According to the Pew Research Center, social networking in Hispanic/Latino communities has outpaced that of their Caucasian and African-American counterparts. Forty-eight percent of online Hispanics have a social networking profile, whereas 43 percent of African-Americans and 31 percent of Caucasians have online profiles.

Despite such numbers, few school districts have thus far come to fully understand and embrace Hispanic cultural predilections and even fewer are leveraging social media to do so. By thinking outside of the box, educators can begin utilizing new technology to communicate with and engage their Hispanic ELL population. For instance, by providing bilingual websites, online language translation and introducing a variety of social media outlets into parent/teacher communications, teachers will have more tools available to effectively reach out to this community.

Just think how much more effective a bilingual website would be for monolingual Spanish-speaking parents. They would be able to actively comprehend school information and education programs to discuss directly with their children and teachers. Ultimately, those that devote the time and resources to communicate with their Hispanic/Latino audiences in a practical and meaningful manner will be rewarded with a sizable, engaged, and increasingly involved parent/student base.

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Maggie
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