Bilingual site helps Latino parents create a “New Futuro” for their children

LatinaLista — In every survey conducted of Latino parents about their hopes for the education of their children, the unanimous sentiment is that they want their children to go on to college.

Unfortunately, there is a learning gap for parents when it comes to knowing how to help their kids apply for college, receive financial aid, choose a college, and even knowing what high school classes their kids need to succeed in college.

A new site, now in its beta phase, wants to close that learning gap for Latino families. Christened New Futuro, the bilingual site presents a multimedia mix of information to help inform and inspire students about college and careers.

From articles about where to find financial aid, how to choose a career or build up academic skills to videos of students sharing their experiences of applying for college to a special section showing parents what they need to do to help their children, the site serves as in-depth resource for what needs to be known about getting into college and having a successful career.

A special feature is the article contributions by students, guidance counselors, educators and others who have something to share to make the college journey easier.

Beyond the Internet, New Futuro also works at the grassroots level in many Hispanic communities by supporting live seminars and conferences to unite youth and parents to help them decide, plan and act on their education and career objectives. In 2012, New Futuro will tour the nation stopping at hundreds of Hispanic neighborhoods with their education-career mobile, creating a family-friendly environment to learn how to prepare, apply and pay for college.

According to the organization’s website:

Latinos lack information, resources and social capital to effectively pursue higher education. It is not a Latino issue, it is now an American issue.

In just one generation the U.S. went from having the highest college graduation rate in the world to having the 12th highest with a 40% of youth getting a postsecondary degree.

Because of this dramatic change, President Obama called a world-class educational system a “prerequisite for prosperity,” challenging the nation to raise higher education degrees by 20% in just 10 years. Since it is estimated that by 2035 one-third of the population under 18 in this country will be Latino, helping Latinos succeed in college and beyond means that the nation as a whole would flourish.