The Ohio Latino Affairs Commission (formerly OCHLA), in partnership with numerous state agencies, universities and community colleges, has begun a series of town hall meetings focused on education issues. Its next stop is Terra Community College this Friday, Nov. 21, 2008.

“Our track record of work on education issues has a long history, and our recent initiatives started in 2001,” said Ezra C. Escudero, Director of OLA. “Nearly every year since, including our town hall meetings in 2001, our Education Report in 2002, our statewide partnership with the ‘Close the Gap Campaign’ in 2004, our national level alliance with the National Black Caucus of State Legislators and National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators in 2005, and culminating in our first statewide roundtable in 2006, we have focused in on this critical issue which affects all Ohioans.”
 

Ezra C. Escudero

The OLA Commission has among its statutory mandates a specific call to advise policy makers and officials including the governor, the general assembly and directors of the state’s departments and agencies on issues affecting Ohio’s Latino population.

During the meeting Nov. 21 at Terra, organizers will:
• Conduct a conversation with local Latino leaders and community representatives on the status of issues affecting Latinos’ education in the area.
• Re-visit identified solutions and consider possible new alternatives to improving the state of Latino education in the community.
• Continue building the distributed leadership model initiated during the Soluciones Conference.

The OLA Commission made such a scheduled spot last Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Sofia Quintero Art & Cultural Center.

For more information, please contact Lilleana Cavanaugh, Community Liaison, Ohio Latino Affairs Commission, at 614-466-8333.