Approximately 120 fourth and fifth grade students from Brentwood, Dawson, Galindo and Wooten elementary schools will join the Tejano Monument Incorporated, the Mexican American Cultural Center and the University of Texas at Austin to unveil the Tejano Monument at the Texas Capitol. Armando Hinojos designed the series of statues that commemorate the contributions by Texans of Spanish and Mexican descent (Tejanos) to the state between 1500 and 2010. The monument will be unveiled at 10 a.m., Thursday, March 29, and the district will provide bus transportation and lunch for students and teachers from the four campuses.
The students and their teachers are participating in a curriculum project focused on Tejano history with the University of Texas at Austin, through the College of Education and the Department of History. The AISD teachers leading the instruction are in the process of earning master's degrees through Proyecto Maestria, a partnership between the university and AISD to increase the number of highly-skilled, bilingual and ESL teachers in the Austin metropolitan area.
Other pre-service bilingual education undergraduates, under the guidance of professional historians, developed a series of journey boxes to help AISD teachers offer instruction about Tejano history. The boxes are a collection of primary sources and document-based questions that help students construct their own interpretations of Tejano contributions. These boxes, which are currently in use by the four schools, will also be used for instruction at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center.
In addition to the monument unveiling, the Reagan High School New Orleans Funk Band and the Crockett High School Mariachi will join other AISD students in the Nosotros Los Tejanos Parade at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 31. The parade will begin at the south end of the Congress bridge and continue to the capitol.
WHAT: Tejano Monument Unveiling
WHEN: 10 a.m, Thursday, March 29
WHERE: Texas Capitol, 1100 Congress Ave
Click here to learn more about the history of the Tejano Monument and additional unveiling activities.