Rising by Degrees

I’m calling your attention to an American RadioWorks documentary, airing at this hour on MPR’s Midday program. Rising by Degrees looks at a developing problem. The fastest-growing segment of our society — young Latinos — are the least likely to graduate from college. What does this mean for the future of the country?

You’ll meet Veder Garcia, who spoke no English when he arrived in the U.S. from El Salvador as a high school junior, and is now completing his Ph.D. in plant biology at UC Berkeley. Community college was a critical step along the way. And the program introduces us to Mike Carvalho, who “always knew he would attend community college. What the 20-year-old didn’t know is that he would drop out two years after he started.”

If you can’t listen, you can find the Web site for the project here.