Superintendent John Pedicone
School Board President Dr. Mark Stegeman
Tucson Unified School District
1010 E. Tenth St.
Tucson, AZ 85719
 

Dear Superintendent Pedicone and President Stegeman:

I write in protest to the Tucson Unified School District’s recent decision to cancel your high schools' Mexican American Studies program and ban a series of books about race and Latina/o history.  In Alameda County schools, we are proud of our strong and vibrant Latina/o student population, and we know first-hand that curriculum supporting cultural heritage inspires pride, self-confidence, and success in the classroom.

I understand that Tucson's Mexican American Studies program gave Latino students a sense of pride and connection to their own history and other students were offered an insight to a community that is a major part of the local culture but all too often demonized.  With Latino students in Tucson making up more than half of the student population, it seems that Mexican American programs, books, and resources are critical to the success of your schools.  Moreover, in the greater global and political scale, to imagine that an institution of public learning has begun banning books is deeply concerning.  From one educational leader to another, I urge you to avoid giving in to a popular political rhetoric of racial tension and distrust, and urge you to reinstate programs and materials that are proven to help your students succeed.

I also encourage you to work with fellow educators throughout the Southwestern United States to explore, demonstrate, and implement programs that honor Latina/o and other cultural heritages and help all students succeed at learning.  As one such example, I encourage you to learn more about Alameda County Office of Education’s Teacher Action Research Institute (www.artiseducation.org/teaching-learning).  Action research engages teachers, students, administrators and their communities together in serious reflection about the practice of teaching and learning to successfully improve student and teacher growth and performance.  Students and teachers are able to choose learning practices that give meaning and importance to the invaluable cultural knowledge that connects students to their families and communities.  We are now using these tools to promote student success across the curricula, in language arts, math, and science, to name a few.

While the diversity of our communities can create unique challenges by forcing us to think beyond one-size-fits-all models, this richness also provides us with powerful assets for understanding, connecting, and communicating with students and families.  Let’s support one another in protecting the programs that we know to be critical to helping our students succeed.  Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be a resource or support your efforts to provide the very best for every student in the Tucson Unified School District. 

 

Sincerely,

Sheila Jordan
Alameda County Superintendent of Schools