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This #LatinoHeritageMonth, IDRA honors the critical histories of our students, staff and leaders with roots in Latinoamérica. At the same time that we celebrate generations of community cultural wealth, we continue working within our communities to disrupt past and present injustice.

Celebrating Ethnic Studies

Ethnic studies courses provide students many benefits, from social-emotional learning to college, career and community readiness.

See our new infographic: Ethnic Studies Can be Life-Changing See infographic

Hear from a student, Victoria; her mother, Rebecca; and her grandmother, Rosie, talking about their experience in Mexican American Studies. They spoke with Juan Tejeda of ¡SOMOS MAS! at the IDRA La Semana del Niño Parent Institute in 2019.

Celebrating Emergent Bilingual Students

This spring, IDRA successfully encouraged the Texas Legislature to replace the terms “English learner” and “limited English proficient” for students who speak a home language other than English. Texas now uses the asset-based term “emergent bilingual.” The change in the Texas Education Code went in effect on September 1, 2021. Schools are welcome to make the transition, too! See our infographic and our two explainer videos below.

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Celebrating Family Leadership

IDRA’s Education CAFE model is an innovation for school-family-community collaboration. In this debut feature, Education CAFE members in south Texas successfully met with their school board urging that the district’s K-12 bilingual-biliterate program be made permanent.

Celebrating Mexican American Civil Rights

More than 800 people gathered in 2018 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights during a six-day hearing to examine the status of civil rights for Mexican Americans in the Southwest. To document the current status of civil rights for Mexican Americans compared to 50 years ago IDRA joined the 16 experts to publish a new book, Mexican American Civil Rights in Texas, that became available for purchase last week.

Celebrating Education Leaders & Innovators

IDRA is proud to highlight the excellent work of U.S. education leaders that dominant narratives have historically excluded. We are excited to center the successes & perspectives of #BlackLatinos, #QueerLatinos, #LatinosWithDisabilities & many more who powerfully shape our world.

Watch our social media feeds for more shout outs this month!

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Cool Stuff Hispanic Heritage Booklists by Colorín Colorado Hispanic Heritage Month Activities and Resources from Share My Lesson Tik Tok videos by Dr. José Medina (see his website; Twitter: @JoseMedinaJr89)

Celebrating Bilingual Stories

Both storytelling and storyreading support learning in the classroom and provide different kinds of literacy experiences for students. IDRA’s DVD is the newest feature of IDRA’s bilingual (Spanish/English) supplemental early childhood curriculum. The engaging DVD contains the 10 Semillitas de Aprendizaje™ stories told in two styles: storyreading (in English) and storytelling (in Spanish). Each story in Spanish is preceded by an opening gathering song and followed by a closing song. See samples of each style below!

Learn more about IDRA's Semillitas de Aprendizaje curriculum

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IDRA is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to achieve equal educational opportunity through strong public schools that prepare all students to access and succeed in college.   Reach Out To Us

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October 7, 2021