Men of Color: Ensuring the Academic Success of Latino Males in Higher Education

This report seeks to elevate the grave statistics and realities of the growing gender gap in educational attainment among Latinas/os and provides recommendations for education practitioners, institutional leaders, and federal and state policymakers on how to support Latino males on the road to and through college and into the workforce. A first step in ensuring the success of Latino males is to provide information and strategies for stakeholders at the federal, state, regional, and local levels to both embrace and implement a comprehensive agenda that spans early childhood through college. The authors provide (1) a review of recent census and educational attainment data and related transition points in early childhood, secondary, and postsecondary education for Latinas/os; (2) a promising blueprint to help develop and implement education programs and initiatives to increase the success of Latino male students; and (3) policy and programmatic implications for stakeholders seeking to enact change at the pre-college and college levels and within national, state, and local contexts. Missing this opportunity to provide economic and social advancement for this community will have a profound impact on the future of U.S. citizens and the nation’s economy.