The Coos Bay School District has the majority of Hispanic students in Coos County, but by no means the only ones.

The North Bend School District educates a total of 19 Hispanic students, dispersed throughout all grade levels, said Superintendent BJ Hollensteiner.<br>

North Bend Hispanics, Latinos and Chicanos do not have a support group like the Latino Pirates, she said. This may be due to the low population of those students at the schools.<br>

In Coquille, Superintendent Diann Gillaspie described the number of Hispanic students in her district as low and steady. Sixty students are listed as Hispanic children in the district. She, too, said no group like the Latino Pirates exists in her district.<br>

And in Myrtle Point, 27 of the district’s 698 students are listed as Hispanic.<br>

In comparison, Coos Bay School District has 341 Hispanic students, about 10 percent of the student population. They are in the second-most common minority group in the district, behind Native Americans, who number 411.

A total of 83 students are enrolled at the high school level, with about 20 actively involved in the Latino Pirates.<br>

The group meets about every two weeks and also schedules special events. A group made a day trip to the University of Oregon this year, with plans to visit Oregon State this fall.<br>

“The idea is to let them find out what’s out there,” said Gael Berhow, Marshfield High School dean of students. “For a minority it’s hard.”<br>

— Staff Writers Jessica Musicar and Alexander Rich