Educational Attainment in the Hispanic and Latino Population in San Jose_final version02

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN THE HISPANIC AND LATINO POPULATION IN SAN
JOSE, CA 1
Educational Attainment in the Hispanic and Latino Population in San Jose, California
Theresa Yu
San Jose State University

JOSE, CA 2
May 5, 2014
Lisa Chavarria
Senior Health Educator
700 Lawrence Expy
Santa Clara, CA 95051
Dear Mrs. Lisa Chavarria,
Enclosed is the program plan, called Step Up, to increase educational attainment among
Hispanic and Latino high school students to go to college after graduation in San Jose, CA. The
National Hispanic University (NHU) is respectfully requesting a grant of $71,230 to fund our
project.
As an accredited university located in San Jose, CA, the NHU works hard to ensure that
every student will become local, national, and global leaders and that they will graduate. We are
passionate about helping students overcome the challenges they face in high school, and we want
to ensure they get critical attention during the times they apply for college. Step Up will allow a
phased-in approach to implement a three month program during the summer (June-August 2014)
at the participating San Jose high schools to effectively (1) raise awareness and fully integrate
cultural competence and how to address students’ needs appropriately, and (2) provide
information and foster skills on how to apply to college, financial aid, and other resources.
Due to your impeccable expertise and knowledge of teaching others on health topics, it is
acknowledged that educators must be culturally competent in the classroom while interacting
with children, and they must be aware of their cultural worldview in order to inspire and connect
with them. This program will address these topics to better the services for the students and
foster the vision that every student should look onto higher education to aspire their lifelong
ambitions and career goals.
Thank you for your consideration of our request. I will follow up with you in the next
week to answer any questions you may have and learn of the merits of the proposal. Should you
have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at Theresa.yu@sjsu.edu, or at (925)699-
4872.
Sincerely,
Theresa Yu

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Introduction
There are many Hispanic and Latino people living in San Jose, California, many of which
are at risk for low educational attainment. This means that young adults drop out of high school
frequently and never go back to finish. It also means that these young adults do not consider
going to college because of multiple and intricate reasons. There are many explanations of why
this particular population is susceptible to low educational attainment, and they will be explained
along with more details of the San Jose environment and a deeper understanding of the priority
population.
Social Assessment
Demographics and Comparisons
There are 945,942 people who live in San Jose, CA. Of this population, about 475,668
are males are 470,274 are females. The median age here is 35 years old. The priority population
studied is the Hispanic and Latino people, which include those who originated from the
Dominican Republic, Spain, Spanish-speaking Central or South American countries (U.S.
Census Bureau, 2010).
There are 313,636 Hispanic/ Latino people living in San Jose (U.S. Census Bureau,
2010). This only makes up about 30 percent of the entire San Jose population. Among the
Hispanic and Latino population, the poverty rates have increased, along with non-Hispanic
Whites and Blacks; however, the uninsured rates have decreased for the Hispanic population
(Walt, Proctor, & Smith, 2011, p. 8). Since 2007, Non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks, Asians, and
Hispanic populations have experienced a decline of median household income. Especially for

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White and Black households, the median household incomes have decreased significantly; for
other populations, it is not statistically significant. The decline for Black households was 10.1
percent since 2007, and 5.4 percent for White households. Hispanic household income had
declined by 7.2 percent, but they made the least amount of income at 37,759 dollars. Even
though Asian households had a 7.5 decrease in household income, they had the highest median
income in 2010, at 64,308 dollars. Additionally, the median income for Whites was 54,920
dollars; for Black households, 32,068 dollars (Walt, Proctor, & Smith, 2011, p. 9).
According to the Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network & Silicon Valley Community
Foundation (2012) and the observations made from Walt, Proctor, & Smith (2011), Whites’
household income remained the highest of all other racial groups. Whites only saw a decrease of
six percent in income in San Jose, while Hispanics’ income in the Silicon Valley got hit the
hardest, with a 15 percent decrease between 2008 to 2010. Interestingly, Blacks had the smallest
decrease in income within this time period and instead saw a 16 percent increase in income in
Silicon Valley (Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network & Silicon Valley Community Foundation,
2012). This is a noteworthy change in household income compared to the Hispanic population in
San Jose as well as the nine percent decrease of income in all of the states.
Environment
San Jose has many creeks, rivers, and waterways. San Jose does not have many natural
environments because it is an urban area, but it has many built environments. For the built
environment, San Jose has over one hundred parks, over 53 miles of trails, and over 200 miles of
bike way paths connecting residential neighborhoods. The recycling plan includes the Zero waste
plan, construction and demolition, resources and information to reduce waste, and the “bring-

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your-own-bag” ordinance. San Jose also has many businesses, fire departments, police
departments, and community centers for all ages. They give resources to people about fitness
centers, scholarships, programs, and classes (San Jose City Hall, 2014).
They try to involve as many people as possible to make San Jose a better place to live.
For example, San Jose has a program where people can report graffiti and litter with an app
called “San Jose Clean.” This is a great way to raise awareness about the graffiti and litter around
the area.
Experience
In a survey taken from the Santa Clara County Community Assessment (2012), 51
percent of residents overall living in the Santa Clara County have expressed being “very
satisfied” with their quality of life. This includes their “being” or identity among the community,
“becoming” or availability to engage in opportunities, and “belonging” which refers to their
connection with others.
Being. Many Latinos in the U.S. express that they have a different culture when
compared to each other, but they do share a strong connection to the Spanish language (Taylor,
Lopez, Martinez, & Velasco, 2012). There is also much confusion and debate over which
ethnicity Hispanics and Latinos identify themselves with. When it comes to describing their
identity, many Hispanics prefer to use their family’s country of origin. In addition, almost half of
the Latino populations think they are a typical American, whereas the other half believe they are
different from being American. When asked to identify themselves in the standard racial
categories in the U.S. Census Bureau, most Hispanics do not see themselves fitting into any

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category and either offer “Hispanic/Latino ” as an option or check “White,” “Black,” or “some
other race” (Taylor, Lopez, Martinez, & Velasco, 2012).
Becoming. In a survey from the Pew Hispanic Center, they found that nine-in-ten
Hispanic immigrants (93 percent) who were not citizens would like to become a U.S. citizen
(Lopez & Gonzalez-Barrera, 2013). This was held true among those who are legal residents and
those who are illegal immigrants. The analysis of the survey showed that a majority of Hispanic
immigrants who were eligible to get a citizenship have not done so yet; In fact, only 46 percent
of Hispanic immigrants that were eligible to become citizens have. According to Lopez &
Gonzalez-Barrera (2012), Mexicans, the largest group of Hispanic immigrants, had the lowest
naturalization rate among this population, which was only about 36 percent.
When asked to name the person they consider the most important Hispanic leader in the
country, they said that 62 percent do not know and 9 percent said “no one” (Lopez, 2013). This
shows that many Hispanics do not look up to anyone in their community. When asked how
important they think having a leader in the U.S. Hispanic community is, 29 percent think that it
is “extremely” important and 45 percent believe that it is “very” important (Lopez, 2013).
Belonging. Many U.S. born Hispanics (who make up 48 percent of Hispanic adults in the
country) express a stronger connection with other Americans and America than to the immigrant
Hispanics. When comparing education, 74 percent of college-educated Hispanics said that they
have different cultures among this population. This is similar among foreign born Hispanics, at
71 percent (Taylor, Lopez, Martinez, & Velasco, 2012). Many Hispanics and Latinos who were
born in the U.S. believe that they all belong to different cultures. Based on the previous

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information mentioned in “Being” of this essay, many Hispanic and Latinos do not identify with
“Hispanic/Latino” in the U.S. Census and many of them chose something else.
According to the Santa Clara Community Assessment (2012), older residents (67
percent), Whites (58 percent), college graduates (60 percent), and higher- income residents
reported being even more satisfied with their quality of life than the common population. Some
other factors that are assets and increase resilience are age, household income, and faith-based
organizations.
Assets and Challenges
Age is a strong factor that correlates with quality of life satisfaction: 52 percent who were
age 65 and older reported being “very satisfied” with their quality of life, compared to 32 to 39
percent of younger adults. In addition, household income is another big factor that influences
quality of life. Those who had a higher household income were more satisfied with their life than
those who made less. 59 percent of those who made $100K or more said they were “very
satisfied” compared to 35 percent of those who made less than $50k a year. Lastly, participating
in faith-based organizations allowed more community members to feel connected, but only for
some. Only 24 percent of survey respondents said that they regularly attended church, which is
lower than the U.S. average at 41 percent (Santa Clara Community Assessment, 2012).
On the other hand, there are an abundance of challenges for the Hispanic and Latino
population in the Santa Clara County. Half or more Hispanics reported having difficulties paying
for housing. These people have similar struggles to young adults, people with lower levels of
education and people with lower incomes (lower than $75K) who have trouble with the high cost
of housing in the area. Additionally, one-third of Hispanics reported having no one to turn to for

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financial assistance. Homelessness affects over 7,000 people in the Santa Clara County, but
disproportionately affects men, single adults, the Latino population and the African American
population. One in five people reported experiencing discrimination in the past year; young
adults (under 35), Hispanics and African Americans reported higher rates of discrimination in the
area. Finally, people are becoming less confident in community institutions (financial,
government, corporate, and non-profit institutions). According to the Pew Research survey, only
20 percent of the public trust the government to do the right thing most of the time (Santa Clara
Community Assessment, 2012). Aside from these difficulties that hinder many individuals, there
are many key experiences and mentalities the people in Santa Clara County believe that impact
the community.
The Santa Clara Community Assessment Program (2012) mentions some beliefs and
attitudes that the people have. Many believe that the community is not connected at all. Reasons
are because some people think the younger generations are always on their “gadgets” and that
they do not develop social skills and just communicate through email. Another person said that it
was hard to know their neighbors because there can sometimes be a language barrier. It was
stated that people just tend to gravitate to their own language and race since this is more
comfortable. Also according to the program survey, only 27 percent of people participated in
traditional civic engagement activities and only 31 percent volunteer. Those who did attend the
social and cultural events said that they enjoyed their time. One more key perspective that the
survey mentions is that many people believe that we, as a community, can culturally engage the
diverse population in Santa Clara County to create a stronger connection with everyone (Santa
Clara Community Assessment, 2012).
Overall Health Status

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There are a number of deathly diseases and risk factors that are pertinent in the Hispanic
and Latino population. According to the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention [CDC]
(2013a), there are ten major leading causes of death for the Hispanic and Latino population;
some examples are cancer, Heart Disease, stroke, Diabetes, and Pneumonia. The risk factors for
this population listed in the CDC are asthma, HIV/AIDS, obesity teen pregnancy, smoking and
tobacco use, and infant mortality (CDC, 2013a).
The CDC lists many health disparities for this priority population. Hispanics have one of
the highest uninsured rates, compared with Asians and Pacific Islanders and non-Hispanic
Whites. Another disparity is the prevalence of obesity is higher among Mexican-Americans
compared to other races (CDC, 2013a). One of the listed health gaps is racial and ethnic disparity
with education and income levels. This is found to be particularly high for Hispanics (CDC,
2013a).
Epidemiological Assessment
Description of Educational Attainment in Hispanic and Latinos
The concept of higher educational attainment is mixed within the Hispanic and Latino
population. There are trends showing that many more Hispanics have been attending college
lately, and many parents have been encouraging their children to go to college (Fry & Taylor,
2013). High school dropout rates for this particular population is a large factor that relates to why
people do not go on to higher education. There are many reasons why students drop out of high
school or never attain their diploma or General Education Development (GED), which will be
explained later in this essay. Once students drop out of high school, students usually do not go
onto higher education.

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On the topic of attaining a GED, many Hispanics who speak English are more likely to
attain one than those who do not. According to Fry (2010), language differences have not been a
big barrier for taking the GED tests because they are offered in Spanish. However, new data
from PEW research suggests that it takes some time for newly arrived immigrants to learn about
educational opportunities, even taking the GED. The longer foreign-born Hispanic dropouts have
been in the United States, the more likely they are to have a GED (Fry, 2010). This could mean
that the longer they stay in the U.S., the more opportunities they can learn about educational
opportunities and higher education. Among native-born Hispanic high school dropouts, only 21
percent have a GED (Fry, 2010).
Relevance of health issue. For those who do graduate from high school, they eventually
enroll in some form of college, but not necessarily attain a bachelor’s degree (Immerwahr, 2003,
p. 1). For some others, many decide to go to college on a part-time basis, delay going to college
right after high school, or go to a community college rather than a four-year institution
(Immerwahr, 2003, p. 2). Hispanic and Latino families actually place an importance on going to
college; however, many of the students see limitations to this goal. A majority of students
believe that getting a college degree is important and necessary to get a job. Based on a PEW
Hispanic Center survey, 88 percent of Latinos ages 16 and older think that a college education is
essential to get ahead in life (Fry & Taylor, 2013).
Importance and Magnitude of the Health Issue
According to the Santa Clara County Public Health Department (2010), education is
correlated to a person’s profession or occupation. Those who have a higher education often have
higher paying jobs, which lead people to have healthier lifestyles and get better access to

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healthcare. Going into higher education is important here because it has been found that people
will have a higher economic success if they have gone to college. Once people have a higher
economic success, people tend to be healthier and have a better quality of life (Santa Clara
County Public Health Department, 2010).
Since graduation rates reflect future educational attainment, high school dropout rates and
graduation rates will be discussed. In Silicon Valley, the graduation rates are growing. 88 percent
of students in Silicon Valley have graduated compared to the California graduation rate, which is
only at 81 percent. The high school graduation rate in 2009 to 2010 for Hispanics was 78
percent. This is the lowest rate of the other reported ethnicities: Asian, White Filipino, Pacific
Islander, American Indian, and African American. The ethnicity that is most likely to graduate is
Asians at 96 percent in Silicon Valley. The second to last graduation rate is African Americans at
83 percent. Hispanics’ graduation rate lags behind any of these ethnicities reported in the San
Jose Index, and this is shown clearly as a disparity within our community (Joint Venture Silicon
Valley Network & Silicon Valley Community Foundation, 2012).
Additionally, in 2009 to 2010, Hispanics had a high school dropout rate of 19 percent.
This comes second to American Indians, who had a dropout rate of 20 percent. The overall
dropout rate of Silicon Valley is 11 percent (Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network & Silicon
Valley Community Foundation, 2012).
Trends, Relationships, and Community Interest
There have been reported trends that Hispanic dropout rates have been decreasing. From
The National Center for Education Statistics, dropout rates for 16- to 24- year olds have
decreased from 28 percent in October 2000 to 14 percent in October 2011 (Fry & Taylor, 2013).

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Research also suggests that more Hispanics are likely to go to college right after high school. 69
percent of Hispanic high school graduates in 2012 enrolled immediately in college in the fall,
which was higher among Whites (67 percent) that year. This is a record high for Hispanics in
college enrollment after the recession in 2008 (Fry & Taylor, 2013). Even though fewer
Hispanics are dropping out of high school and more are going to college, it does not compare to
the other ethnicities and still lag behind them.
One trend seen among Hispanics and Latinos that correlates with lower education is
working a high risk job. Working in a high risk occupation is greatest for Hispanics, for low
wage earners, for those born outside of the U.S., for those with lower than a high school
education, and for males. This corresponds to the high number of work-related death rates
especially for Hispanics, those born outside of the United States, and those who are male (CDC,
2013b).
Those who have a high school education or lower in the Hispanic/Latino population may
develop health issues later in life. There is a strong correlation between not completing high
school and living below the poverty level. According to the CDC (2013b), Hispanics were
among one of the highest percentage of adults who did not complete high school, and they were
also among the highest percentage of adults who were living in poverty. Furthermore, it is
observed from the CDC (2013b) that Diabetes is prevalent among Hispanics with less than a
high school education. This shows that Hispanics who do not graduate from high school and
have low educational attainment are more likely to develop more health issues and complications
later in their lives.

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These issues are recognized by many organizations and departments. The Santa Clara
County Community Assessment included education as one of the components they address in the
census. Healthy People 2020 (2013) had also addressed “on-time high school graduation rates”
under social determinants of health. Their goal is to increase high school graduation rates by 9.1
percent. The Santa Clara County Office of Education offer different resources to improve
academic achievement for all students. They have different branches that focus on separate
things: Business Services Branch, Educational Services Branch, Human Resources Branch,
Student Services Branch, and Technology Services Branch. Under the “Educational Services
Branch” (ESB), they offer resources and assistance for teachers through professional
development, for curriculum development, and much more. There is a lot of data that
corresponds to using different services to implement new things to improve schools’ academic
achievements. Also under this category, they offer programs that teach kids about student health
and safety, including California Healthy Kids Survey, Oral Health Assessment Reporting,
HIV/STD Programs and many more. The Santa Clara County government believes that this
problem is important because they have programs to help with educational services for not only
students, but for educators, parents, and administration (Santa Clara County Office of Education,
2014).
Behavioral Factors
Some key behavioral factors that prevent many teens from continuing to go to school are
substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, and having mental and emotional issues. About 30 to 40
percent of teenage girls who drop out of school are mothers. This makes teenage pregnancy one
of the leading causes for them to drop out. This also applies to young men who drop out of
school to support their new child. Another factor that leads to drop outs are mental issues and

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emotional disturbance. Many students, especially young women, are sometimes forced indirectly
to cope with family illnesses and responsibilities that are often imposed on them, leading them to
stop their education. There has also been found that addiction to drugs, mental issues, chronic
diseases, or death among parents while these students are in school has detrimental effects to
their academic performances (Freudenberg & Ruglis, 2007).
At- risk teenagers are seen to have disruptive conduct, are often late and show
absenteeism (Freudenberg & Ruglis, 2007). A study by Immerwahr (2003) on college-prep
students observed that students who came from working-class families and lived in poverty
sometimes would not show up to the interview sessions. The reasons were because they said they
could not get a ride to go there or did not have the resources to get there on time. Another reason
was because they were afraid that they would not get paid if they arrived late, so they did not
show up at all. These behaviors resonate with the behaviors in Freudenberg & Ruglis’s article
about student behaviors and thoughts. This shows that some of the at risk students do not have
the motivation, resources, discipline, or support to accomplish their goal, no matter how much
they want it.
Environmental Factors
There are many more environmental risk factors that affect educational attainment for
Hispanics than behavioral risk factors. One of the main risk factors is a family environment that
lives in poverty. Many Hispanic families believe that going to higher education is worth it, but
they have trouble paying for it. Students who come from economically unstable families with no
tradition of family members going to college may be unprepared to go to college later in the
future (Immerwahr, 2003). Another common reason why students may have low educational

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attainment is because of the school they go to. The school may lack programs to help students
transition into college and have unsupportive teachers and staff members (Freudenberg & Ruglis,
2007).
Educational Assessment
This part of the assessment looks at both behavioral and environmental aspects of the
health issue and uses “predisposing,” “reinforcing,” and “enabling” factors to determine what
kind of information there is that influences the priority population in order to create an
appropriate health promotion program.
Predisposing Factors
Predisposing factors are the knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and values the Hispanic and
Latino people have toward higher education.
According to Immerwahr (2003), students who did not appear to go onto college seem
unprepared, lack academic skills, and do not have a clear direction or focus of where they want
to be. Many students in this group think that going to college is not the norm because their
families have low educational attainment and come from low-income families. Even though
these higher risk students came from poor upbringings, they still knew that going to college
would make them successful. In contrast, it was observed that Hispanic students who were more
adamant about getting into college did not have the same attitudes as the non-college bound
students. Many of the students who planned on going to college came from upper to middle class
families. They had the goal of graduating with honors and expect that college tuition will be paid
by their parents and with financial aid (Immerwahr, 2003).

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Some students were misguided on facts about college, which lead them to believe some
things that were not true. Many parents and students believed that going to college was for
people who have a specific career in mind. Students believed that taking refresher classes for the
first two years is a complete waste of time since it does not have to do with the major. This
mentality was more popular among students with richer upbringings. Many students were also
poorly informed about financial aid. When asked, many students had not heard of the program
even if they were highly qualified for it (Immerwahr, 2003).
There is also the mentality that once students graduate from high school, it gives them the
chance to work more hours and make more money at the same place they are already employed.
For many students, upon completing high school, they want to work more or take on the family
business. This is because going to college can be seen as a “leap of faith” because one is
delaying work for the greater possibility of earning more in the future (Immerwahr, 2003).
Reinforcing Factors
Reinforcing factors are the knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and values of the students’
family, peers, and teachers that influence their goals of higher education.
Contrary to what some Hispanic parents believe about going to college to find a specific
career, many other parents believe that students should go to college anyway even if they do not
have a career in mind. Many parents also believe that going to college is important for career
development later in life (Immerwahr, 2003). Even though many Hispanics parents may struggle
to pay for college, they believe that any student who has the potential and motivation to achieve
this should go to college no matter the cost (Immerwahr & Foleno, 2000).

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Some parents may be supportive of their children going to college, but many others have
different plans for them. Many parents want their kids to get pregnant during their teenage years
and offer to take care of the baby while they still attend school (Immerwahr, 2003). While this
may be a traditional expectation, this may delay students from attaining higher education. To
make things more complicated, many teachers sneer at the fact that many of the students’ parents
would like their child to become pregnant at 13 or 14 and believe that this is the best choice for
their child. The teachers used degrading language to express their contempt for the Hispanic
parents and students, resulting in discouragement toward the students’ academic attainments
(Immerwahr, 2003). One teacher from Immerwahr’s (2003) study believed that the students did
not care about their future careers and just cared about how much money they made per hour in
their current job.
It is not just the teachers that ill- advise the students about college, the school counselors
did not talk about higher education with the students. Some of the counselors provided little help
with regards to any information on college and did not seem to show interest in their futures.
These students seemed to have minimal adult guidance, which lead them to make poor decisions
on their educational futures. Some of the students’ decisions may have closed some doors
(Immerwahr, 2003).
As for the attitudes of health care professionals, Freudenberg & Ruglis (2007) state that
health professionals do not identify improving school graduation rates a major public health
issue nor have they analyzed the issue to increase graduation rates. There is also the fact that
health professionals and educational professionals do not work together to decrease high school
dropout rates. Health workers do not focus on the educational aspect of why some health

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disparities exist, so the issue of low educational attainment persists (Freudenberg & Ruglis,
2007).
Enabling Factors
Enabling factors tie in environmental, social, and personal experiences with educational
attainment among Hispanics and Latinos. It explains why there are barriers to going to college,
in terms of the lack of availability, lack of skills, and absence of policies.
As mentioned previously, low income is a main reason why students do not go to college.
The resources are not there to foster the children to attain higher education. Also, lower
education is highly correlated with income and occupation; therefore, if the parents have low
educational attainment, the children may not have enough opportunities to go to college and find
a stable career later (Freudenberg & Ruglis, 2007). Some schools may not have supportive
counselors and teachers to educate students on the admission process for college. Many students
were misled because of the lack of resources. In addition, some schools do not have school-based
interventions to target lowering the high school dropout rates. According to Freudenberg &
Ruglis (2007), having individuals, families, school systems, and public policies intervene at the
factors of why high school dropouts are persisting may help educational achievement.
Cutler & Lleras-Muney emphasized that creating policies that encourage academic
achievement could have a great impact on overall community health; it may even save more
lives than medical advances in our healthcare field (Freudenberg & Ruglis, 2007). This means
creating more laws to help students do well in school could be beneficial to our community in
the long-run. One example of this is creating a school policy to better school climate. Schools
may implement policy changes to decrease bullying, strict and unreasonable policing, and penal

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disciplinary actions (Freudenberg & Ruglis, 2007). Another example of this on the federal level
is the No Child Left Behind Act. This is a policy change enacted to allow students to graduate
with a regular diploma in four years. Creating these policies will further help students to graduate
high school and seek higher education.
Conclusion
The predisposing, reinforcing, and enabling factors all contribute to why Hispanics and
Latinos are at risk for low educational attainment. The 313,636 Hispanic people living in San
Jose now are on different levels in terms of their socio-economic status and their upbringings,
but a good portion of this number may not have any idea of how important finishing high school
is, what going to college really means, or even how to apply to college and what resources are
out there to help them. Analyzing these reasons provided in the predisposing, reinforcing, and
enabling sections will help construct a program to make college more accessible for Hispanics
and Latinos.

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN THE HISPANIC AND LATINO POPULATION IN SAN JOSE, CA 20
Program Plan
Goals and Objectives
Goal: To make college more accessible for Hispanics and Latinos in San Jose, CA.
Process Impact Outcome
1.By June 1, 2014, the program will form
a Community Advisory Board of 10
people to guide the program.
2. By August 1, 2014, the National
Hispanic University will have trained
personnel to go to each high school in
San Jose to educate the staff, parents, and
students on college information,
applications, and Financial Aid.
3. By July 1, 2014, the trained
educational counselors would have
developed the entire curriculum they
want to teach to the participating San
Jose high school staff.
4. By July 26, 2014, the trained
volunteers and community advisory
board members would have talked to the
participating San Jose high schools on
details about the training, what to expect,
and when the training will begin and end.
5. By July 30, 2014, each high school site
will have the appropriate equipment and
materials to begin the training in August.
1. By December 15, 2015, one in three
Hispanic students and parents in the
participating San Jose,CA high schools
will be able to list the steps needed to
apply for college and register for
financial aid.
2. By May 20, 2015, 50% of
Hispanics and Latinos would
have seen their teacher,
counselor, or a school staff
member at least once about
their plans for college or their
future before graduating.
By April 2020, Hispanic
and Latino students in
San Jose, CA will have
increased high school
graduates rates by 10%.

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Theoretical Framework
This program will be derived from the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). The theory will
be applied to the Interpersonal level because school staff members, parents, and related adults
will be forgoing training to address educational attainment among high school students.
The SCT ties personal factors, environmental factors, and human behaviors together to
determine how an individual will change their health behavior. It has three main parts, which are:
self-efficacy, goals, and outcome expectancies. These factors all work together in order to
change and adopt new behaviors (National Cancer Institute, 2005).
The SCT has six main constructs, which are: self-efficacy, reciprocal determinism,
behavioral capability, expectations, observational learning/modeling, and reinforcements. Self-efficacy
is the belief that oneself can overcome barriers. Reciprocal determinism is where the
person, behavior, and the environment interact with each other to construct the behavior.
Behavior capability is showing a particular behavior through acquired knowledge and skill.
Expectations are the anticipated actions from behaviors performed. Observational learning is
modeling other people’s behavior by watching their actions and outcomes first. Finally,
reinforcements are responses to a behavior that will either encourage or discourage that
particular behavior to be performed again (National Cancer Institute, 2005).
The program will use each of these constructs to implement the plan. The program will
foster self-efficacy among the school staff members and then eventually to the students once they
learn about college. The staff, parents, and the high school students will exhibit behavioral
capability when they learn about college and how to apply to college. There will be expectations
that the school staff and parents will pick up this material quickly in time for school to begin in

JOSE, CA 22
the fall. Reinforcements will also be enforced in the training where the past negative attitudes
performed by the school staff and parents that discouraged students to go to college will be
unadvised. The program will implement observational learning because the staff members and
parents will study the trainer’s behaviors throughout the sessions and learn what is appropriate
and what is not. Lastly, the program will implement reciprocal determinism because the goal is
to foster a comfortable environment for the students to interact with the staff members and
parents to plan for higher education. If the students feel like they are in a safe place where
learning and graduation are important, then they will develop the confidence that there is a place
for them in college, and this will boost their self-esteem.
Strategies and Activities
The first method for the program is to increase knowledge. One of the strategies for this
method will be to use health educational strategies. Professional educational trainers from the
National Hispanic University will come to the participating San Jose high schools to teach
counselors, teachers, educators, and parents and guardians the proper way to encourage students
to go to college. The trainings will go over the steps to apply to college, the benefits of going to
college, which college is most suitable for each individual student, and financial resources.
The other strategy for this method will be to use behavior modification strategies. After
the training, the participants will learn how to talk to students properly about their future goals
and expectations of higher education. The professional trainers will discourage the participants to
use racism or discrimination while talking to their students. Students will undergo behavioral
changes after talking to their counselors, teachers, or parents about their plans for higher

JOSE, CA 23
education. Once they realize their role model is supportive about their plans and aspirations, they
will start believing in themselves, and this will foster self-efficacy.
Another method for this program is to build skills. This method is geared more toward
the students’ success on graduating high school and inspiring them to go to college. The first
strategy is the health education strategy. For one of the objectives, students are required to meet
with a mentor, whether it is a counselor, teacher, or parent, about their thoughts and future goals
about college. During this meeting, the mentor can give advice about college and support the
student in any way he or she can.
Goal setting is one of the more important activities that can be done during the meeting.
This will allow the student and the mentor to see where the student is at and where he or she
wants to go; it will eventually foster self-efficacy and a sense of direction for the student.
The second strategy is the inventive/disincentive theory. Because the mentors will be
meeting up with the students, they have the potential to increase or decrease certain behaviors to
allow them to academically succeed more in high school, graduate, and go to college. In
addition, since teachers will be trained as well, they can foster certain skills needed to go onto
college and decrease the behaviors that make the students at-risk. This works the same with
parents and other adults who take the training.
Implementation Plan
Staffing. The program will include one program manager who has a Master of Public
Health (MPH) degree and has experience managing programs. There will be ten Community
Advisory Board members who do not necessarily need an educational background but find a

JOSE, CA 24
passion and importance in education and children. They need to be trained on collecting data
among the community, how to collect surveys, and how to work cohesively.
There will be six Senior Educational Counselors who need a teaching credential and at
least a Bachelor’s of Arts. They also need to have knowledge of the different colleges around the
area and have the ability to research different colleges out of the area. They also need to have
current knowledge of the different programs that are available for high school students to go to
college. The Educational Counselors are considered to be one of the main components of the
program because they are trained personnel that will educate the school staff and parents. They
are a valuable asset to the program so they must undergo numerous amounts of training before
the program begins. They need training on the priority population and an overview of cultural
competence. They also need to know specifically how to teach counselors, teachers, and parents
about this information. Additionally, they need have minimal training on high school students
and how to increase their self-efficacy.
The program will need no more than two Statistical Analysis Consultants to input in the
quantitative data gathered from the sessions. They need to have a MPH, Statistics or math major
degree with related experience in organizing and analyzing statistical data with computer
software. They only need minimal training on the computer analysis software.
Lastly, there will be no more than two Grant Writers. These people need to have a MPH
or related field. They must have experience in grant writing. They need to be dedicated to writing
letters to obtain grants to fund the program. They can be trained on the style of grant writing
required, theories, and how to plan deadlines in time to implement the program.

JOSE, CA 25
Materials. The trainings will be conducted in the participating San Jose high school
locations; therefore, there will need to be an available classroom to conduct the sessions. There
will also need to be an available meeting room where the community advisory board can meet.
This will preferably be in the National Hispanic University. The statistical analysis consultants
also need to have an area with computers and the necessary software to input the data and write
the report. This will also be done in the National Hispanic University, and they will specifically
allow an office space for both consultants to work together. It will be the same for the grant
writers, and the university will provide the computers and other materials.
The necessary materials will include computers with statistical software. It must have
Microsoft Essentials or software similar to it so the statistical analysis consultants and the grant
writers may use it. For the trainings, projectors, laptops, whiteboard, markers, pens and writing
utensils are needed. Based on the population, training handbooks will be passed out in both
English and Spanish so the material presented in the training is in writing form. There will also
be food and beverages provided during breakfast and lunch times while the sessions are still
running. There will also be a transportation service for those who cannot make it to the high
school location. This will be used mainly for the parents or guardians participating in the
training.
Participant eligibility and recruitment methods. The participants in this training will
include counselors, teachers, school staff, and the parents/guardians of students in the San Jose
high schools that have a high percentage of Hispanic and Latino residents. The community
advisory board members and volunteers will go to the high schools that have a low graduation
rate and try to recruit them to participate in the training. They will also pass out flyers and talk to
the community members there to spread the word about this training. Volunteers who are

JOSE, CA 26
interested in educational attainment and Hispanic/ Latino people also will be passing out flyers
and talking to the community members. The volunteers that are recruited will represent the
demographics of the community there.
After the training, the high school students from the participating high schools will be
eligible to get a scholarship from the National Hispanic University. This will include grants or
even possibly attending the National Hispanic University for no charge. This is an incentive that
will get more people to participate in the trainings.
Phasing approach. This program will implement the phased-in approach. The pilot test
is not appropriate because similar programs have been tested before, and there is secondary data
to support it. However, the program should not be implemented in full because there will be new
employees who have just been trained. There also needs to be a substantial amount of time to
collect recent data, so the phased-in approach can allow data to be collected at a comfortable
pace.
Ethical Considerations
One ethical consideration that needs to be addressed is informed consent. The
participants need to sign a consent form before the trainings begin to give permission on any
data, media, or pictures that are released. In addition, the consent form will provide information
on what the trainings are about, and it will inform the participants of the details on the overall
program.
Another ethical concern would be addressing the cultural sensitivity and moral codes of
the community. The professional educators who are implementing the training sessions must be

JOSE, CA 27
especially aware of the Hispanic and Latino culture and need to be culturally sensitive to the
population there. Any acts of disrespect toward the participants may result in distrust within the
community and the program may lose its credibility.
One important ethical consideration would be negligence, or failure to act reasonably.
There are two categories under negligence, which are acts of commission and acts of omission.
Acts of commission are when the program does something that is not best practice. For this
category, professional educators are not to blame the counselors and teachers for discouraging
their students from going to college. Acts of omission are when the program does not do
something they need to. If one of the educators sees that a participant is rude to the other
members and does not actively say anything, it is an act of omission. If participants are not
behaving accordingly, then one of the educators needs to assertively stop this before it causes a
scene.
Implementation Barriers and Facilitators
Potential barriers. One potential barrier that could impact the program success is
acceptability of the program. Many teachers and counselors may not accept that they need to be
retrained to do their job correctly. They may not even want to learn more about fostering self-efficacy
among Hispanic and Latino culture and care about higher education among this
population. Especially due to funding issues, the high school staff may not believe that retraining
them is necessary and think that the graduation rate is acceptable. These concerns can be
addressed by giving them real life examples of things the students go through every day and
emphasize that this is an important issue to address to better the health of the community. It will

JOSE, CA 28
also help if some of the parents volunteer to persuade the school staff members that they want
better educational services for their kids.
Another potential barrier would be language or literacy barriers. Some parents may only
know Spanish and minimal English. The education they received may vary too, so they may not
understand what is presented during the trainings. This can be prevented by hiring some
professional educators that can speak Spanish and English fluently. It will also help if the
booklets and papers that are passed out have Spanish translations. Generally, the professional
educators will be sure to present the trainings no higher than the fifth grade literacy level.
Potential facilitators. One facilitator that will contribute to the program’s success is the
use of volunteers. Like said before, the volunteers will be representative of the Hispanic
population at San Jose, and they are able to connect easily with the community members and tell
them to participate in the trainings. The volunteers will also help the educators and at the same
time, get teaching experience and work with professionals.
Another facilitator would be that the Hispanic population is already looking toward
higher education. There has been a record high of Hispanic students enrolling in college already,
and this will serve as a model for others if they want to reach the same goal.

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN THE HISPANIC AND LATINO POPULATION IN SAN JOSE, CA 29
Evaluation Plan
Impact Evaluation Plan Matrix
Objective: By December 15, 2015, one in three Hispanic students and parents in the participating San Jose ,CA high schools
will be able to list the steps needed to apply for college and register for financial aid.
Evaluation
Description of Data to
Data Sources Data Collection
Data Analysis Methods
Questions
be Collected
Methods
Can one out of three
Hispanic students and
parents in the
participating San Jose
high schools list the
steps of how to apply
to college and register
for financial aid?
Quantitative:
- the number of people
who can list the steps to
apply to college and
financial aid
-the number of people
who cannot list the
steps to apply to
college and financial
aid
Pre/post test Instruments: paper
surveys that will include
questions on how to
financial aid
Methods: conducting the
surveys before and after
the intervention
Quantitative:
- find the ratio of people
who can list the steps and
the ratio of people who
cannot list the steps
-statistical analysis on how
well each person did on the
pre/post tests
Qualitative:
- their thoughts about
applying to college and
financial aid
- how confident each
person feels about
listing the steps to
financial aid
Pre/post test Instruments: paper
surveys that include a
scoring method on how
confident the person feels
about listing the steps to
financial aid
Methods: conducting the
surveys before and after
the intervention
Qualitative:
- analyze data for emergent
themes from pre/post tests

JOSE, CA 30
Organization Name: The National Hispanic University
Project Title and Program/Grant Reference #: Step Up
Budget Contact Name and Phone: Theresa Yu
PROJECT BUDGET
Other
Revenue
Sources
In-Kind
(if
applicable)
Requested
Total
Proposal
Total
PERSONNEL/STAFFING EXPENSES
(List title and % FTE on project)
1. Program Manager, 1.0 FTE 0 0 14,400.00 14,400.00
2. Community Advisory Board member (10), 2.5
FTE 0 0 12,180.00 12,180.00
3. Senior Educational Counselor (6), 3.0 FTE 0 0 28,800.00 28,800.00
4. Volunteers (12) 0 14,616.00 0 0
Subtotal, Personnel/Staffing Expenses 0 14,616.00 55,380.00 55,380.00
Benefits (3.5 % of Personnel)
NON-PERSONNEL EXPENSES
Rent 0 2,250.00 0 0
Office Supplies 0 0 200.00 200.00
Equipment Supplies (computers, software, projectors,
etc.) 0 3,000.00 0 0
Communications (Telephone, Internet, etc.) 0 270.00 0 0
Travel Expenses 0 0 180.00 180.00
Vehicle Lease 0 0 1,800.00 1,800.00
Other:
1. Liability Insurance 0 0 600.00 600.00
2. Auto Insurance 0 0 150.00 150.00
3. Food/ drinks during trainings 0 0 5,040.00 5,040.00
Total non-personnel expenses 0 5,520.00 7,970.00 7,970.00
INDIRECT/OVERHEAD EXPENSES
89% of Direct Expenses*
(Direct Expenses = Personnel + Non-Personnel)
OTHER COSTS
Statistical Analysis, 0.5 FTE 0 0 4,320.00 4,320.00
Grant Writer, 0.5 FTE 0 0 3,360.00 3,360.00
Printing Costs 0 0 200.00 200.00
TOTAL EXPENSES
(Personnel + Non-Personnel + Other Costs) 0 20,136.00 71,230.00 71,230.00
Based on Kaiser Permanente' Community Benefit Grant Proposal Budget Template: kaiserpermanente.org/

JOSE, CA 31
Because the program will only take three months (June to August 2014), the employees
and the volunteers will only be compensated for this time. There may be other opportunities after
the program ends for more work, and they will be notified of these openings after the program is
over. Since the goal is to have the training sessions in at least three different San Jose high
schools, the cost for food is high. There are additional non-personnel expenses to consider;
however, many of the costs here are in-kind because the schools will provide it. The trainings
will be conducted in an open classroom that is reserved beforehand, and many of the equipment
supplies and technological supplies are provided from the school as well.
The major budget expenses go to the paid employees. There are ten Community Advisory
board members but they are all paid minimum wage. There are six Senior Educational
Counselors but they do not get paid a substantial amount either; the person who gets paid the
most is the Program Manager. Finally, there are the volunteers who are not compensated at all
but help the program tremendously.

JOSE, CA 32
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JOSE, CA 33
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