I read and analyzed those reports a long time ago. But I think unlike last fall's AIDs research  those  educational researches had hardly been critiqued by the Haitian community.

One conducted by The  Boston Redevelopment Authority was published in New Bostonians (City Hall) last March 2007 got it from this website last November 2007: Imagine all the people: Haitian immigrants.

The  Boston Redevelopment Authority's report on Haitian immigrants is alarming. For instance, pages 4 and 6 provide a summary of types of employment Haitians from the city of Boston perform:

• 35% work in technical, sales, and administrative support occupations.
• 20% of the support occupation is in health care. Haitians are highly represented as registered nurses and overly employed as nurses’ assistant. It is estimated 80-90 of nurses’ aides in nursing homes are Haitian women.
• I am concerned primarily about the 2% Haitian employees working in community and social services. I believe this is an indication that not too many are thinking or working to solidify the Haitian community and provide services that are needed to build a healthy diasporic environment.
• The reported 1% Haitians working in Art, design, and media (combined) needs attention also. It indicates performing arts like theater,  professionally choreographed dance or visual Arts like, paintings, sculpture, exhibit in museums which are necessary for a cultured civilization and society are not part of most Haitians’ lives. 
• I don't know what kind of production the 8% working in production refers to.

Is it  factory workers or is it based on interviewing those ball, video, radio, TV producers? We need more Haitians to analyze research that are being done about Haitians. I wanted to contact BRA. But based on my writings in the past 20 years in Haitian  as well as mainline papers, except for AIDS,  I have not noticed an interest in responding to what is written about the Haitian community, or interest in research in the community. The research on Haitians mainly remain  in the academia which doesn't bring it down to the people. I do believe a research from the City of Boston should have had more reactions.

On page 9, 41.8 % of the adult population who combined, don't speak English or don't have a high school diploma is also alarming. The BRA research exemplifies a semi literate community that CIS studies indicated in 2005. Even among professionals and middle class Haitians, Haitian professionals have a lesser educational attainment. Only 8% have a Bachelors' degree, 3% hold a graduate or professional degree.  16% of Haitian middle class have a master's degrees or higher, compared to 75% native born middle class and 56% foreign born middle class who hold a master's or higher degrees.

The other research is from 2005 Center for Immigration studies

Twenty-five per cent of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, 174,000 people, live in  poverty. Over 20% of immigrants from Haiti, 117,000 people, live in poverty. “Arthur continues, “The main reason for the high poverty rates is given as poor education, leading to only poorly paid jobs. Of adult immigrants, 31% have not completed high school, three-and-a-half times the rate for natives. More than a third, 36.7%, of immigrants from the Dominican Republic have not completed high school. Immigrants from Haiti scored somewhat higher with only 27.2% of them not having completed their secondary education. The percentage for native-born  inhabitants of the United States is 9%.”

If observers find 20% percent of Haitian immigrants currently living in the United States in poverty level alarming, wait until this generation starts having children.

Haitian radios and television need more Pre-K- 12 educational programs and conversations. A solid Pre-K-12 education is a fundamental prerequisite to attend college.  We are not teaching our kids our history or creating a learning environment in our community. I have heard one public announcement on the radio promoting learning and education. I once heard  an announcement on reading.

However, some do, but most radio stations and churches don't have anything educational or make any announcements regarding parent meetings, or information about schools, civic engagement or free cultural events in the mainline. Except for one host, most of the time I am asked to pay to make a school related announcement. Those that not don't have to pay like the college stations are not always willing to make announcements about education or are not focused on life here or on education.

 This is to the extent that education is not a priority in the Haitian community. The community focus is on Haiti's 200 year saga, not the evolvement of Haitians' lives here in the United States, in this case Boston.

I am very active in the churches also. Except for the 7th Day Adventists and one Nazareene church in Dorchester, I am not aware of too many haitian churches' ministries that are  youth and education oriented either, or catering to professional Haitians.   A once a month service by youth is good, but not enough to help Haitian youth navigate this culture.

In other words, print which is the main mode of learning is not a common feature in the Haitian community. There is only one English paper that belongs to a Irish-American. We don't have a paper, a trilingual website in French , Creole, and English communicating, sharing resources and info that can help three generations of Haitians from all walks of life.

I believe the Haitian community really needs to start thinking of at least a school on Saturdays for the community. Before that is done,  focus groups to discuss the above researches will be a good idea.

Nekita