Transitioning from alternative to traditional public schools: understanding Latino middle school student experiences

Includes bibliographical references (pages 117-122)As the population of Latino students increases across the United States and \ud especially in California, a growing need to understand their academic experiences is developing. The Latino student population is the ethnic group with the highest number of high school drop outs. In fact, research has demonstrated that Latino students begin disengaging from school as early as fifth and sixth grade (Ogbu & Matute-Bianchi, 1992). Research has also shown that high school students are entering alternative school settings for at-risk students in greater numbers (Hill, 2007). Given these alarming \ud statistics, there is a need to learn more about the academic experiences that Latino students have. There is a wide body of research regarding Latino students, yet there is still a need to look at Latino middle school students who transition between a traditional \ud school and an alternative school. Using social capital as a framework, this ethnographic study examined the experiences that Latino middle school students have as they transition \ud from an alternative school to a traditional school. The findings from the data analysis revealed three themes: 1) influences of the family; 2) effects of peer and teacher connections; and 3) school structures and academic opportunities. The findings also \ud demonstrate a need to continue further study in this area