Trays of brownies and cookies were laid out in neat concentric circles. Quesadillas were fanned out on tables alongside mounds of tortilla chips and salsa. Eudes Carrillo anxiously looked at the spread, then her watch, then the gaping door to the school cafeteria.
It was 6:20 on a rainy Monday night and only three families had made it to the event that started at 6.
"I told everyone 5:20 p.m. just so they would come here on time," Carrillo said nervously.
Carrillo was the lead organizer for Annapolis High School's welcome night for Hispanic families. The first-of-its-kind event got off to a slow start but picked up over the next hour. About 30 families came to learn more about the school and the community.
An Army recruiter stood ready to tell them about signing up after graduation. A local bank representative was prepared with forms to help families start bank accounts immediately. A handful of representatives of community agencies stood with brochures offering help with such services as health care and driving lessons.
All this is to help Hispanic families feel comfortable with a place that more and more are calling home. The Organization of Hispanic/Latin Americans of Anne Arundel County estimates the county is home to more than 14,000 Hispanics or Latinos, a number that has been growing steadily since 2003, said executive director Joyce Masterson.
Graduation rate
Family nights like this are one way Annapolis High is trying to overcome low attendance and graduation among its Hispanic students. The school has the highest Hispanic student population in the county school system, with 235 students. Over the past three years, that group of students has had the lowest graduation rate in the school.
In June, only 44 percent of them graduated from Annapolis High -- far below the 88 percent and 70 percent graduation rates of their white and black counterparts, respectively. The statewide Hispanic graduation rate is 81 percent.
That disparity, school officials say, reveals a particularly acute need for intervention here.
On average, Hispanic students also missed school one out of every five days. Low attendance is contributing to low test scores among Hispanic students at Annapolis High. Only 25 percent of Hispanic students scored as proficient or advanced on the most recent algebra High School Assessments, compared with 75 percent among their white peers. In English, 39 percent scored at the proficient or advanced level.
