ÌÇÐĶ¯Âþvlog

The nation’s Hispanic students are an incredibly diverse population, representing a mix of socioeconomic, language and cultural backgrounds. To highlight that diversity, Diplomas Count 2012 profiled individual students from the six largest Hispanic heritage groups represented in U.S. schools. Each of the profiles, featured below, is paired with a statistical portrait for that population group.

Dominican Republic

One Student, Two Cultures
Roger Sanchez’s ‘Afro-Latino’ heritage spurred questions from his new U.S. classmates.
Related Story: Dominican-Born Student Straddles Two Cultures

More Profiles

Federal Language Learning Twice as Hard for Mayan Student

Luis Mis Mis had to learn two languages—Spanish and English—when he moved to the United States from Mexico.

Lesli A. Maxwell

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2 min read

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Luis Mis Mis, 18, attends an English-literature class at Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco. A fifth-year senior, he spoke Mayan—not English or Spanish—when he arrived in the United States at age 14.

--Ramin Rahimian for Education Week

Equity & Diversity Native New Yorker Finds Spanish a 'Lost' Skill

A second-generation Puerto Rican, Alisa Rodriguez rarely uses her parents' native tongue now.

Lesli A. Maxwell

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2 min read

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Eighth grader Alisa Rodriguez, left, talks with classmate Diana Huerta after school ends at the Family Life Academy Charter School. Alisa is one of the few students of Puerto Rican descent at the mostly Latino school in New York.

--Parker Eshelman for Education Week

Federal Student Travels 3,000 Miles to Reunite With Parents

Language was Adiel Granados' biggest hurdle after his long journey from El Salvador to Silver Spring, Md.

Jaclyn Zubrzycki

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2 min read

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Adiel Granados, 17, reviews a quiz in his Advanced Placement Chemistry class at Wheaton High School in Silver Spring, Md. Born in El Salvador, the junior plans to go to college and become an engineer.

--Nicole Fruge/Education Week

Equity & Diversity Cuban-Born Student Readjusts to Miami's Cuban Culture

Lisbet Ascon came to Miami-Dade schools by way of Chile.

Christina A. Samuels

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3 min read

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Lisbet Ascon, 18, back center, does warm-up exercises during beginning-choral class at Miami Coral Park High School in Miami. The junior, who is Cuban-born, grew up in Cuba and Chile before moving to the United States when she was 16.

Josh Ritchie for Education Week

Federal Guatemalan Transplant Thrives in Cross-Cultural School

After San Francisco International High School, Marlyn Martinez wants to study civil engineering.

Jaclyn Zubrzycki

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2 min read

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Marlyn Martinez, 17, practices the reading she will do later before the start of Sunday Mass at San Carlos Borromeo Catholic Church in San Francisco, where she is a junior minister. Martinez moved to the United States from Guatemala a little over two years ago.

Ramin Rahiman for Education Week