the educational and personal development of their children. PSA's programs have reached more than 15,000 families and their children in 30 schools in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area since 2006.

About ETS

At nonprofit ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and post-secondary education, as well as conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually — including the TOEFL® and TOEIC® tests, the GRE® test and The Praxis Series™ assessments — in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide. www.ets.org