Education Archives - Page 2 of 5 - Casa Maria Soup Kitchen

A GOOD TIME HAD BY ALL…& a little justice for South side magnet schools too!

Casa Maria November 10, 2015

2 min read by Cesar Aguirre & Brian Flagg If you didn’t make it down to El Casino Ballroom last night you missed one helluva party! The kids from Davis’ Mariachi Aguilitas were really very soulful. The Ochoa kids danced up a storm! The Color Guard from Cholla High School ROTC was there to open the show. The birria, rice and beans were killer! So was Congressman Grijalva’s speech in defense of public education and the magnet schools. More than 300 people were there, mostly parents and students, but also supervisor Richard Elias, State Rep. Victoria Steele, and 3 school board members who

IN RESPONSE TO SYLVIA CAMPOY, TEACHER VACANCIES // EN RESPUESTA A SYLVIA CAMPOY, VACANTES DE PROFESORES

Casa Maria October 9, 2015

4 min read by Cesar Aguirre In the Star’s article (10/8/15) 5 Tucson magnet schools could get more time, resources, Sylvia Campoy points to teacher vacancies as one of the issues at the magnet schools not being corrected by Sanchez and his board. On page 2 of the Star (10/8/15) More than 80 Tucson teacher jobs still vacant the article explains how teacher vacancies are an issue not only in TUSD but for districts across the Tucson area, the state and the nation. For years teachers have been underpaid, under appreciated, undervalued and treated with great disrespect as professionals in their field. It’s no

ONE PARENT’S STORY… ORGANIZING FOR JUSTICE IN TUSD! // LA HISTORIA DE UN PADRE… ¡ORGANIZANDO PARA JUSTICIA EN TUSD!

Casa Maria October 2, 2015

11 min read by Cesar Aguirre As a parent of two current TUSD students and an active community member I’ve found that what makes the desegregation case so confusing is the complexity and history of the case. The mainstream media is very good at putting its own spin on things, kind of like they did with the bus strike, which makes it even more difficult to understand what is happening. The misinformation from this biased reporting is very damaging and causes even more division among those of us truly working to improve the quality of education for our brown and black students who

ACHIEVEMENT GAP WIDE BETWEEN WHITE AND MINORITY STUDENTS // BRECHA ANCHO ENTRE BLANCO Y ESTUDIANTES PERTENECIENTES A MINORÍAS

Casa Maria July 15, 2015

5 min read by Cesar Aguirre I guess it was no surprise to see this headline on the front page of Monday’s Star (7/13/2015). Read the story at: http://tucson.com/news/local/education/achievement-gap-wide-between-white-and-minority-students/article_8d13b21c-0671-56ee-a8e9-06f7cc8462f3.html I have been an outspoken advocate against standardized testing mainly for this reason, among many others, and it can get very frustrating knowing these facts and not being able to do much about it as a parent. For years the data has shown the educational disparity between anglo and minority students. In an educational system so obsessed with the collection and study of data how is it that these numbers are being ignored. I always

EDUCATION FUNDING HELD HOSTAGE BY GOVERNOR

Casa Maria May 25, 2015

3 min read By Cesar Aguirre, Last week Governor Ducey spoke to some of the state’s highest ranking business groups: Greater Phoenix Leadership, the Flagstaff Forty and the Southern Arizona Leadership Council. This probably doesn’t surprise you, but Ducey’s threat to the group might. He made it very clear that if any of the business groups tried practicing their constitutional right of pursuing a ballot initiative to increase education funding that he, and the dark money backing him, would fight them vigorously. The business leaders in attendance felt very threatened by this. Read about it here: http://azc.cc/1HhZno7 In 2012 there was a ballot

MY DAUGHTER ALISSA’S NEW HERO

Casa Maria May 21, 2015

3 min read By Cesar Aguirre, A few months back I remember my daughter Alissa coming to me with much excitement to tell me about a remarkable woman they were studying in history. She was fascinated by the strong will of this female role model and all of the accomplishments achieved by her in spite of her disabilities. I too remember studying the life of Helen Keller when I was in school and was inspired to do some more research in order to have deeper conversations with my daughter on the subject. What I found was a great surprise. Like most history taught

Congratulations to Barbie Urias

Casa Maria May 6, 2015

< 1 min read By Brian Flagg, Congratulations to Barbie Urias, long time South Tucsonan and soldier in the struggle. She also gets the coffee out to all our diners at 6:45 every morning. After raising 7 kids and 19 grandchildren, she has finally finished college! She is graduating from Pima College with a degree making her a Paralegal (legal assistant). She had a great graduation celebration last Sunday at Reid Park, complete with a DJ, a keg, mucha familia and cecivhe made by las chicas de Casa Maria! ______________________ Por Brian Flagg, Felicitaciones a Barbie Urias, quien es una Sur Tucsonense desde hace

MY BEEF WITH TESTING

Casa Maria April 11, 2015

6 min read by Cesar Aguirre Last night I was organizing things in my room when I ran across an article I was quoted in regarding standardized testing and parents’ right to opt-out http://tucson.com/news/local/education/more-parents-see-standardized-tests-as-harmful/article_489549a5-5dfa-5a7b-9324-1065d37866bc.html. The one thing I must say before I go on is that, despite what the title says, I am not against testing. I only have beef with standardized testing! Now, I can go on a rant and write a novel talking about all the reasons I am against standardized testing, but I’ll spare you the whole profit driven corporate machine using our kids as guinea pigs to “reform” our

OUR GOVERNOR IS AN ARROGANT MAN- and he has a lot of nerve

Casa Maria April 10, 2015

< 1 min read OUR GOVERNOR IS AN ARROGANT MAN- and he has a lot of nerve By Brian Flagg, This week he went to an elementary school in Phoenix, and talked about the importance of early childhood development and all day kindergarten and then, with a straight face, says there is no money for these things. Same thing with funding for higher education. At the Board of Regents meeting yesterday he said that he would work with the regents to create “a sustainable long-term business plan that addresses the needs of students and the business community that depends on their success.” But he

MY WEEKEND AT CASA MARIA

Casa Maria March 27, 2015

2 min read by Cesar (Big Cesar) Aguirre My usual weekend, going to Tucson from Ajo and helping out at Casa Maria when I can. This past weekend my son unexpectedly asked me to join him for a book study gathering at Brian’s. I was hesitant to go but I did anyway (my best move of the day). I found myself among some of the people I had met at Casa Maria last winter while volunteering in the soup kitchen. The topic was a book titled ¡Hugo! As I listened in (keep in mind I had never read the book or heard of

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