1994 Latino Headlines Population Shift Changing City's Schools Hispanics Are Largest Group Source: Providence Journal/Evening Bulletin January 4, 1994
The rush of white families to the suburbs and the arrival of thousands of Latin American immigrants have made Hispanics the largest ethnic group in the city's public schools. Hispanics now account for 34.6 percent of Providence students, compared with 29 percent for white students, 24.6 percent for black students and 11.1 percent for Asians. Until last year, when Hispanics first took the lead, white students had been the largest single group. Providence now joins Central Falls, which has a 46 percent Hispanic enrollment, as the only Rhode Island school districts where a minority group prevails, according to the state Department of Education. Just a decade ago, the Providence school system's racial and ethnic kaleidoscope reflected a much different picture: Fifty-four percent of the students were white, 25.5 percent were black, 12.5 percent were Hispanic and 8 percent were Asian. Now, Hispanics are the dominant group at 14 of the city's 31 schools, and overwhelmingly so at some of the biggest ones. At the largest high school, Central, on the outskirts of downtown, the 928 Hispanic students nearly outnumber those from all other groups combined. At the largest elementary school, Gilbert Stuart, in the West End, about 6 out of every 10 students are Hispanic. The growth in Hispanic enrollment mirrors population changes citywide. In 1980, the Hispanic population was 9,071, or 5 percent of the total, according to the Census.
In 1990, Hispanics accounted for 24,982, or 15.5 percent, of the city's 160,728 residents. Most of the new residents are immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Puerto Rico who have settled in poor and working-class neighborhoods in South Providence, Elmwood, the West End and Olneyville. The number of white residents in the city fell by 11 percent between 1980 and 1990, from 127,320 to 112,404, Census figures show. But the surge in Hispanics and other minorities boosted the overall population by 2 percent, to 160,728. Hispanics can be white or nonwhite, but they are listed as Hispanic if they check off that designation on Census or school enrollment forms. In the schools, the booming Hispanic enrollment has yet to translate into changes in the racial and ethnic makeup of the power structure. None of the top School Department administrators is Hispanic, and only 1 of the 31 principals is - John S. Hernandez of Oliver Hazard Perry Middle School, on the west side. Asked how many administrators speak Spanish, Supt. Arthur Zarrella said, "I can count them on one hand minus two fingers. It's a definite problem." The nine School Board members include four whites, three blacks and one Southeast Asian. The lone Hispanic, Roberto Gonzalez, is leaving to fill a vacancy on the city Housing Court. "My feeling is that we should have at least three School Board members who are Hispanic," Gonzalez said. In addition, Hispanic students seldom see a Hispanic person standing in front of them in the classroom. Of the city's 1,300 teachers, 3.5 percent are Hispanic.
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Gonzalez Sworn In As Housing Court Judge *A Big Crowd Turns Out As He Becomes The First Hispanic Judge In Rhode Island. Source: Providence Journal/Evening Bulletin Jan 11, 1994
PROVIDENCE --- Roberto Gonzalez, who served 15 years as a member of the School Board, was sworn in yesterday as a Housing Court judge, becoming the first judge of Hispanic descent in the state's history. Gonzalez resigned from the School Board in November after Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr. announced his nomination to the judgeship that was vacated by Robyn Y. Davis, who resigned in October. Cianci administered the oath of office to Gonzalez at a City Hall ceremony that was attended by a large crowd, "much larger than we expected," said the new judge's son, Roberto Gonzalez Jr. "We were expecting only a few family members, but the room was almost overflowing. There were a lot of Hispanic people." Cianci announced the appointment on Nov. 19, the 500th anniversary of the founding of Puerto Rico. A son of Puerto Rican immigrants, Gonzalez was born in New York City and was a teenager when the family moved to Providence. He graduated from Central High School and Rhode Island College, receiving a bachelor of arts degree in 1975 and a master of arts in counseling in 1978. He received his law degree in 1986 from the New England School of Law. Elected to the Constitutional Convention in 1985, Gonzalez was the first person of Hispanic heritage to be elected to public office in Rhode Island. In 1990, he was appointed to the Governor's Commission on Hispanic Affairs, and a year later was named to the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education.