Hispanic Heritage Month 101

By National PTA

It’s Hispanic Heritage Month! To help you celebrate, we’ve put together a few fun facts about this culture. Read on, and check out more in the infographic below!

hispanic-heritage-month_ecif_final_v2What is the difference between Hispanic and Latino?

The U.S. government distinguishes Hispanic and Latino as terms to define regions of origin and not a person’s race. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, being Hispanic refers to someone whose origins are from: Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central America and the countries of South America where Spanish is the primary language. Latinos are considered individuals from countries (or cultures) within the bounds of Latin America. Brazilians are considered to be Latino, but are not considered to be Hispanic. Latino has come to be used interchangeably with Hispanic in the United States. Neither term should be used to describe a person’s race.

Why is Hispanic Heritage Month Celebrated from Sept. 15 – Oct. 15?

We begin celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month on September 15, which is the anniversary of independence for five countries, including: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. We extend into October because October 12 is known as “El Dia de la Raza,” or “The Day of the Race.” It is a day celebrating the many nationalities present in the history of Mexico, Central America and South America.

The faces of U.S. Public Schools and data on Hispanic StudentsHispanics are the fastest-growing minority group in the United States.

The U.S. Census Bureau projects that the Hispanic school-age population will increase by 166% by 2050, while the non-Hispanic school-age population will grow by just 4% over this same time period. Hispanic kindergartners in public schools are overwhelmingly born in the U.S. (93%), compared with 86% of Hispanic students in grades 1 through 8 and 77% in high school.

Hispanics are currently the largest minority group in public schools in 22 states.

In 2014, 23% of elementary and 25% of high school students in the U.S. were Hispanic.

Leave a Reply