Print Issue: May 9, 2002

Atlantan Co-Chairs Bush Commission On Hispanic Education

By Gretchen Keiser, Staff Writer

ATLANTA-Frank Hanna III, chief executive officer of HBR Capital, Ltd., has been named co-chair of the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans.

The work of the commission will be to advise the president and the Education Department on the educational progress of Hispanic- Americans and propose means for improving educational opportunities and achievement for Hispanic students. The commission will look not only at federal programs, but also at cooperation with the private sector.

Hanna, a member of Holy Spirit Church, Atlanta, who helped to establish The Donnellan School, Atlanta, Pinecrest Academy, Cumming, and Solidarity School, Atlanta, said he particularly hopes to bring the Catholic school experience and perspective to the commission's work.

The co-chair is Patricia Mazzuca, principal of Roberto Clemente Middle School, the largest middle school in Philadelphia, which is reported to be an international model for multicultural education and technology programs in inner city schools.

HBR Capital is a merchant banking firm. Hanna has also started and backed a number of financial service and information processing businesses, including CompuCredit Corp.

"My skills of organization and leadership within the business world are helpful," Hanna said. "I also bring this perspective with Catholic schools . . . I would imagine the Catholic Church as a system is one of the largest in the country in terms of the numbers they educate."

"I am thrilled about it for several reasons," Hanna said. "It is an interesting chance for me to serve" and the commission addresses "a number of things that are very important to me."

Hanna, through the Hanna Family Foundation, has provided most of the funds to establish the Solidarity School, a small school where Hispanic children living in the Roswell Road neighborhood are being taught. The school was opened in a shopping plaza, next to a mission established by Holy Spirit Church that is called Solidarity Mission Village.

The vision for the Solidarity School is that individuals and corporations will eventually sponsor each child's tuition there. The Hanna Foundation sponsored all the children the first year and the majority of the children in the second year. The school is bilingual, small in scale, and right in the neighborhood where newly arriving Hispanic families live and seek work.

"These are our brothers and sisters in our faith," Hanna said. Serving on the commission "allows me to serve them. It allows me to serve the country."

The commission had its first introductory meeting, when all members were sworn in, earlier this year. They will be meeting throughout the year in various places around the country.

Hanna said he finds in President George W. Bush's educational mandate, "No Child Left Behind," a profound inspiration.

"It is not a utilitarian concept. It is a reflection that every child has human dignity, and we can't forget that. It is not acceptable to have any children, or any group of children, relegated to under-performance."

The commission looks at pre-kindergarten through college years, and is made up of educators and business people, as well as people in the public sector, all of whom have had some experience with Hispanic education.

"This is not just a Hispanic issue. It is an issue for Americans," Hanna said.

He said that the Catholic school system should be one of the places the commission looks for success stories, as well as other private schools.

In addition to gathering data about the current status of Hispanic students, the commission will also look at what is working, what is effective and ways to enhance parents' involvement in their children's education.

They will also look at how the role of the family can be emphasized in policies being put into place.

They are charged with producing a report for President Bush at the end of next March.

"The president, I think, has a deep respect for the Catholic Church. The first week he was in office he went to visit (Washington) Cardinal (Theodore) McCarrick. He has a profound respect for the Holy Father. I think he, too, is aware of the role the Catholic schools have played," Hanna said.

The White House initiative was created by an executive order of President George H.W. Bush in 1990 to advise the Secretary of Education on how to promote quality education for Hispanic- Americans. The work has continued throughout the last decade in succeeding administrations as each president has extended the executive order while appointing new commission members.

Leslie Sanchez has been appointed to serve as executive director of the White House Initiative, which falls under the U.S. Department of Education. Sanchez, a native of Texas, was deputy press secretary for the Republican National Committee for the 2000 elections, responsible for developing the communications strategies for Hispanic media.

A 2001 report from the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic-Americans estimated that as many as one-fifth of Hispanic students who have limited English proficiency receive no special services to help ensure that they learn English while making progress in other academic subjects. It reported that in 1998, the high school completion rate was 90 percent for white students and 81 percent for black students, but for Hispanic students was only 63 percent.

Hanna is a 1983 graduate of the University of Georgia in business and a 1986 graduate of UGA Law School, and was a Truman Scholar and National Merit Scholar.

Hanna worked on the archdiocesan capital campaign, "Building the Church of Tomorrow," which was concerned with expanding the number of schools in the Catholic school system in North Georgia.

He helped establish The Donnellan School and Pinecrest Academy, both independent Catholic schools affiliated with the Legionaries of Christ, and serves on the board of directors of both schools.

The father of one child, a daughter, he funded and hosted a program for one year called "One Room Schoolhouse" that discussed how parents could become more actively involved in educating their children.

Other commission members are Micaela Alvarez of McAllen, Texas; Christopher Barbic of Houston; Jose Canchola of Tucson, Ariz.; Jaime Escalante of Roseville, Calif.; Charles Garcia of Boca Raton, Fla.; Norma Garza of Brownsville, Texas; Alexander Gonzalez of San Marcos, Calif.; Miguel Hernandez Jr. of Sea Brook, Texas; Father Jose Hoyos of Dale City, Va.; Francisco Paret of Palo Alto, Calif.; Grace Ramos of Beavercreek, Ohio; Endelia Schofield of Hillsboro, Ore.; Ofelia Saenz Vanden Bosch of Wimberly, Texas; Rene Vazquez of San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Octavio Visiedo of Coral Gables, Fla.