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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Since We Asked Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Readers Choice 2006 Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Our Valley Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend August 20, 2006 Bernardo Guitron, left, and Javier Acevedo investigate a crime scene during an Academia Latina forensics class Thursday. (Sarah Hale / for the Mail Tribune) Leveling the playing field A new program, Academia Latina, aims to help young hispanics succeed academically by working with high school and college students as counselors and role models By Alan Panebaker for the Mail Tribune ASHLAND — Niria Garcia wants to go to college. She is an incoming freshman at Phoenix High School, and she is Latina. She is one of about 60 students who are embracing the opportunity of a college education by attending Southern Oregon University Youth Programs' Academia Latina this week. "We already have the advantage of being bilingual," she said. "Why not take full advantage of it?" In one class, she worked with her classmates to crack a murder mystery in Holly Hertel's "CSI: Oh My!" class. Kids examined clues from a mock crime scene like characters from the popular CBS TV show. Hertel, a biology teacher at the Willow Wind Community Learning Center, shows students how to test for pH levels, analyze how different materials burn and learn about chromatography. Hertel said she was surprised when the program directors invited her to help teach because she didn't speak much Spanish, but the experience is teaching her, too. Advertisement The program started in 2001 as an attempt to get Latino middle- and high-school age students to experience higher education. Academia Latina co-director Juanita Gomez-Ephraim said people saw a need to teach students about college because the dropout rates among Latinos were frightening. Latinos are the fastest growing segment of the United States population, but they have a 43 percent high school dropout rate, according to 2003 U.S. Census statistics. Barely 10 percent of Latino students who attend college graduate, Academia Latina officials said. "We're just working hard to even the playing field," Gomez-Ephraim said. Enrollment numbers have more than doubled since 2001, and students are returning after their first year. Starting this fall, program coordinators hope to see some of their first participants enrolled in college. "We're planting a seed and making sure it gets watered," Gomez-Ephraim said. Academia Latina works with high school and college students as counselors and role models. Students learn about art, photography, folkloric dances, writing and math. Kids stay in the dorms at SOU, go to a play and practice sports. Alberto Quirarte, a sophomore at Phoenix High School, said Academia Latina breaks down the walls between the cliques of high school and brings all the students together. "It just gets everybody included," he said. Brenda Gomez, a sophomore at North Medford High School, said she likes the sports and classes that aren't offered at her high school. She said there aren't any barriers at Academia Latina. "Here, you don't judge people because you get to know them," she said. When Holly Hertel watches her students run out of the classroom to play sports every day this week, she smiles and watches the future college-hopefuls show their enthusiasm for the future. "They just have that exploratory energy," Hertel said. Daily Tidings writer Alan Panebaker can be reached at 482-3456, ext. 227. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems California Casinos Men's Clothing Southern Oregon Loans --> GMAT Prep Fundraisers Send Flowers Entertainment Guide --> Casinos Canada Trunks, Footlocker Online Casino Reviews