Located within the same town as Princeton University, The Princeton High School prides itself with "reflecting the life style of a community that takes pride in its continuing tradition of academic and cultural achievement". The High School describes the "richness of its academic program" that includes 160 courses to choose from with only 900 students. More than 60 percent of the students participate in advanced placement or accelerated classes and 80% of its graduates go on to four year colleges upon graduation. Coming with this is an expectation of greatness in an academic forum for the high school students. Recently there has been a huge influx of immigrants from Latin America to the Princeton area increasing the number of Latino children in the schools. In a 1991 study there was a 6.4% Hispanic population in the Princeton High School and according to the New Jersey School Report Card 1996 look at the Princeton Regional Schools 8% of the student body at Princeton High School is now Hispanic. Apparently with this influx of immigrants there has been a significant change in the composition and needs of the student body in the public school system. It has also become apparent that, as the number of Latino students grows, there is a marked difference in the academic performance of this immigrant group, there are fewer reaching the academic expectations of the High School . They are underrepresented in numbers in the advanced placement and accelerated classes, in the numbers attending four year colleges upon graduation, and according to the Tuesday, March 16 issue of the Princeton Packet ("Latinos Struggle at PHS", Appendix A), 60.5% of the 86 Latino students in the Princeton High School are failing at least one class. In the US, these problems are generally associated with, or accounted for by, a lack of resources and or a violent inner city community. In a school system that has fostered academic greatness and has the resources to provide an excellent education, the question arises as to why this segment of the population is unable to harness the resources available. This is a question of importance as the level and quality of a person's education is considered to be one of the key determinants of success in the US.

In choosing to focus on this issue we were curious whether the schools were in fact changing to accommodate the needs of Latino students, and what the general performance of these students was. The aim of our project was to examine both statistical information pertaining to the success of Latino students and interviews with students and teachers about their personal experiences and expectations for the success of Latino students at the school. We had hoped to interview several students and teachers at the high school. As a result of difficulties obtaining permission from the schools, our project has evolved to be based, not on statistics or interviews done within the schools, but rather on casual interviews done with several parents and children in the schools, various 'Latino' people we approached on the streets of Princeton, and a few people who work with the Latino population in Princeton. This was the easiest and most straightforward means of contacting people and getting information (for a look at our interview questions and interviews see Appendix B).

Summary of our findings:

Most of the people we've interviewed have had generally positive views of the schools' efforts to facilitate the learning of 'Latino' students, and make their transition into Princeton schools fairly painless. Parents and elementary-aged kids were particularly enthusiastic about the success of the ESL program in the Elementary schools. Those interviewed have consistently highlighted the differences between schools in Latin America and those here-differences in the relationships between students and teachers (which is much more of a casual friendship here), differences in the expectations placed upon students, and particularly differences in how students are disciplined. Many believe that in the US there is a higher need for parental involvement (both in support, discipline, and punishment) in order for students to be successful and that this involvement is particularly difficult for immigrant parents due to the language (and culture) barrier, a generally lower level of schooling of the parents (thus their inability to help with homework... especially homework focused on American History, etc.), and their need to work long hours in order to support their family (and thus a lack of time or energy to give to their child's education). Thus, as stated earlier, it appears that the "blame" for the current state of Latino students in the Princeton schools may not rest as heavily on the schools as we had anticipated. The efforts of the schools, as documented in the progress report for the Minority Achievement Plan, are actually quite commendable (though certainly not perfect). It appears that many of the problems students have arise not from a neglect of or prejudice against Latino students but rather from the fact that these students are usually fairly recent immigrants - Because of this, they are confronted with an entirely foreign system of education, different expectations and means of success, classes offered in a foreign language, and difficulties and pressures outside school. The problem of language is more easily solved for elementary school students, who can enroll in a bilingual program. These students also have more of a chance to adjust to and understand our educational system and culture. How successful these elementary students are in school appears to be largely the result of the efforts their parents put into their education. Immigrants entering the high school, on the other hand, are already used to a foreign educational environment, they often do not expect to go to college, and, most importantly, they do not know the language in which their classes are taught, and simply don't have time before graduation to learn English to the level which is necessary to be successful in regular or accelerated PHS classes.

Differences in the Schools:

It is clear that there is no single reason why many of the Latino students in the Princeton Regional Schools are experiencing difficulties-there are multiple factors which each contribute in some way to the problem. In this paper we will explain all such factors that have been revealed to us through our research and interviews. One of these factors is the differences between the educational system here and that in most Latin American countries. The general opinion seems to be that in Latin America there is more discipline in the schools. In the school system here each student is given much more personal choice and control over his education, and there is a higher dependence on parental involvement in a child's education. The relationship between student and teacher is different as well; the role of the teacher in Latin America is one of disciplinarian, whereas in Princeton it is often viewed as one of a friend. Finally, the level of expectation for academic achievement seems to be higher in Princeton. Latin American immigrants who came to Princeton, though they vary significantly, often have not attained a level of education past the sixth grade level (this is the required amount of schooling in most of Latin America). In the US, students are required to attend school until they graduate from high school or become eighteen years old, when they can decide to stop attending school.

One of the most straightforward explanations for the lack a success of Latino students, especially at the high school level, relates to the level of education and achievement expected of students by themselves and their parents and is thus easily termed "cultural" in it's origins. This explanation, although certainly not all-encompassing, was often referred to in our interviews. In Latin America school is only for everyone until the sixth grade level and after that only those interested in much more serious academic endeavors continue in school. Paulina Alvarado stated that, in Latin America, college is not an expected part of every students life- only the 'best' go, and they must choose at the age of 16 what they are going to study. One Princeton High School graduate expressed this same thought on the differences of who attends school in his country of origin: In Mexico "…if you start school it's because you're going to do it. Here some guys just go to play, to joke around. They don't go to study." Another interviewee described how here we expect that a certain percentage will go on to college but that for many of the students coming from Mexico and Guatemala and it is not clear that they would be college bound if they were still in Latin America. The other 'cultural' argument includes a look at the value system of the Latino community. Princeton as a community places a huge emphasis on the value of higher education, and there is a high standard of how much education one needs to be respectable. The value system of many immigrant families doesn't necessarily include high academic standards, but rather focuses on family values, hard work, and being a good person. Without education having a big place in the value system there is a lack of motivation to excel academically-- there is no big push from home. Perhaps to many immigrants the importance of excelling in school is not as important-- for many of them just being here gives their children many more resources, better possibilities, and a more comfortable life than they had in their country of origin.

Though this is probably true for a certain amount of the Latino community in Princeton it is not a complete explanation or a very valid way to look at the whole community. It is also possible that Latino students here may feel like they have no options for the future- whereas college is free in Latin America, they know that it is expensive here and thus don't see it as a reasonable possibility. From our interviews it is also apparent that many students and parents do have the expectation of obtaining a college degree. For example Interviewee 1, a nine year old girl, was pretty sure she wanted to go to college, and her mother too wants her to go. With the knowledge that this is true for a portion of the population, it is important to look at the many other issues involving the schools that create an academic inadequacy within the Latino student population.

One of these factors may be differences in the methods used to discipline students. In our interview with Paulina Alvarado, she stated that in Latin America, it is expected that the teachers (rather than the parents) will discipline the students, and the relationship between students and teachers is thus more formal and disciplinary in nature. In the Princeton Public Schools, discipline is not a matter dealt with mostly in the schools. When asked about the relationship between teachers and students in Princeton versus in their country of origin, several Princeton High School graduates responded with; "There they make you study with force and here well…if you want to study you study, if not no, it's up to you", and "I think the teachers there are much more strict, in my school there you cannot speak to your teachers the way you can here in the United States." Many of the parents we spoke with reminded us of the corporal punishment they had received in their country of origin, and seemed to believe that this was acceptable or even preferable- because it made them behave. One parent could see the benefits of the school system here, while at the same time saying that it does not force the kids to study:

"…I: More or less like here, only there the rules are more strong. Here there are more considerations for the kids between teachers and kids, they are more, how would I say it, more patient. If a kid can't do it they have patience, that it's fine so he can do it the next time. In Mexico no, if a kid didn't do his homework, or is behaving poorly in the school, there are punishments. Spankings or [something to do with ears]. They are more, well… different.

LP: Do you think it is better here or like that?

I: In truth…

LP: For the kids…

I: How would I say it, for me in one form it is better there, and in another form it is better here. Understand? Because here they progress more, and there is no form of yelling or anything, understand, and they learn better the English, and all that, so that more in the future they can get certified. At the same time here, how would I say it, they don't sit down and study, they pass it all in games saying 'oh I'll get to it'. There it is more strong- they do it because they have to do it, because if not…."

another parent had similar views to express:

("... and you can't force someone to learn…"LP) F: "Not here. In Guatemala (makes a motion of beating someone). But the problem here is the laws… the teacher can't touch the students because then there are complaints or something…I think the teacher should… I think that the teacher has to do this to be able to make them understand."

There seems to be a belief on the part of parents that, if the kids are not sitting down to do their homework, it is a fault of the school in not having the disciplinary action to force kids to do their work. On the other hand, the schools expect that the discipline will be done in the home. It seems that there are important differences between what parents expect or want from the schools and what the schools actually do. Parents who come from this kind of background may be inclined to expect teachers to use discipline to make their students behave and see it as largely the school's problem if the child doesn't behave. The Princeton Public Schools do not have such strong disciplinary actions and the parents are not disciplining the students themselves and this can lead to a child who needs discipline (we all know that not all do) never receiving any.

Another issue involving differences in the school system in Princeton and that of Latin America can be seen in the amount of personal choice students are given, and thus a need for higher involvement of the home to be successful in the schools. One parent we spoke with was particularly concerned with the need for parental involvement in the schooling of children and the inability of many parents to provide this due to external factors:

…but what happens in the high school is that they (the students) have to have their own personal interest. Or the parents have to place their own interests on their kids. For example I want my kids to go to a place in the future, and I have to incite this in them. … the children in the high school don't have the help of the home. And if they don't have the help of the home they are free to do what they want…I think the problem is the home, because education comes from here…But here, for many kids, education doesn't come from the home…It's very easy to place the blame on the teachers, it's very easy to justify it in that way. But it isn't the truth.

With the higher level of freedom given to students in the high school, there is a need for more guidance external to the school for the kids to be academically successful. This seems to be different from the Latin American schools which have more structure and parents are not expected to provide as much guidance. Immigrant parents realize this need here, but for various reasons are not able to provide academic guidance.

One reason that immigrant parents are unable to provide guidance to their children is their own lack of knowledge, both in having attained lower levels of education in their homeland, and in not understanding how the system here works. As one woman with the Latin American Task force in Princeton expressed, many parents do not know how the American School system works and they don't know how to give advice to their children about the schools here. They don't know to tell them to go to the guidance counselor, or to log onto the Internet. There is a simple difference in that these parents do not have the experience with this system.

Many of the parents that are immigrants came here for either economic or political reasons. One parent who is a political immigrant believes that "Those that came because of economic problems are always going to have this problem because ever since they came they weren't prepared to be able to educate their children". Those that came to the US for economic reasons usually did not have a level of education much past the sixth grade level that would allow them to be able to assist their children in their studies. Even when they do have a larger amount of formal education, they may not have had schooling in the subjects that their children are studying, such as NJ history, American history, spelling or English, which again puts them in a position where they cannot help with homework. As one college-educated parent said "Many times they're asking me about American social studies, they say 'daddy what is that?'. I say 'I don't know'. We have to go upstairs and check, and many parents don't have the time….When we aren't culturally prepared we can't help with education because there are many things that they have and we aren't familiar with." Even when parents do have a knowledge of the subject matter, they still often do not have a good enough knowledge of English to be able to help their kids. In response to a question about if their parents helped them with school work one Princeton High school graduate and one current student replied that; "They didn't speak English. Now they can speak, but they can't read or write" and "Not really, back in Mexico they did, but not right here."

Without this ability to help their children with their studies, and without an understanding of the methods and expectations of our school systems, the students are at a disadvantage because their formal education can not extend into the home. Without a base of academic schooling in the home, academic success for the student is a large challenge.

Focus on Bills and Survival:

Another reason that parents are not able to adequately support their child's education is that they have other, more demanding, factors which they are facing. Despite their varied backgrounds, immigrants generally cannot find very high paying jobs-either because of a lack of schooling in their own country or because they may not be totally fluent in English. Most immigrants from Latin America in the Princeton area are employed in low-paying service jobs, and they may need to work 2-3 jobs in order to cover basic expenses. Rent in the Princeton area is quite high and they may thus have to put 60-80% of their income toward rent alone. That leaves them with very little money for food and basic needs. This struggle of the immigrant family, and the need for parents to devote huge amounts of time and energy to their work, leaves parents with very little time with their children in the home and, when they are home, parents are often too tired to give their child's academic (and other) needs adequate attention: "And we try to forget, we try to think only with how many bills to pay at the end of the month and forget about education... the bills are more important. This is a big big mistake. Because when you don't have time for the kids, the kids work alone. And this is a problem because they don't have instruction, or someone participating at home." This parent also sees the parents' need to work outside the home as a source for behavioral problems and lack of academic discipline among students, because, when their house is empty , they go somewhere and hang out with friends rather than focusing on their work. Parents who are not home can only trust their kids to discipline themselves. Even when parents are around, they are often exhausted from a day at work and thus would rather take a break than sit down with their kids and discuss school. A father of 2 students at the elementary schools showed LP a sheet that parents must sign verifying that they have checked their child's homework. Although he believes that this is a step in the right direction and aids in a parent's involvement in the child's academic achievement, he himself said "But really, when it's late at night they ask you to sign and you do. This is the problem. Because kids can say that they went (to the learning center), because the parents aren't in the house, or they are tired and they don't want the extra work". Thus, much of the lack of involvement on the part of Latino parents in their child's education may partially be the result if the more pressing financial necessities which they must focus much of their attention on.

The financial difficulties which immigrant families have, despite the fact that parents may be working several jobs, may also further a Latino student's sense of being different from the other, financially better off, students at school. They cannot have the expensive clothing, cars, or other material goods they feel they need to fit in. They also may be resentful of other students and not understand how it is that their parents work so hard and still have nothing. This leaves them with a cynical attitude or a feeling of hopelessness about the future. When a means of escaping poverty through hard work is not visible, these students may lose motivation for school work. If they do not see studying as a means of improving their future, they see no reason for it.

Learning the Language/ The Communication Barrier:

Most immigrant students do not speak English upon entering the school system, and often their parents do not learn English well even after the family has settled here. This creates difficulties when students first enter the schools and also creates many other issues for them. Among these are the communication barriers which exist between the student and the school and the parent and the school, which can lead to basic misunderstandings. Furthermore, the dependence of non English-speaking parents on their children who learn English can skew the parent/ child relationship. Finally, the language difference for children may create a sense of being different from classmates, which is always difficult for a child who wants to fit in.

When students enter the Princeton Public Schools and do not speak English it is obviously difficult for them to communicate with teachers and counselors. This lack of communication can cause a sense of frustration for both parties involved, leaving students feeling a lack of concern from their teachers and teachers not understanding what a student's needs and wants are. As one High School graduate said: "What happens is that there is not good enough communication between counselors and students…because of language and because Latino students are very timid, and when they don't know English its' even worse. We don't have communication, see, so I think that this is the problem there that there isn't enough communication between students and teachers…for the lack of communication the teachers don't know what the Hispanics want, they don't have contact with them so they don't know what to expect ." This does seem to be improving in the High School as was shown by the current PHS student interview: his guidance counselor is Spanish speaking, and this is opening doors for more communication. For example, he recalled that she showed the Latino Students the article in the Packet about the low achievement of Latinos in the high school and initiated discussions with them about it.

The language barrier also interferes with the parents' ability to be involved with the school system and communicate with teachers. One of the parents interviewed said that he does attend parent-teacher conferences, but he knows other parents that do not. He believes this is mostly for the lack of a translator as well as a lack of interest. This is also changing and is one of the clear focus of the Minority Achievement Plan: the Minority Achievement Committee has begun to hold meetings in Spanish for parents, translators are provided for conferences, attendance messages and newsletters home are all available in Spanish, etc.

As Paulina Alvarado said, many students are the only ones in their family that speak English, and they thus have to serve as the translators for their parents. This reverses parent-child roles. Students have to help their parents with issues of money, sickness, eviction and essentially serve as a link for the parents to the outside world. They may even be the translators for parent-teacher conferences (and may alter the truth a bit in doing so). This reversal of roles due to the language barrier gives students more power than most children their age usually have and may lead students to have a general lack of respect for authority figures (including parents and teachers). This use of students as translators for parents was shown by one of our interviewees, a PHS student, who said that when his mother attends the parent-teacher conferences he sometimes accompanies her as a translator.

It is apparent that in households children are often the best English speakers. In an interview with a mother, which was conducted in Spanish because of the minimal level of her English skills, she expressed that her son, who didn't speak English when he entered the schools, now speaks perfect English. It was expressed that this does tend to reduce the level of respect children have for their parents who may not have learned any English. One parent felt that "what exists is a failure of communication in the home with the children. I also think that the children here need to respect their elders. I know many kids, that are around 14 years old, that say to their parents 'fuck you, you shut up'." The child who chooses to test his/her limits will find that they can get away with a lot when given this huge amount of power and responsibility at too young of an age.

It is also apparent that speaking a different language can create a feeling of being different from classmates, of standing out, which can be difficult for a young student. A nine year old female Latina expressed that speaking in Spanish to another student at school makes her feel different, and thus she doesn't like to and doesn't speak Spanish at school. In an interview with a couple of elementary school students it was interesting to hear that they play almost exclusively with other Spanish speaking students, but when they are together at school they don't speak in Spanish to each other. Note that in both of these cases the children choose not to speak Spanish in school where they are viewed by other children. The young Latina, however, who wanted to be interviewed in English and she plays with mostly 'Anglo' children, is seemingly separating herself from her language background. On the other hand the young boys self-segregate according to their Spanish language background, even though in school they do not use their Spanish. One High School graduate felt that "For [him] what is lacking the most is communication… that there is also a bit of racism in the high school… perhaps again for the lack of communication. Without communication they (students) will never get to know each other."

Prejudices and Community Isolation:

Although there is this division among student groups, the students and parents we interviewed were quick to say that they did not feel that the teachers or administrators were racist. When students were asked specifically if they felt that teachers had different expectations of them because of their background, the responses varied. All elementary aged children said no. One high school student responded "I think they expect me to do as well as any American guy, I try". However, a tenth grade high school student said the there was no racism, but that "sometimes teachers don't expect much from you-you get a C and they think that is good for you, they don't expect much from you. (GA: if they expected you to get an A do you think you would try harder to get an A?) Maybe, but like when they don't expect that much of you, you try to do better than what they expect". The fact that lower levels of achievement may be expected of Latino students, and that they probably try to achieve what others tell them they are capable of, was indicated by many. As a member of the Latin American task force stated:

There is a stereotype of the immigrant as being a peasant, the parents work in service type jobs. We think that students coming from this background will not go beyond that level. They haven't been given the opportunities to, there has been no one pushing or supporting, no one saying 'I know you can do better'. But the schools are changing, becoming aware. Before the ESL programs were all of a low academic level. Students with poor English background were placed with low achievers... the PHS focus on Latino students has been large in the past 1 ½ years.

When we asked one father if he thought teachers showed racism or lower expectations for Latino students he talked about a friend of the family who dropped out of school. He said that this student might blame it on prejudices, but that, in his own opinion, this was just a scapegoat and an easy explanation and was clearly false: "It's very easy to blame the teachers, it's very easy to justify it in this way. But it isn't the truth."

Although some elementary aged students do express feeling "different", this is mostly the result of their ability to speak Spanish, not because they are treated differently by other students or their teachers. Whether elementary students isolated themselves into Latino groups of friends clearly depended on the individual situation of the student. Juan's children said that they had friends of all backgrounds (it is interesting to note, however, that this may have partially been because they do not live in a predominately Latino neighborhood). The two elementary boys said that they mostly played with other Latino students. But, generally speaking, children at the elementary age are often only one of two or three Latino students in a classroom and thus have friends from many different backgrounds. As students get older, however, it seems that the segregation of social groups according to race or ethnic backgrounds grows. Most of the high school students we interviewed said that there is definitely racial tension and division among high school students. As one PHS graduate said: "If you go over there you see the Latinos sitting in one spot, Blacks in another, Whites in another, Asians in another...". One father interviewed attempted to explain this racial division, and the subsequent problems which it may cause: "unfortunately, the Hispanic child always looks for the Hispanic child, because it's easier. First of all because they have the same problem, the same culture, and the same language. If you have the same problem, the same culture and the same language... you do the same things. Unfortunately the things that they do aren't the right ones". He sees the self-isolation of students into Latino social groups as one of the key reasons for their difficulties, because they have no external parental or school standards set upon them and end up solving their problems together in the easiest ways possible-with drugs, alcohol, and dropping out of school.

Paulina Alvarado said that one of the main issues effecting Latino students' academic performance, outside of the academic realm, is a feeling of displacement which may lead to resentment. She said that students feel that they have no where that they really belong-they are treated as foreigners here, and, if they return to their country of origin, they are also treated as foreign there. She believes that students' feelings of not fitting in here is heightened by assumptions that non-Latino students may make about immigrants' lives in their country of origin . She gave an example of an American student asking a Latino student if he had ever seen a car before he came here. Ms. Alvarado believes that there is a definition of the term "Latino" created for these students by the community, other students, and teachers from these stereotypes. These students adhere to these stereotypes because they don't want to lose their "Latinoness", which is the only thing that gives them a sense of where they belong.

A final factor which may lead to racial division is the fact that much of the Latino community remains separated from the larger Princeton population. Thus, when they are not at school, they are surrounded mostly others of a similar background. We were very struck by this as we walked around the Clay Street/ Witherspoon neighborhood-it was hard to believe that we were still in Princeton, just five minutes from the University. Most of the people we spoke with who had not attended the schools here spoke very little English or none at all. This situation, although comfortable for the families, may further the lack of adjustment of students in the schools. This community is so isolated, that the values which families carry from Latin America, particularly those about education, may remain unquestioned, and the conflict is perpetuated between what is expected of the student at home and within this isolated community and what is expected of the student from the schools. Students may also have a very difficult time understanding the relevance of what is taught at school to the reality in which they live and a generally more difficult time learning English and adjusting to American culture because of the cultural homogeneity of their community.

What the schools are doing:

Problems of low performance of minority students exist in schools throughout the nation. Often they are attributed to the low quality of education and lack of resources available to the students, who may live in low income school districts. The Princeton Regional Schools, however, have many resources available to students, so this is not the problem. It is important to note that the Latino population in the Princeton area is different from that found in other areas most are recent immigrants and this makes their experiences and needs very different. During the first few years when these immigrants were arriving, the schools changed very little to accommodate their needs. The Latin American Task Force existed, but it lacked the involvement of Latino parents and according to a six year member of the Latin American Task Force, it hasn't been until the last year and a half or so that the schools adequately addressed this new community's needs; "there were always voices before but no cohesion".

One of the key things they did was form a Minority Achievement Committee, composed of parents, community and Board members, staff, and administrators, whose purpose is to examine and address the needs of minority students in the schools. This committee was responsible for organizing the parents' meeting we attended one night at the Community Park Elementary School. The entire meeting was conducted in Spanish and child care and transportation were provided, if needed. The focus of this particular meeting was on summer opportunities for students and their parents. Parents were told about summer camps (which offer transportation and scholarships) and library services (including a book club for students, Spanish magazines and novels for parents, and two Spanish-speaking librarians) in the time we were there. When we asked the LATF member about these meetings, she said that their original goal was to look critically at the school system to find ways to improve it. She said that Latino parents, however, do not have a politicized agenda, and they are not in a position to critique the system (mostly because of the reasons mentioned in this project: differences in the schools, language, socio-economic position, etc). The meetings' agendas thus have conformed to the needs that the parents express and discuss.

The Minority Achievement Committee also researched and wrote an extensive "Minority Achievement Plan" (Appendix C) which opens by saying "Providing opportunities for all of the children in the Princeton Regional Schools is our districts' mission and one of our goals is to improve the achievement of our minority students. It is a multi-year task and we will continue to write, revise, and implement the plans to accomplish this goal." The plan, 80 double-sided pages long, is broken down into a district wide plan and a plan for each of the six schools within the district (Princeton High School, John Witherspoon Middle School, Community Park School, Johnson Park School, Littlebrook School, and Riverside School). Each school's plan is divided into several goals, within which there are a number of objectives. For each objective, there is a subsequent list of indicators/activities, responsibilities, resources, assessment/outcomes, and a time line for implementation. It is interesting to note that the schools are addressing as many of the issues we have mentioned in this paper as are in their control (as well as many more). The eight goals for the district-wide plan are to:

1. Review and revise curriculum creating positive educational experiences that incorporate Princeton's minority populations and cultures.
2. Raise achievement levels of all minority students.
3. Understand cultural differences as well as identity and alienation problems among minority students and address these needs.
4. Improve communication and program support for Latino students and parents.
5. Facilitate appropriate classification to provide student needs, avoid tracking, and communicate effectively with parents of classified students.
6. Increase the quantity and quality of interactions and partnerships with the minority community.
7. Build community trust by resolving concerns related to minority achievement.
8. Increase the number of minority candidates hired for teaching, administration, paraprofessional, and other positions in the Princeton Regional Schools.