NYC Council gives Columbia $3 million to advance 'Latine Studies Curriculum' in public schools
The New York City Council has provided Columbia University's Teachers College with $3 million to promote public school curriculums that incorporate 'Latinidad cultures and histories.'
On Dec. 2, the Teachers College announced the funding, which will go toward a joint three-year project featuring United Way of New York City and the Hispanic Federation.
The New York City Council has provided Columbia University’s Teachers College with $3 million to promote public school curriculums that incorporate “Latinidad cultures and histories.”
On Dec. 2, the Teachers College announced the funding, which will go toward a joint three-year project featuring United Way of New York City and the Hispanic Federation.
”Launched with a historic $3 million in funding from the New York City Council as part of its Education Equity Action Plan (EEAP) initiative, the three-year project will allow educators to incorporate interdisciplinary, hands-on lessons into existing practice and standards,” the Teachers College wrote in a press release.
”The effort addresses 2019 findings that, despite Latine/x youth comprising more than 40 percent of NYC School’s student body, more than 83 percent of taught books at that time were written by white authors — nearly five times more books than all authors of color combined,” the college continued.
Teachers College President Thomas Bailey stated in the same press release that “Culturally-relevant education” is significant for student success, adding that all students “deserve enriched learning environments that reflect the diversity of our city and world.”
Bailey also remarked that a “Latine Studies Curriculum” serves as “an essential pursuit in this vision for more equitable, effective education.”
”The Latine Studies Curriculum builds on the inclusive education work of the Black Studies Curriculum, which was developed by TC’s Black Education Research Center with community partners and officially launched earlier this year,” the Teachers College wrote. “In this next chapter, project leaders for the curriculum will begin developing dynamic classroom materials that can be integrated into required standards across kindergarten through 12th grade, including complementing the Passport to Social Studies curriculum.”
Teachers College Professor of Education Regina Cortina called the project important because it will enable students, particularly immigrants, to “recognize themselves in the curriculum.”
”Latinos are always seen as immigrants, which means that, historically, no one sees a responsibility to acknowledge who they are in educating them,” she said in the press release.
”Students currently in the system have very little opportunity to understand the history of their communities and how activism has impacted their education in New York City,” she added. “This initiative will help our students and their communities to recognize themselves in the curriculum is not something that has happened until now.”
[RELATED: Columbia leadership disproportionately gave to Democrats in 2020, 2024: REPORT]
According to its mission statement, United Way of New York City aims to “break down barriers and build opportunities that improve the lives of low-income New Yorkers for the benefit of all.”
Similarly, the Hispanic Federation “seeks to empower and advance the Hispanic community, support Hispanic families, and strengthen Latino institutions” in areas like immigration, “Environmental Justice,” and “Latinx LGBTQ+ Advocacy and Empowerment.”