Reaching Hispanic Audiences
How do we effectively communicate with the audiences that are most important to us? That was a question posed by a member of Educommunicators over the weekend. More specifically, we are looking for answers as to how the education communications family is effectively reaching Hispanic audiences.
Over the past few months, I've personally spent a lot of time researching and thinking about this issue. Too often, I'm finding the general sense is it is too hard to reach Hispanic families on education issues. First, we think Hispanic families don't care about education concerns. Then, we say they don't use the Internet or read traditional publications. Factor in the language barriers of ELL families, and it is just too hard or too complex to deliver our message to Hispanic families. So we throw together a couple of Spanish-language PSAs, make a few calls to Univision or Telemundo, and then call it a day.
Of course, we know all of this to just be the making of a disappointing urban legend. Hispanic families are just as concerned about education as African-American or white families. Studies have demonstrated that the Internet is just as accessible in Hispanic households as it is in non-Hispanic households. And finding media that effectively reaches Hispanic families is no different than finding the right media to reach teachers, policymakers, business leaders, or African-American parents.
So how do we do it? What effective tactics have you used? What issues are important to communicate directly to Hispanic families? What do you wish you could try, but haven't? What questions remain in effective outreach to the Hispanic community? What do we still need to learn?
Send all of your thoughts to info@educommunicators.com, and I'll assemble the answers into a thoughtful analysis for all. There is no mistaking that the Hispanic community is a major driver in education reform today, from closing the achievement gap to improving school choice to boosting student achievement. We need to start asking the right questions if we are to figure out the best practices.
Some initiatives already underway, that I'm aware of, include the American Educational Research Association's Hispanic Research Issues group, which provides opportunities for exchanging information among researchers and practitioners interested in issues of concern to U.S. Hispanics in the United States.
Next April AERA holds its 2009 annual meeting in San Diego. Besides offering a number of free one-day convention passes to San Diego educators, AERA will sponsor a panel discussion focusing on how researchers can improve communications with reporters and editors. Improving communication with Latino media will form an important part of the discussion.
At this year's Education Writers Association conference Pew Hispanic Center researcher Rick Fry pointed out that most Hispanic students were born in the U.S. and most speak English. They might be struggling academically, but it’s not the same thing as limited English proficiency.
sources:
www.aera.net
www.ewa.org
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