Giving Compass' Take:

• A new report by the USC Center for Immigrant Integration sheds light on how immigration policies can impact immigrant students and families in the Los Angeles School District.

• What will this report help change in the current school system in L.A.? What can education donors do to address the unique problems facing immigrant students?

•  Learn about Los Angeles' school-based intervention to help students address trauma. 


Nearly 60 percent of children in Los Angeles County have at least one immigrant parent, according to a new report by the USC Center for Immigrant Integration that highlights deep disparities in education and the workforce among Latino and black immigrants.

The report, “State of Immigrants in LA County,” and the challenges faced by immigrant students and the children of immigrants across L.A. schools were among the main topics of discussion at the first “The Future of Immigrants in Los Angeles” summit in downtown L.A. on Jan. 9.

The USC report was released at the summit, where more than 300 community leaders representing dozens of local and nationwide organizations, as well as elected officials, educators and pro-immigrant advocates, gathered at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels to discuss why immigrant parents’ civic engagement and empowerment are crucial for these students to succeed.

Efrain Escobedo, vice president of education and immigration for the California Community Foundation, said that policymakers and school districts need to understand the disparities and how anti-immigrant policies around deportation impact learning for those children.

“What this report does is to have schools recognize that we have to look at families and we have to look at communities. These students are bringing needs that are impacted by the economic inequalities that exist in the county, that are impacted by the anti-immigrant policies around deportation,” Escobedo said. “All of these things affect the learning process for these immigrant children. What this report does is provide that bigger picture for school districts to understand what might be the other contributing factors that we need to think about and will force districts, I think, to say we need to partner with not just families, but with organizations.”

Read the full article about student success by Esmeralda Fabian Romero at The 74.