ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Although Mauricio Novelo’s father encouraged him to pursue a career in science or mathematics, he preferred reading about the poignant love affair of Cathy and Heathcliff in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, as well as Spanish poetry by Pablo Neruda and Antonio Machado. The young literature enthusiast applied his passion to his studies and took advantage of his high school’s International Baccalaureate bilingual diploma program in which students took college-level courses in Spanish literature and English literature. As a result of his hard work and talent, the young man, a native Spanish speaker whose family had immigrated to Gainesville, Georgia from Mexico City, earned a coveted four-year scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania where he is pursuing an undergraduate degree in comparative literature (Jordan, 2009). Mauricio is just one of many gifted Latino1 students whose intellect and passion for learning needed nurturing. Fortunately, his talents were identified and supported in one of the only public high schools in the country to offer a prestigious bilingual diploma. Unfortunately, stories like Mauricio’s are rare, for many more talented Latino students in the United States face barriers and serious challenges to acquiring their education without support to overcome them.
