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Raza joins TUSD and UA

The Tucson Unified School District is teaming up with the UA’s College of Education to train educators from across the country in Raza Studies. A three-day conference called the Institute for Tranformative Education was held in mid July at the UA, with numerous speakers and workshops. The TUSD Mexican American/Raza Studies Department created the Raza curriculum to teach Latinos, Native Americans, and Blacks about their role in U.S. history and society. Students who take the studies score higher on tests than those who do not.

The Raza Studies concept of education drives conservatives like state legislator Russell Pearce, State Superintendent for Public Education Tom Horne, and Arizona Republic columnist Doug MacEachern crazy. All three have tried in their ways to bring it down. Yet the movement continues to grow. Augustine Romero, Raza director, told the audience, “We can’t ignore that there are shifting demographics…. So it is critical that our teachers and administrators start to develop a different lens.”