Texas Border Business
WASHINGTON – Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) today announced that the National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) has awarded $99,991 to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s (UTRGV) Project SSTARC (Social Studies Through Authentic and Relevant Content): Promoting Humanities Learning in Elementary Schools.
Project SSTARC is a two-year collaborative project between the Center for Bilingual Studies and the Center for Mexican American Studies at UTRGV and local school districts in the Rio Grande Valley. The project aims to provide an opportunity for local elementary school (kindergarten through 5th grade) teachers to gain better knowledge of local and regional history, create relevant social studies content for their students in both English and Spanish, and disseminate the content on a wide scale to enrich the schooling experience of students by introducing them to authentic and relevant humanities content early on in their lives.
“We must immerse young minds in social studies without limitations,” Congressman Gonzalez said. “I am grateful this new funding will help UTRGV and Project SSTARC prevail in breaking down language barriers and building up student academic success.”
The Project Director, Dr. J. Joy Esquierdo, is a professor in UTRGV’s Bilingual and Literacy Studies Department and the Director of the Center for Bilingual Studies.
“This grant award is a great opportunity for elementary teachers in the Rio Grande Valley to deepen their understanding of how local history, people, and events can enhance and enrich the curriculum delivered in the classrooms,” Dr. Esquierdo said. “I look forward to collaborating with the humanities scholars, elementary teachers, and the grant team to provide the Social Studies lesson plans and projects celebrating and highlighting the rich history of the Rio Grande Valley.”
Dr. Esquierdo explained that the project will bring together four scholars of Mexican American Studies to develop content to deliver to K-5 teachers at two different four-day workshops. The scholars’ content, that includes learning modules and presentations with recommended readings, will be housed online. Each year 21 elementary teachers will attend these workshops. At the workshops, teachers will collaborate to design authentic curriculum units that will include lesson plans based on the scholars’ presentations. Teachers will then refine and implement these lessons over the following fall. Project directors and key personnel will conduct site visits to observe the teachers implementing the lesson plans and providing feedback. The second set of workshops will focus on refining and adding supplemental materials to the curriculum units with the guidance of the humanities scholars and project personnel. In late fall 2020, UTRGV will offer a one-day conference free of charge for an estimated 100 elementary teachers. The participating Project SSTARC teachers will present the newly designed Social Studies curriculum and Project Directors will also deliver talks regarding the project. Additionally, the curriculum units with the lesson plans will be housed online for greater dissemination in both Spanish and English.
The project takes advantage of the unique assets of both the Centers of Bilingual Studies and Mexican American Studies at UTRGV as well as the humanities scholars associated with those centers, and the history of the region. The region’s history, large Mexican American population, and enthusiasm from teachers and scholars make UTRGV the ideal location to implement such a curriculum. Moreover, it will help enhance UTRGV’s reputation as a Hispanic Serving Institution that shares the rich history of the region with young students.
Congressman Gonzalez plans to continue offering a helping hand to UTRGV academic success programs and helping every child reach their maximum potential.
