mas tx education

3rd Statewide Summit on Implementing

Mexican American Studies in Texas Public Schools

Saturday, June 30, 2018

8:00 am – 5:00 pm

Northwest Vista College

San Antonio, TX

Here is the link for registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/3rd-naccs-tejas-foco-summit-on-mexican-american-studies-in-tx-schools-tickets-43804909664 

San Antonio will once again host the 3rd Texas Summit on Implementing Mexican American Studies in Texas Schools. The summit is organized by the National Association for Chicana & Chicano Studies (NACCS) regional conference, Tejas Foco, and the Committee on Mexican American Studies (MAS) Pre-K–12 Education. The one-day event will be held on Saturday, June 30, 2018 at Northwest Vista College. The summit is free and open to all educators and community members who are interested in workshops on teaching Mexican American History, Literature, and Fine Arts. Those participating can also work in creating a strategic plan for implementing Mexican American Studies in Texas schools. Texas teachers will be eligible to receive up to 8 hours of Continuing Education Hours for attending and participating in this Summit.

 Mexican American and Latinos students comprise 51.3% of school-aged children in the state of Texas and this demographic is expected to grow to 67% by 2050 according to the Hobby Center. Educational research has shown that students who take Mexican American, and other Ethnic Studies courses are more academically engaged, graduate from high school at higher rates, score better on standardized tests, and achieve higher grades in all their courses. The Texas State Board of Education allows individual school districts and schools the option of implementing Mexican American and other Ethnic Studies courses. Currently, we are working toward creating a TEKS based Mexican American Studies Course, which we hope will be available for the Academic Year of 2019-2020. Textbooks and instructional materials focusing on Mexican American, Native American, African American and Asian American Studies are currently in development.

The goals of this Texas Summit on Implementing MAS in Texas Schools is to host workshops in teaching MAS social studies, MAS literature, and how to integrate MAS content into the standard curriculum. We will also be identifying institutional barriers, establish priorities, and develop a plan of action for the implementation of Mexican American Studies in Texas schools from Pre-K to 12^th grade and for increasing access to MAS courses and content within the broader community.

This year we will once again be partnering with Mexican American Studies Decolonial Epistemologies Symposium: “Pedagogies of Liberation in Chicana and Chicano Schools and Communities” as part of our programming. It will take place on Friday, June 29th, from 6-9pm at UTSA Downtown. This event will also be free and open to the public. We encourage all of our attendees to attend this important symposium.

Also that week, the Mexican American Studies Program at UTSA will host the 5^th Annual Power and Enhancement in Social Studies and Literature Academy from June 25-29^th at the Institute of Texan Cultures. For more information, please contact Professor Marie “Keta” Miranda, PhD at 210.458.2675 or marie.miranda@utsa.edu.