NOTE : Stanton Wortham of the University of Pennsylvania is available to talk with reporters about general issues involving Latinos in rural areas of the U.S. Also, Douglas Massey, another Penn professor, can discuss larger issues surrounding Latino immigration.Feb. 15, 2001

PHILADELPHIA -- New labor markets in rural U.S. communities are drawing Latinos to regions where there has been little or no Hispanic presence, and this influx is accompanied by challenges for both the host communities and the newcomers.

"Immigrant and migrant workers come with the expectation of a better standard of living for themselves and their families, and most in fact do earn far more here than in their homelands, but they also face enormous hardships," said Margaret Gibson of the University of California, Santa Cruz a contributor to a new book, "Education in the New Latino Diaspora: Policy and the Politics of Identity."

Scholars who contributed to the book look at the growing Latino presence in rural sections of Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maine and North Carolina, exploring the struggles of the newcomers as these are played out in homes, schools and communities and in state and local governments.

The book nine case studies reveal the lives behind contentious issues such as bilingual education and cultural identity. For example, Karen Grady discusses the legitimacy of lowrider art for Latino students at a high school in the rural Midwest. Enrique Murillo investigates the public perception of Latinos working in North Carolina poultry plants as burdens to the community social services.

Representatives from a Universidad de Monterrey team -- Victor Zuniga, Ruben Hernandez-Leon, Janna Shadduck-Hernandez and Maria Olivia Villarreal -- offer an insider perspective of The Georgia Project, a partnership between their university and Conasauga, Ga., to help shape policies in support of immigrant Latino families.

"This volume shows us what is happening and, more important, what can be done to solve problems in these communities," said Stanton Wortham, associate professor in the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. He is co-editor of the book and author or co-author of two chapters.