Latino education is rarely a campaign issue and neither party would have much to show in terms of concrete results in this area.

The administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, in a blunt acknowledgment that thousands of young black and Latino men are cut off from New York’s civic, educational and economic life, plans to spend nearly $130 million on far-reaching measures to improve their circumstances.

While Latino families do need to understand the importance an education has for their children's, and the nation's, future, so too must the system offer viable educational choices for Latino families.