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The KUT Longhorn Radio Network Presents: Mexican American Experience Collection

Audio recordings including interviews, music, and informational programs related to the Mexican American community and their concerns in the series "The Mexican American Experience" and "A esta hora conversamos" from the Longhorn Radio Network, 1976-1982.

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PROGRAM INFO

Title:
George I. SáNchez Jr. And Sr. High School: An Alternative Education
Program #
1982-12
Theme:
Society

Series:
Education
Host:
Linda Fregoso
Guests:
Gloria Guardiola, Jorge Castillo, Luis Cano, Mary Flores, Phillip Cano, Tina Reyna, Willie Estrada
Date:
Feb 2, 1982

George I. Sánchez Jr. and Sr. High School: An Alternative Education

Rosa Linda Fregoso visits the alternative school, George I. Sanchez Jr. and Sr. High School and speaks with students and staff about the school’s programs and curriculum. In the early 1970s, activists in Houston, Texas were alarmed to find that 75% of the school district’s drop-outs were Chicano students. In response, they organized the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans (AAMA) and in 1973 founded Sanchez Jr and Sr. high as an alternative school to educate Chicano drop outs. Fregoso first speaks with the school’s principal Phillip Cano, who explains that the school is devoted to developing student’s self esteem and provide support for students who are having problems with drugs, family, and discrimination, and he discusses the school’s course offerings. Fregoso then speaks with several students who talk about how the teachers at Sanchez try to understand them and their problems.

Fregoso next speaks with Jorge Castillo, an English as a Second Language Teacher, who explains how he tries to draw students in and present the material in ways that interest them. He says that teachers at the school try to help students see their potential, and he believes many students could not function in the regular school system because they resented the Anglo-dominated environment. At Sanchez, many students relate to the teachers who are often young and invested in supporting and motivating students.

The Reagan administration has cut the program that funds the school, and Fregoso speaks with Gloria Guardiola, the director of AAMA about other funding strategies.

KEYWORDS

Alternative Schools
Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans (AAMA)
Chicano History
Chicano Youth
Children
Disability
Discrimination
Dropout rates
Drug Abuse
Education
Emergency School Aid Act
George I. Sanchez
George I. Sanchez Jr and Sr. High School
Gloria Guardiola
Houston
Houston Independent School District
Jimmy Carter
Jorge Castillo
Kennedy Family
Language Discrimination
Luis Cano
Mary Flores
Phillip Cano
Reagan Administration
Robert F. Kennedy Award for Journalism
Ronald Reagan
Self-Concept
Self-Esteem
Teachers
Teen Pregnancy
Tina Reyna
Washington D.C.
Willy Estrada
 

Center for Mexican American Studies | Department of History | The Benson Latin American Collection

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