In this collection, local experts use personal narratives and empirical data to explore the history of Mexican American and Puerto Rican education in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system. The essays focus on three themes: the historical context of segregated and inferior schooling for Latina/o/x students; the changing purposes and meanings of education for Latina/o/x students from the 1950s through today; and Latina/o/x resistance to educational reforms grounded in neoliberalism. Contributors look at stories of student strength and resistance, the oppressive systems forced on Mexican American women, the criminalization of Puerto Ricans fighting for liberatory education, and other topics of educational significance. As they show, many harmful past practices remain the norm--or have become worse. Yet Latina/o/x communities and students persistently engage in transformative practices shaping new approaches to education that promise to reverberate not only in the city but nationwide. Insightful and enlightening, Latina/o/x Education in Chicago brings to light the ongoing struggle for educational equity in the Chicago Public Schools.
Isaura Pulido is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Inquiry and Curriculum Studies at Northeastern Illinois University. Angelica Rivera is the director of the Proyecto Pa'Lante at Northeastern Illinois University. Ann M. Aviles is an associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Delaware. She is the author of From Charity to Equity: Race, Homelessness, and Urban Schools.
"It's impossible to read this text and not be moved by Chicago's Mexican and Puerto Rican community's decades-long struggle for equity against tremendous odds with an establishment that imagines little more than dispossessing them, when this could be an entirely different narrative of valuing and honoring their strength, talent, acumen, and soul. Texts like these bring much-needed analysis and attention to the plight of Chicago's Latinx community with provocative, vivid narrative and evidence that promises to inspire a new generation. Kudos to Isaura Pulido, Angelica Rivera, and Ann M. Aviles for shining an ennobling light on a community of destiny in Chicago's public schools."--Angela Valenzuela, author of Subtractive Schooling: U.S. Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring "A growing body of research has sought to critically examine and unpack the 'browning of America' and the latinization of U.S. schools. Spanning a period of seventy years, Latina/o/x Education in Chicago provides a rich, deeply textured, and nuanced look at the educational experiences and outcomes for Latinxs in the Midwest. This volume is as timely as it is important, making a significant contribution to the literature and providing an invaluable resource to policy makers and practitioners."--Jason G. Irizarry, author of The Latinization of U.S. Schools: Successful Teaching and Learning in Shifting Cultural Contexts
