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Notes from MASTexas meeting for the Texas Plan

 by Tony D on 05/18/14

The Texas Plan: Meeting I:

Goals:
 
50 Schools
Teach Mexican American Studies at a Minimum of 50 schools.
April 08, 2014 to Fall Semester 2014:
February 2015 NACCS Tejas Foco Lone Star College-North Harris, Houston, TX.
August – December 2014,
And Spring 2015: January – May 2015
 
200 School Districts
September 2015 – December 2015
September 2015 Book Fair of the Americas
January 2016 – May 2016
 
Overall Approach
 
MAS Tool Kit: Create the MAS Tool-Kit administrators and teachers need to implement and conduct MAS for Fall 2014 or later.
 
100’s of districts at a time: Ruben Cortez TX State Board of Education can cast a wide net to get 100’s of school districts statewide to endorse MAS or committee to implementing MAS at once.
 
MAS in the Class room: MAS Texas Coalition can approach individual school districts or schools at a time.
 
MAS in the Community: MAS Texas Coalition and Librotraficante can lead grass roots and community events to inform the community: a.) Librotraficante Under Ground Libraries B.) Student Groups C.) Family Engagement: 5 parents from 5 schools in one district delivers a district.
 
10 Ways Your Local School Board Impacts Your Life
http://www.mamiverse.com/school-board-librotraficante-23967/
 

Opinión. Tony Díaz: aprendamos sobre nuestra historia

 
http://www.ahorasi.com/opinion-tony-diaz-aprendamos-sobre-nuestra-historia/
 
 
Create a List of all schools and school districts agreeing to implement MAS, and a list of schools implementing MAS. (This should include school districts and multi-school district organizations that endorsed MAS to the SBOE.)
 
MASTExas.org Offer MAS Texas , especially www.MASTexas.org as a source for materials for teachers to utilize to implement MAS and conduct MAS Course.
 
Feb 2015 Tejas Foco: Plan towards sharing information, best practices, and policy strategies,   and inviting policy makers, at the 2015 Tejas Foco February 2015 to be held at Lone Star College-North Harris Campus, Houston, Texas.
 
MASTexas.org will be updated with notes, news, and resources-especially for implementing Mexican American Studies.
 
 
Details:
 
We will post lesson plans on www.MASTexas.org
Resources for teachers who want to implement Mexican American Studies from all levels K-12. We are informally calling this the “Blue File.”
 
·      Lesson Plans:
·      Book references
·      Curriculums
·      Syllabi
·      Class room exercises
·      Student Examples
·      List of experts
·      Professors
·      Writers
·      Scholars
 
 
Easiest Ways for High Schools to Implement Mexican American Studies:
 
 
1.     Implement Introduction to Mexican American Literature as a dual credit course.
 
2.     If you teach Composition II/English 1302, add Mexican American Literature as an emphasis.
 
3.     Implement LOTE 9th – 12th Spanish Special Topics Mexican American Studies
 
4.     If you teach Spanish, add Mexican American Literature as an emphasis.
 
5.     Advanced option: Encourage schools to offer the first PEIMS course one semester.
 
6.     The Second Semester add the research course.
 
7.     There is also room for different levels: first level, second level, third level, fourth level.
 
8.     How to Implement Mexican American Studies via Social Studies endorsement:
1.)  AP Human Geography
2.)  World History/World Civilization Hybrid
3.)  U.S. History
4.)  U.S. Gov/ Eco Year
 
9.     4th year English: Innovative Course-English with the Endorsement.
 
10. Confirm: If 16 more students request the course, it can be added.
 
 
Quantum Demographics: As we refine the path to implementation for MAS and create the kit to conduct the classes, we will also identify leaders in African American Studies, Native Amerian Studies, Asian American Studies to offer those classes also.
 
 
Future SBOE ISSUE:
Cultural and Linguistic Topic Course: PEIM number:
New Code is only one code for social studies.
We offer one code.
 
·      We need four social studies PEIMs numbers for special topics.
 
 
Future Presentations:
 
Librotraficante Under Ground Libraries are links to community. In Houston, MECA houses UG Library.
 
September 2014 TASBE: Present information to school boards.
·      38% of HISD are reading at grade level.
 
Track Changes in 1302: how does a MAS topic/focus fit in?
 
Get the recipe from Juan Tejeda for Dual Credit.
 
Tejas Foco: Feb. 2015 at Lone Star College-North Harris: policy makers, teach teachers, famiies, students, student groups.
 
SBOE wanted to know how many schools teach MAS?
 
 
 
List of schools teaching or implementing MAS:
2 High schools in El Paso ISD.
 
South Houston High School, Pasadena ISD: LOTE Spanish Mexican American Special Topics (Houston area Fall 2014)
 
McCollum High School (San Antonio Fall 2014)
 
Kipp College Prep (San Antonio Fall 2014)
 
Harlandale High School (San Antonio Spring 2015)
 
In near future: Aldine ISD (Lone Star College-North Harris, Victory Center, Houston)
 
Schools that we need to confirm or get information/details/contact info:
 
John Gomez: teaching MAS at a Middle School for years. (Confirm.)
 
HISD has a Collaboration with HCC: Early Colleges. (Confirm)
 
HCC Dual Credit with Yzaguirre: HUMA: Special Topics in Social Studies. (Confirm).
 
Rio Grande Valley MAS Fine Arts (esp. accordion).
 
HISD wants Culturally Relevant works. Milby offered MAS 5 yrs ago.
 
 This is a shortened link to this blog post for your multimedia convenience:
http://bit.ly/1wzZnxi

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MAS MAS, Texjas: Are You Ready to Run a MAS program?

by Tony D on 05/15/14

I had to start my own M.A.S. program. Lee College is ready to hand you the keys to a smooth running machine:

Here's a link to a video about the Puente Program:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gy2IurixVM


Lee College, Baytown, Texas:

Full-Time Instructor - Mexican American Studies
Teach in the writing, literature, and humanities programs. The primary responsibility will be teaching in the Puente program, a program that requires culturally specific content and includes course work in developmental reading and writing, freshman composition, learning strategies, and Mexican-American Studies courses.
The successful candidate may be required to teach evening and dual-credit classes.
Qualified applicants must be committed to student learning, integrating technology into the curriculum, and encouraging engaged scholars. All faculty members are required to participate in departmental and college committees and activities as stated in the Faculty Workload and Responsibilities Policy. The Writing Program at Lee College is committed to defining itself in terms of current composition theory and pedagogy.

Applicants must have a Master's degree with a minimum of 18 graduate hours in English. Applicants must have significant course work or teaching experience in Mexican American Studies and be qualified to teach freshman composition. The successful candidate must demonstrate a commitment to ongoing professional development.
Emphasis in rhetoric and composition.

https://jobs.lee.edu/postings/2808

This is a shortened link to this blog post for your multimedia convenience:
http://bit.ly/1grH6h7


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We Have a Date With History: MAS Texas #ATX Schedule

 by Tony D on 04/04/14

We have a date with History:

#BookRave #Counter Culture
Monday, April 7, 8 pm
Resistencia Book Store
Casa de Red Salmon Arts
4926 E. Cesar Chavez St
Austin, TX

#LibrotraficanteAnthem

Tuesday, April 8: March for MAS:
9 am Corner of Cesar Chavez Street and Congress.
We will march along Congress for a rally in front of the Capitol Building.
Austin, Texas


Tuesday, April 8, Rally 12:45
Press Conference and Rally
Texas Education Agency Building
William B. Travis (WBT) State Office Building
1701 North Congress Avenue
Austin, TX  78701

Testify in Austin in April 8, 2014.

1. Before then, call your SBOE rep and tell him/her not to shut down Mexican American History.

3. Monday April 7 is the last day to register to testify in Austin on the website or by FAX between,  or in person or by telephone between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.  Phone number: (512) 463-9007. You are registering to discus new course implementation.  

April 8 Hearing Attendance Survey MAS Unidos


Wednesday, April 9 The Texas State Board of Education Votes on MAS.

Tell the Texas State Board of Education to stop Blocking Mexican American History.

This is a shortened link to this blog post for your multimedia convenience:
http://bit.ly/1hoxGwb

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NACCS Tejas FOCO call to action for MAS April 9.

 by Tony D on 03/28/14

Saludos, Colegas. The National Association for Chicana & Chicano Studies Tejas Foco Committee on Mexican American Studies for Pre-K to 12 has been working with various organizations and individuals from throughout the state of Texas to integrate Mexican American Studies (MAS) into Texas schools. Currently we have an ongoing "E-Mail and Call-In Campaign" to the elected members of the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) until March 31 (see previous e-mail below), and a "Day of Action" on Monday, April 7, to urge the SBOE to put Mexican American Studies as an "Action Item" on their April 8-9 meeting in Austin, and to get them to vote for the creation and development of a course and curriculum in Mexican American Studies for Texas children and schools. We are having good results with the e-mail and call-in campaign and if you have not done this yet, please take the time to do so. The names, contact and information is in the e-mail below and the second attachment. We want to get as many calls and e-mails as we can until March 31, and then bombard them with e-mails/calls on April 7, the "Day of Action," as we prepare for the meeting.

There are also four petitions that have been started by NACCS Tejas Foco/Somos MAS, LULAC, MAS Unidos (a statewide student organization), and Texas Freedom Network (see links below). If you have not signed these, please do so and share. It only takes a minute. We'd like to have thousands of signatures to take to the SBOE meeting, and these petitions are also being forwarded to the Texas SBOE. These important initiatives are having an impact, and at the very least are raising awareness of the importance of MAS for all of the Texas' children, and for the future economic success of this state.






There are also some interesting articles that have come out on this issue in the Huffington Post and Brownsville Herald. See links below.




In the meantime, the Ysleta and El Paso Independent School Districts were the first school districts in the state of Texas to vote and pass a resolution in support of Mexican American Studies for Texas schools (http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_25332747/yisd-urges-state-board-education-use-mexican-american); Houston Community College-Central and Southeast are integrating MAS into the Dual Credit programs for high schools (http://culturachicana.blogspot.com/2014/03/focando-2014-mas-y-mas-y-mas.html); and San Antonio saw the Ceremonia and Grand Opening Celebration of the Palo Alto College Center for Mexican American Studies last week (http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Center-for-Mexican-American-Studies-opens-5335888.php?t=b7f39137b3d94c05bd#/0) and McCollum High School became the first school to sign up for the Fall, 2014 Dual Credit course in Mexican American Fine Arts Appreciation at Palo Alto College, a first for San Antonio. There are many more victories all around the state (send me your MAS victory stories).

Let's continue implementing MAS into Texas schools at the local school district level and with community colleges and universities; and let's keep the pressure on the Texas State Board of Education by e-mailing and calling them through March 31 and on the "Day of Action" on April 7, signing the petitions, and planning to be present at the April 8-9 SBOE meeting in Austin and testifying (there's info on signing up to testify in the e-mail below). There's going to be a major demonstration at the April 8-9 meeting. Our children have a basic human and civil right to an education that reflects them positively and teaches them about their own identity, history, language, arts, and culture. MAS will help them succeed in school, and in life. MAS is good for all Texas children, not just Mexican Americans. And educating our children makes good economic sense for Texas.

One of the most important initiatives that we should begin immediately is developing a curriculum in MAS for Pre-K and elementary school children and working with local school districts to implement these as soon as possible. The younger we reach our children, the better, because these are the early crucial years in which they get thrust into the U.S. and Texas educational institutions, and these early years lay the foundation for all of their future academic endeavors. Do you know of any MAS curriculum that has been developed for Pre-K and elementary grades? If so, please share this with me, and send me your MAS Texas news, articles, links etc.

Gracias por su trabajo in support of an exemplary, relevant and meaningful education for our children and the generations to come. "For we are the ones we've been waiting for," as the Hopi prophecy says. Pa'lante, and once again pardon the long update. Juan

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
 

Saludos, Colleagues and Friends, and for many of you, welcome back from Spring Break. Are you ready to hit the ground running? After speaking with various people, including two of our elected representatives on the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE), Ruben Cortez from the Valley, and Marisa Perez from San Antonio, we believe that there must be a multi-pronged campaign to integrate Mexican American Studies (MAS) into Texas schools from Pre-K to 12th grade. Two aspects we are focusing on right now is 1) Integrating MAS into Texas schools through existing programs such as the Dual Credit and Early College Programs for high school students; and other programs and existing curricula offerings. And 2) To pressure the Chair of the Texas State Board of Education, Barbara Cargill, to move Mexican American Studies from a “Discussion Item” to an “Action Item” at their next board meeting on April 9, 2014, and thus try to get the SBOE to vote on creating and developing a MAS course and curriculum for high school students across Texas.

In regards to item # 2 above, the National Association for Chicana & Chicano Studies Tejas Foco Committee for Mexican American Studies Pre-K to 12 is initiating a two week “E-Mail and Call-In Campaign,” from March 17-31, to pressure Barbara Cargill to move MAS to an “Action Item” on April 9. We are asking that everyone e-mail and call their SBOE representative, and then e-mail all of the 15 SBOE members. I have attached the list of SBOE members, the districts they represent across Texas, plus their telephone numbers and e-mails. Most of these members use the sboesupport@tea.state.tx.us  address. Use this address and type in the body of your e-mail: “To All Texas State Board of Education Members,” all of them will receive your e-mail. If you want to target an individual board member, such as your representative, or Barbara Cargill, then use this e-mail address and simply type their name, such as: “To Texas SBOE Member Barbara Cargill,” and only she will receive that e-mail. Below is a sample of the language you can use for both the calls and e-mails:

“My name is Juan Tejeda and I am an Instructor of Music and Mexican American Studies at Palo Alto College in San Antonio, Texas, (if you are calling or e-mailing your individual representative on the SBOE then you can add) and you are my representative on the Texas State Board of Education.  I am calling/writing you to let you know that I support the integration of Mexican American Studies into Texas schools from Pre-K to 12th grade, and I am asking you to urge Barbara Cargill to move Mexican American Studies from a Discussion Item to an Action Item at the April 9 SBOE meeting so that Texas can begin developing a curriculum for a high school course in Mexican American Studies. Thank you.”

Then on Monday, April 7, right before the April 9 SBOE meeting, we will have a “Day of Action” and we’re asking that everyone, once again, call and e-mail their individual representatives on the SBOE, and send another e-mail to all 15 SBOE members.

If you want to testify at the April 9 SBOE meeting in Austin, individuals may register on the website or by FAX between 8 a.m. on Friday through 5 p.m. on Monday prior to the board meeting; or, in person or by telephone between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on the Friday and Monday prior to the board meeting, with the appropriate agency office. Register at:   http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=25769804082

If you want to find out who represents you on the SBOE and the Texas Legislature, click on this link:
http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx

Besides the SBOE members and their contact information, I am also attaching three of the resolutions that we have received so far.

I would also like to congratulate the Ysleta Independent School District in El Paso, the board members and Georgina Cecilia Perez and her colleagues there, for being the first school district in Texas to pass a resolution in support of MAS which “… urged the State Board of Education to endorse and offer Mexican American studies in literature and history courses from pre-kindergarten through high school.”  And I want to report to you that McCollum High School in San Antonio is the first high school to sign up for the Dual Credit course that Palo Alto College is offering in Mexican American Fine Arts Appreciation for the Fall, 2014 semester. We are waiting for a positive response from Harlandale, South San, Southside and Southwest High Schools.

Please share this e-mail and let’s begin contacting our representatives on the Texas SBOE beginning tomorrow and over the course of the next two weeks. Thanks for your support and your action with this campaign. MAS is important for the success of our children, and the State of Texas.

Juan Tejeda
Chair/NACCS Tejas Foco Committee on MAS Pre-K-12

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Talking points for April 9: Don't Let GOP Block Mexican American History

 by Tony D on 03/16/14

Talking Points

 

Dear (Texas State Board of Education Representative):

 

I live in your district.

 

I strongly feel you need to make it an action item to vote on implementing Mexican American studies a course for high school April 9.

 

The course would not be a requirement.

 

At this moment, 51% of the 5 million students in Texas are Hispanic.

 

When Tucson Unified School District Implemented Mexican American Studies from K-12 the graduation rate increased to 93%. Thank you.

 

 

Additional talking points:

 

There is not one single official Mexican American Studies Course in the entire public school system.

 

Houston ISD is the largest school district with over 270 schools.  El Paso ISD has over 80 schools. There are over 1,200 school districts in Texas.

 

This course would make it easier for entire school districts to implement a Mexican American studies course if they chose to because it would be part of the menu of courses already offered.


More info:

Who am I represented by: http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx

 

Texas State Board of Education website:

http://www.tea.state.tx.us

 

Info on Barbara Cargill: (Republican Chair blocking vote on implementing Mexican American Studies.)

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=3723

 

Barbara Cargill (R)
The Woodlands, TX
(512) 463-9007 
sboesupport@tea.state.tx.us (Write “Barbara Cargill” in the subject line.)

 

www.MAStexas.org

More info: (713) 691-1684

infoMASTexas@gmail.com

 

www.Librotraficante.com


This is a shortened link to this blog post for your multimedia convenience:

http://bit.ly/1qKjRAG


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