College of Public Health and Human Sciences

The present chapter focuses on low-income Latino families and their children within the context of the schools they attend in the USA. Latino children enter kindergarten with a range of academic and self-regulation skills, but parents and children can face multiple challenges navigating the educational context. The chapter explores risk factors (i.e., policies and demographics) experienced by low-income Latino families and how these factors shape their children’s experiences in school. It also focuses on the importance of foundational skills such as self-regulation for Latino children’s school success and interventions to promote these skills. The chapter then highlights the strengths these families bring to support their children’s early learning and educational experiences. Discussion focuses on ways that schools can capitalize on the strengths that Latino families bring to collaboratively support children’s academic achievement and educational equity.