(NAME-MCE) MPI Report Examines Education Challenges of Rapid Immigration-Related Growth in Nevada

[Anselmo Villanueva]

Migration Policy Institute
September 17, 2008
Contact: Michelle Mittelstadt
202-266-1910
mmittelstadt at migrationpolicy.org

New MPI Report Examines the Education Challenges of Rapid Population
Growth in Nevada

WASHINGTON — Nevada, the fastest growing state in the United States
due to immigrant and native-born population growth, is facing
significant challenges when it comes to education and future economic
competitiveness, according to a report released today by the Migration
Policy Institute (MPI).

The report, Gambling on the Future: Managing the Education Challenges
of Rapid Growth in Nevada, identifies additional English language
instruction for the rapidly growing English language learner (ELL)
student population as a clear area of needed investment. Nevada's ELL
population surged 208 percent between 1994 and 2006, compared to a 61
percent ELL enrollment growth nationally. Yet federal funding for
Nevada ELL students fell sharply in 2007, and Nevada, unlike most
other states with large ELL populations, doesn't allocate additional
state funds to districts with high ELL enrollment.

"Nevada faces real risks if it continues to ignore the importance of
educating English language learners and the children of immigrants,"
said report co-author Michael Fix, who is co-director of MPI's
National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy. "Failure to do so
could jeopardize future growth in Nevada's economic productivity."

Though Nevada's labor market has been exceptional in providing
middle-class wages for low-skill jobs, the state's economic and
diversification plans will require attracting more high-skilled
workers to Nevada or producing more skilled workers in the state. Yet,
Nevada's elementary and secondary education system is stressed and can
be viewed in many ways as underperforming by national standards.

The report, authored by MPI Research Assistant Aaron Terrazas and Fix,
notes that Nevada:
- Ranks 50th among states in the number of high school graduates who
enroll in college.
- Has the lowest high school graduation rate in the nation, and
- Ranks 44th in public education spending

At the same time, Nevada's total school population grew faster than
any other state's between 1994 and 2005, rising 52 percent. To keep
pace with the growth, the Clark County School District (which includes
Las Vegas) opened an average of one new school each month between 2004
and 2006.

With one out of four workers in Nevada an immigrant, and the children
of immigrants accounting for one of every three Nevadans under age 18,
the state faces key challenges — and opportunities.

"Because of its demographic, educational and labor-market
exceptionalism, Nevada offers a powerful, if distinct, laboratory for
immigrant integration," Fix said.

The report is available online at:
www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/NCIIP_Nevada.pdf

The Migration Policy Institute is an independent, non-partisan,
non-profit think tank dedicated to analysis of the movement of people
worldwide. Founded in 2001, MPI aims to meet the rising demand for
pragmatic and thoughtful responses to the challenges and opportunities
that large-scale migration, whether voluntary or forced, presents to
communities and institutions in an increasingly integrated world.