ABSTRACT
Major demographic changes in the past 25 years have dramatically diversified the American school system. Currently, almost half (48%) of U.S. children under the age of 5 are part of an ethnic minority group (Hodgkinson, 2008). Furthermore, 21% of school-age children speak a language other than English at home (Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 2009), and 12.5% of the U.S. population is foreign born (Pew Hispanic Center, 2008). This increase in diversity is being led by the rapid growth in the number of Hispanics, of which, Chicanos make up the largest and fastest growing subgroup (Fry & Gonzáles, 2008). The concept of “minority” as a “marker” for Hispanics and/or Chicanos will become obsolete in the near future. By 2050, the non-Hispanic White representation of the total U.S. population is projected to decrease from 69% in 2000 to 53% in 2050. By contrast, Hispanics as a group are predicted to increase from 13% in 2000 to 24% in 2050 (Valencia, 2002, p. 56, Table 2.4).
