Challenging the Academic (MIS) Categorization of Urban Youth Building a Case for Puerto Rican High Achievers

Abstract

This article is intended to dispel the myth that Latinas and Latinos and other urban high school youths of color are not capable of performing at high academic levels. Much research shows that youths of color are underrepresented and underserved in gifted education programs. The authors describe the four success factors to which 10 working-class Puerto Rican high school students from low-income families attribute their high academic achievement: ( a) religiosity and extracurricular activities as sources of social capital; (b) affirming and maintaining a Puerto Rican identity; (c) maternal influences on students' academic achievement; and (d) the potential of caring teachers and other school staff to influence high academic achievement. Finally, the findings suggest that opportunities for students of color are still inequitably structured in large, comprehensive high schools. Hence, the authors argue that schools must continue to bridge the large gap between themselves and the communities they serve and ma...