{"id":282,"date":"2020-10-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-28T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/graduates"},"modified":"2025-02-20T08:38:55","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T16:38:55","slug":"graduates","status":"publish","type":"films","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/graduates\/","title":{"rendered":"The Graduates \/ Los Graduados"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><i>The Graduates \/ Los Graduados <\/i><\/strong>explores pressing issues in education today through the eyes of six Latino and Latina students from across the United States. More than a survey of contemporary policy debates, the bilingual, two-part film offers first-hand perspectives on key challenges facing Latino high school students and their families, educators, and community leaders. It is the story of the graduates who will make up America\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<p>Presented over two nights, the film follows six teenagers \u2014 three girls and three boys \u2014 each with their own unique obstacles to overcome. \u201cGirls\u201d features Stephanie, a daughter of Salvadoran immigrants, who despite attending a tough public school on the South Side of Chicago, fights through the distractions and worries about violence to become a good student, outspoken activist, and volunteer; Chastity, a Bronx teen whose family has become homeless but uses writing as a means of escape while keeping her eyes on the prize \u2014 college; and Darlene, a Tulsa student who dropped out of school after becoming pregnant and has to play catch-up when she dives back into her studies, all while trying to make a good future for her son.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoys\u201d gives us three more teenagers who are just as distinct: Juan, a Dominican living in Lawrence, Massachusetts who was bullied as a gay teen until finding his own identity as a performer and writer; Eduardo from San Diego, who is steered away from the gang path when introduced to a special college prep organization that changes his outlook; and Gustavo, who came to America from Mexico to live in the very different environment of Georgia and whose dreams of college are blocked by his undocumented status.<\/p>\n<p>A running theme throughout all of the stories in <i>The Graduates\/Los Graduados<\/i> is the importance of civic engagement, of students becoming involved in their schools and communities, and \u2014 crucially \u2014 having a say in their own futures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"clear-orphan\">We hear from these students\u2019 parents, many of whom have had to make great sacrifices in order to see their children graduate, and the film also interweaves engaging interviews with successful Latinos \u2014 actors like Wilmer Valderrama, activists, writers like Angie Cruz, politicians such as San Antonio mayor Julian Castro, teachers, and more \u2014 looking back on their own experiences as a student in the USA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The struggles and triumphs of Latino and Latina students from across the United States are explored through their own eyes in this documentary about the challenges faced in our nation&#8217;s public education system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":10076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"topic":[1246,1239,1220,1264,1293],"class_list":["post-282","films","type-films","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic-education","topic-identity","topic-immigration","topic-race-ethnicity","topic-youth-and-family"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Graduates \/ Los Graduados | Education and Latinos in the U.S. | Independent Lens | 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