Ten Of The Best Communities For Hispanic Youth (PHOTOS)

Not all cities are created equal -- especially when you’re a Latino student. America’s Promise Alliance, a partnership of over 400 organizations dedicated to improving the lives of the country’s youth, has released their 2012 winners of the ‘100 Best Communities For Young People.’ The annual competition aims to recognize “communities making extraordinary efforts to reduce dropout rates and provide outstanding services and supports to their youth.”

With a 15.1 percent dropout rate in 2010, higher than any other minority group for students ages 16 and 24, Hispanic youth remains a key focus group in the Obama administration’s attempt to lower dropout rates nationwide.

As reported by NBC Latino, these ten communities (see slideshow below) stand out from America’s Promise Alliance 2012 list for having a high Hispanic student population as well as a high overall graduation rate. California communities make up half of the list, many making their way onto the list for the second time.

“These California communities have discovered that through cross-sector collaboration, early family involvement, a focus on education and prioritizing youth, they can improve Latino graduation rates and give young people additional opportunities to succeed as adults,” wrote Dr. Elizabeth Molina Morgan, chief education advisor for America’s Promise Alliance, of the Indio and Marina communities on Fox News Latino.

Communities that made their way onto the list will receive a $2,500 grant to use toward funding local programs and services. Check out this year’s top ten communities for Hispanic students.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article used the headline "The Ten Best Communities For Hispanic Youth." The headline has been changed to reflect that these are ten of the 100 communities from America's Promise Alliance list and not a separate list which solely ranks communities for Hispanic youth.