Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education (CLASE)

Introduction

The Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education (CLASE) is a research center in the Mary Frances Early College of Education at the University of Georgia, Athens. The CLASE was created in 2003 through a generous grant from the Goizueta Foundation, to support the educational success of the growing Latiné population in Georgia. The Center contributes to the University’s combined mission with the specific goal of creating a more robust pipeline of educational supports for Latinés.

Our Mission

The mission is to conduct rigorous, meaningful, and evidence-based research and scholarly analysis to inform educators, policymakers, academics, and community organizations in Georgia, the United States, and globally. Our goal is to improve educational policies, practices, outcomes, and opportunities for Latiné youth, families, and communities across the P-20 continuum.

How will we accomplish our mission:

Conduct multi/interdisciplinary research to address complex issues
Use a variety of research methods to examine germane scholarly inquiry and empirical research
Develop a national and international research network to collaborate on grants and projects
Disseminate research finding in academic journals and other venues to inform academics, educators and the general public
Build strategic partnerships with school districts, foundations and other centers
Create outreach initiatives to disseminate research findings and other resources

Upcoming Events

Featured Research Projects

The Georgia Latino Education Summit Report The 2025 Georgia Latino Education Summit (GLES) report provides an objective, data driven 10-year longitudinal state and district level analysis (2014-24) of Georgia’s Latino K-12 enrollment and achievement to better understand their academic performance. The 2025 GLES report is intended for all audiences, but particularly for Georgia residents including parents, educational leaders (teachers, principals, superintendents, and school boards), civic leaders (political/non-political), community organizations, and higher education professionals (administrators, faculty, and staff).

Exploring Community Cultural Wealth and Latiné Students Trajectories from U-LEAD Athens The U-LEAD project explores how Latiné students participate in U-LEAD Athens, an immigrant-serving college preparatory organization in the Athens-Clarke County, GA. Given the educational and political policies that directly impact students with immigration backgrounds in the Athens-Clarke County, GA, this project hopes to inform how ULEAD supports post-secondary and career aspirations through Community Cultural Wealth.

Our voices our stories: Oral Histories of Latiné Education in Georgia This oral history project documents and preserves the educational experiences of Latiné individuals in Georgia during the second half of the twentieth century (1954–2000). The project will create a bilingual collection of first-person narratives that reflect personal experiences with education across the P–20 continuum, including postsecondary pathways. The purpose of this project is to understand how Latiné immigrants and their descendants have pursued, navigated, and made meaning of their educational journeys, as well as how participation in the U.S. education system has shaped their identities, aspirations, and sense of belonging.

Exploring Promising Districts in Georgia: A Case Study Approach The purpose of this study is to learn more about how Georgia school districts (n=4) who perform above state average and a low achievement gap support Latiné students. We are interviewing central district personnel (n=16), school leadership (n=24) and teachers (n=48). We hope this study will help other districts across the state of Georgia.

Additional CLASE Research Projects (Past, Current or Future)

Exploring Promising Districts in Georgia: A Case Study Approach
Examining School Level Latino Success Across Georgia
International Handbook of Latinés and Education
Venezuelan Migrants and Education International Project
Latinés in the U.S. South: Disrupting Historical Erasure and Master Narratives
Funding Bilingual/Dual Language Education and Multilingual Learners in the U.S.
Plyler v Doe: The Cost of Educating K-12 Undocumented Students
International Handbook of Latinés and Education Across Pan America: Critical Perspectives and Issues
Banning Spanish-Inclusive Picturebooks: An Obstruction to Teachers’ Abilities to Engage in Authentic Cariño with Latiné Students and Their Peers

CLASE Activities and Events

Distinguished Speaker Series

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The Distinguished Speaker Series is dedicated to exploring intellectually rich scholarly and research enhancing discussions relevant to the Latiné community.

Learn More about the Distinguished Speaker Series

Brown Bag Speaker Series

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This series fosters intimate and informal conversations that highlight research in Latino culture and educational issues shaping our communities’ future. Since this is exclusive to our CLASE team, sessions are not recorded nor made available to a larger audience.

Learn more about our Invited Speakers

Photo Gallery

Goizueta Foundation Graduate Scholarships

Do you want to become a Goizueta Graduate Scholar in CLASE? This annual program provides financial support and research training. This opportunity is open to all current or incoming graduate students across UGA.

Learn More

Our CLASE Team

Oscar Jimenez-Castellanos

Executive Director

Jose-Francisco Diaz-Valenzuela

External Research Collaborator

Edmund "Ted" Hamann

Associate Director

Meghan Fletcher