Hispanic children are the fastest-growing segment of North Carolina's population and have seen conditions improve in recent years, but they still face significant challenges, a new report says.

The report, "Latino Children in North Carolina," was done by Action for Children North Carolina and released this week

It calls upon educators and policymakers to better serve the Hispanic population.

"North Carolina really has an opportunity here," said Barb Bradley, the president and chief executive of Action for Children, a nonpartisan advocacy organization based in Raleigh. "We could really become a center for development for Spanish-speaking professionals."

The report shows that the high-school graduation and dropout rates for the state's Hispanic students are worse than the general population's, although the figures have improved since 2005.

Students are suspended less often, but many more miss school because they feel unsafe or are offered drugs at school. This has happened more often for Hispanic students since 2005, the study states.

Bradley said that the safety issues could be attributed to Hispanic students being isolated from or stereotyped by peers.

"If people don't understand the culture you come from, you may not feel as welcome as you could. This translates into not feeling safe," she said.

Locally, Hispanic students in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools saw modest gains in performance on standardized tests. The system released end-of-grade and end-of-course test scores for 2009-10 yesterday that show improvements in third through 12th grades, with similar across-the-board reductions in the achievement gap between Hispanic and Caucasian students.

Not all Hispanic students are alike, however, said David Sisk, the school system's Title III/LEP program manager. The more serious gap, he said, is between Hispanic students who are proficient in English and those who aren't.

The system has about 7,000 students with limited English proficiency, most of whom are Hispanic, Sisk said. They often struggle with test instructions or questions, which affects their results.

"We're asking kids to take an English assessment, whether in math, reading or science, when they've only possibly been in an English-speaking environment for a year," Sisk said. "It really shouldn't surprise anybody that there's a gap."

Some of the school system's efforts to close that gap include co-teaching, where English as a Second Language teachers work with students in their regular classrooms; specialized curricula that use more visuals and hands-on activities; and bilingual programs in six elementary schools.

Other ways to improve, Bradley said, could include hiring teachers who are not only bilingual but who also understand Hispanic culture, encouraging more parent involvement in schools and providing Spanish-speaking tutors.

"The bottom line is that Latino children are bringing a lot of strengths that North Carolina needs," Bradley said. "To compete in the global economy, North Carolina needs bilingual people, people who understand other cultures."