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Anahuacalmecac International University Preparatory of North America

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Becoming a World School

Academia Semillas del Pueblo Xinaxcalmecac sprouted from a vision of community members and educators in 2002 to provide a quality public education based upon Indigenous culture, an international curriculum and multi-lingual enrichment for children in East Los Angeles. Academia is a non-profit kindergarten through eighth grade public charter school and the only Indigenous charter school in Los Angeles. Academia’s students have outperformed their peers in state tests while learning four languages and becoming internationally-minded community members. Academia is seeking to become the first World School in East Los Angeles. A World School is one authorized to teach the Primary and Middle Years Programs by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO).

Performance

Academia students have outperformed their peers in four key measures: 1. Sixth grade Academia students, who have been with Academia the longest, performed higher (632 API) on STAR tests than all Eastside local middle schools in 2006. 2. Academia English Learners consistently outperform students in state English acquisition tests (CELDT), while learning three other languages (Spanish, Nahuatl and Mandarin). 3. Academia students are healthier than their peers according to California Fitness Tests due to the rigorous Tai Chi Chuan and Aztec Dance curriculum. 4. Special Education (SPED) students at Academia have been found by a LAUSD District Validation Review team to be better served than most SPED students in LAUSD. 5. Academia students are less likely to become involved in gangs, or other self-destructive behavior due to the rich curriculum of culturally based character development and high levels of parent engagement.

Since opening, Academia has undergone several external evaluations. All external evaluators have remarked upon Academia’s committed teachers, skilled administrative leadership and positive school climate. In 2004, WestEd, a nationally recognized independent evaluation firm, began an evaluation and technical assistance project for Academia completed in 2006. WestEd evaluators reported:

“We observed many examples of their vision being realized in practice and believe that the school is fulfilling its essential mission of becoming a transformative institution that ‘grounds strong academic standards in the cultural and collective realities’ of the students. Structures for cultural learning and living skills go beyond the student level. They also serve as mechanisms to promote community involvement, capacity building and service to others.”

The Foundations of a Better Education

The Academia Student: A 21st Century Learner

Academia has witnessed an experience in community building for the past five years that has several important implications upon educational practice, pedagogy, research and even society itself. While many of the trappings of modern public schooling can still be found at Academia, its educational practice and pedagogy differ from the ground up. Most importantly, the charter school’s development as a grassroots educational center is a part of a community-wide movement to regenerate appreciation of Indigenous culture and community. Since community wellness is at the heart of its mission, its path departs from that of sterile statistical accountability to many paths of collective, cultural, social, linguistic, generational, and natural accountability. Children in such an environment are more motivated to learn.

According to a recent article in Time Magazine, changes in public education are expected as, “the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, a high-powered, bipartisan assembly of Education Secretaries and business, government and other education leaders releases a blueprint for rethinking American education from pre-K to 12 and beyond to better prepare students to thrive in the global economy.” Beyond providing alternatives to gangs and violence, Academia is committed to developing these new types of learners, new members of a civil society. Importantly, the article notes the contradiction this represents with the current emphasis on high stakes testing. “Right now we're aiming too low. Competency in reading and math--the focus of so much No Child Left Behind (NCLB) testing--is the meager minimum.” Better preparing learners, especially in our communities, will mean raising our sights so that all can achieve the needs of global citizens in an international and multiethnic city and society. Multilingual education, international curriculum and a firmly rooted sense of self and self-appreciation will help our students excel as 21st century learners.

Transformative Education: International, Rigorous and Relevant

International Curriculum: Becoming a World School This year Academia received a grant from the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) to implement the highly acclaimed educational system developed by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). The IBO programs have been recognized by educators internationally for their on-going success in university preparation and development of intellectual rigor. Academia has already begun to implement the IBO educational system through the Primary Years Program (PYP). The IBO programs teach children world citizenship and encourage them to be active learners, well-rounded individuals and engaged international citizens.

Academia is working towards becoming authorized as an IB World School and join the community of state, private, national and international schools from every region of the world. Academia will also work to gain IBO authorization for the Middle Years Program (MYP) so as to provide a continuum of powerful education for our students. These are schools that share a common philosophy—a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that Academia believes is important for our students. Only schools authorized by the IBO as IB World Schools can offer any of its three academic programs: the PYP, the MYP, or the Diploma Program. Academia will become a candidate school and aspires to being an IB World School, offering the PYP/MYP. While candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted, one IB representative has already noted about Academia that, “It surpasses what has been done by some recently accredited IB schools”.

High Quality Teachers - Rigorous and well-planned Curriculum

All Academia teachers are considered NCLB Compliant fully credentialed, high quality teahcers. Furthermore, as a part of the IBO programs, Academia teachers have engaged in extensive inquiry based professional development with an International curriculum consultant and through IBO seminars. From inception, Academia has been successful at developing and tailoring its professional development needs both internally and through the use of external entities such as WestEd, the Charter School Development Center, and the NCLR. Academia has also participated in LAUSD sponsored professional development activities.

Academia has developed a cohesive curriculum matrix that is coordinated across subject matter and across the grade levels. This is a part of the IB Continuum from the PYP through the Diploma Program. Likewise, Indigenous curriculum has been designed through the study of best practices among Native educators and schools across the continent. WestEd has been and will continue to be instrumental in guiding the development of our Indigenous pedagogy and curriculum through their Language and Culture in Education division.

Relevant Curriculum – Our Best Practice

Academia has generated a way to engage Indigenous students, especially Indigenous students whose families have migrated from Latin America (often referred to as Hispanics or Latinos), to close the achievement gap in public schools. Academia closes this gap through its culturally relevant pedagogy, methodologies, curriculum and school culture to make all things equitable for our students. Academia provides a nurturing environment for our students to learn better. Dr. Juan Gomez Quinones has written that Academia, “has pioneered a community inspired and student motivated school, the likes of which had not been attempted, much less seen, among working class Latinos.”

Academia is a right to a historical wrong committed in East Los Angeles public schools.

Four best practices in public education surge from the praxis of Academia to close the achievement gap among Indigenous children in mainstream public schools:

1. Enrich education for all students through inquiry-based learning. 2. Expand education for all students through multilingual and international curriculum. 3. Embrace all parents in all schools as the first teachers of their children through graduation. 4. Empower teachers to think, act and work collectively.

Hate Crimes Against Academia - FCC Complaints filed against Hate Radio

Since May 31, 2006 KABC AM 790 Radio Host Doug McIntyre has attacked the Mexican Indigenous community of Los Angeles, Academia Semillas del Pueblo Charter School and its community specifically, and Marcos Aguilar, one of the charter school's founders personally with hate motivated and insightful speech on the public airwaves. McIntyre began his tirade on May 31st, continued on June 1 - June 9, picking up again on July 15, August 30 and most recently, September 13th and 14th 2006.

Significant portion of each broadcast was dedicated to disparaging ASDP and its administrators specifically, Marcos Aguilar (“Aguilar”). Specifically, the below statements have been identified as not only misleading or inaccurate, but also as grossly slanderous: 1. McIntyre during his show of May 31, 2006, stated that ASDP was composed of a student body that is “0.00 % White, 0.00% Black, 0.00% Asian” and also stated that the “ethnic composition is 91.3% Hispanic and the rest is considered to be American Indian/Alaskan Native.” This statement was made in support of McIntyre’s assertion that ASDP is a racist and separatist institution. In fact, ASDP’s student body was comprised of 88.0% Hispanic/Latino, 3.0% African American, 4.0% American Indian or Alaskan Native, 0.3% Asian American, 4.0% White, and 1.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. 2. McIntyre made numerous statements charging the school with being racist and separatist. On June 1, 2006 McIntyre stated, “it’s [ASDP] a school that rejects Martin Luther King’s vision. It’s a school that rejects Brown v. Board of Education. This is very dangerous.” As he commented on June 2, 2006, “It’s [ASDP] exclusionary, it’s separatist, it’s openly segregationist.” ASDP prides itself on its nondiscriminatory admissions and employment practices. The student body at the school reflects the school-aged population in the neighborhoods surrounding the school and in other public schools in the area. ASDP has never received a complaint for discrimination and it is against its charter to do so. As ASDP’s charter expressly states: “Academia Semillas del Pueblo will not discriminate against any student on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, gender or disability.” 3. On June 1, 2006, McIntyre stated that the “school in addition to using all of the language of communism, the collectivist learning experience . . .” Further, he referred to ASDP as the “reconquista school,” insinuating that it espouses a seditious and subversive agenda against the United States government. These statements are false and connote acts that are criminal in nature. ASDP provides instruction that is aligned with state standards at all grade levels. 4. On June 2, 2006 a listener called McIntyre’s show and said that the school is the California equivalent of a Madrassa, a school that has been identified as incubators of violent extremism and Islamic terrorism. McIntyre then went on to say that ASDP “teaches children from a very young age to be anti-western and anti-American.” McIntyre also directly said, “You are exactly right, this is a Madrassa. ” Moreover, McIntyre charged the school with having a secret agenda and that it is training students to take over the southwestern United States. 5. McIntyre accused Aguilar of “sending someone to attack a reporter (Sandy Wells)” and stated that Aguilar told Wells to “watch his back.” Moreover, McIntyre made various comments claiming that what the staff at ASDP was doing was tantamount to “child abuse.” All three of the aforementioned statements place Aguilar in a false light as they essentially accuse Aguilar of criminal behavior and impute dishonesty and lack of ethics to him, thereby injuring his professional reputation. 6. McIntyre stated that that there was a connection “between the virulently anti-Semitic and racist website Aztlan.net, which is dedicated to the reconquista cause . . . and ASDP.” ASDP has no connection or affiliation with Aztlan.net and does not adhere to any anti-Semitic views.

7.On August 30, 2006, McIntyre again disparaged our community by alleging that if our Aztec ancestors ate human flesh as alleged by some archeologists, that I might also, and that children at our school lived in fear of being eaten. This speech is not only disrespectful to our ancestors but is also dehumanizing, tied to McIntyre's earlier speech calling our school a madrassa, or terrorist training camp advances the incitement to violence against our school we are now experiencing.

By June 2, 2006, the lives of over three hundred children, staff, administration, faculty and the surrounding community of Academia was threatened with a bomb threat laden with racial expletives against the Mexican community.

The students, staff and parents of Academia Semillas del Pueblo Charter School have been officially designated with Victims of a Hate Crime status by federal authorities as a result of a bomb threat which is currently under investigation as a federal hate crime.

McIntyre has not relented in attacking our school or my person and continues to egg on individuals who stalk our school.

Recordings can be provided. While we attempted to file a complaint before, we were told by FCC staff that nothing could be done about the hate speech. However, on August 31, 2006, several parents, teachers, school founders attended and a Public Hearing with FCC Commissioners at which we presented our testimony against Disney/KABC/McIntyre and have since undertaken the effort to apply the laws governing our public airwaves to bear.

McIntyre, with the backing of Disney/KABC management has become at least a public nuisance, at worst one of the most dangerous men to the Mexican community in Los Angeles. McIntyre's hate speech must be stopped.


References

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