Ford Motor Company Fund and the League of United Latin American Citizens announced the 2011 Ford Driving Dreams through Education grantees. Through this initiative, ten LULAC Councils will receive $20,000 over two-years to implement a local dropout prevention program in partnership with an educational entity. Latino students are the fastest-growing segment of the public school population and make up nearly one in five public school students. However, according to the Alliance for Excellence in Education, only 57.8 percent of Latino students entering ninth grade earn a high school diploma four years later. This is especially troublesome given that by 2018, only 28 percent of jobs will be available to those with just a high school diploma. The winning councils developed robust programs that address their local dropout crisis through mentoring programs, tutoring and parental engagement. One of the ten councils includes, East Aurora LULAC.

“Education is the civil rights issue of our time. The combined effect of 45 percent of Hispanic students failing to complete high school coupled with increasing demographic changes in our population, can mean detrimental consequences to our economy. In order for the US to compete in the world stage, all Latinos need access to quality education and must graduate from high school,” said LULAC National Executive Director, Brent Wilkes. For more information on Ford Driving Dreams, please visit www.lulac.org.