Local, mostly white suburban schools are seeing an increasing number of Hispanic, black and Asian students in their classrooms.

The local trend reflects a report released in March by the Washington-based Pew Hispanic Center, which found the student population of America's suburban public schools has shot up by 3.4 million in the past 15 years.

The increase is due to one factor: the enrollment of new Latino, black and Asian students.

MORE: Find district-by-district information on minority enrollment.

In 2007, the nation's suburban school districts educated a student population that was 41.4 percent non-white, up from 28 percent in 1993.

Indiana fits into the "new settlement area," which has undergone significant growth in its Hispanic population over the last 10 to 15 years, Pew senior demographer Jeff Passel said.

"It's largely been new immigrants moving into the state," Passel said. "A significant share of those have been undocumented immigrants. As a 'new settlement area,' Indiana is more like the southeastern states. The immigrant population has been growing rapidly in percentage terms, and the new immigrants have largely been Latino."

Passel said Illinois is different because it is not a new settlement area and has always had a large Mexican and Mexican-American population. In fact, Illinois has the fourth largest population of Mexican-origin residents in the country, largely situated in the Chicago area, he said.

In 2007, the total Hispanic population in Indiana was 302,000, ranking the state 22nd in the country. Lake County had a Hispanic population of 70,457 compared to 59,128 in 2000. Similarly, Porter County had a Hispanic population of 10,492 in 2007 compared to 7,079 in 2000.

Portage Superintendent Mike Berta said he's seen the dramatic increase in Hispanic and black students in the last two or three years, with a student body population in 2008-09 of 8,476 students. Of that number, 71 percent are white (6,050), 15 percent Hispanic (1,259) and 7 percent black (564).

He said he has instituted a number of programs to proactively meet the needs of the district's new Hispanic and black students, including training teachers, modifying its instructional program and hosting study circles through the Northwest Indiana Race Relations Council.

"We want to create an environment of understanding and sensitivity, and we've included teachers, students and parents," he said. "The theory is that the more we understand others, the more everyone feels accepted and understood. We want everyone to understand that even if we don't all look alike, we have a lot of similarities."

In understanding one another, Berta believes it will reduce a sense of disrespect between some students and adults.

Valparaiso Superintendent Michael Benway said 15 percent of the district's 6,416 students in 2008-09 were minority. The district has increased the number of minority teachers it has hired in the last few years.

He said administrators have a goal-setting procedure that includes promoting diversity in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, gender and socioeconomic status, and principals are required to keep a log of activities.

"When we've had fights between a majority student and a minority student, it's immediately portrayed incorrectly as a racial issue," he said.

Valparaiso's Stacey Schmidt, director of elementary education, said children are exposed to a wide range of cultural experiences. Assistant Superintendent Robert Rarick said the district hosted a Hispanic resource night last year inviting numerous organizations to inform parents of resources in the community.

Four percent, or 258 students, at the Duneland School Corp. are Hispanic, 1 percent (72) are black and 1 percent (77) are Asian.

Duneland Assistant Superintendent Monte Moffett said the school corporation is seeing a cross-section of people moving into the community -- many from Chicago and some from surrounding communities.

"We're not just seeing one little piece of the pie. We're seeing students diverse ethnically and diverse ability-wise," he said.

The School Town of Munster is becoming increasingly diverse with 11 percent (468) who are Hispanic, 7 percent (309) Asian, 5 percent (201) multiracial and 5 percent (198) black. The total minority population in Munster is 27.3 percent, above the state average of 24.9 percent for the 2008-09 school year. It has been climbing steadily each year.

In the past dozen years, Merrillville schools have gone from a majority white population of students to a majority black, with a heavy influx of Hispanic.

According to Assistant Superintendent Mark Sperling, the Hispanic population has remained stable over the years. The district had a significant number of students who transferred into the "Merrillville-Schererville corridor" from out-of-state when a St. Louis-based Ford plant closed. Other new students came from surrounding communities. He said the district named a diversity coordinator several years ago and has several student organizations enabling it to "celebrate its diversity" every day.