UTRGV programs will incorporate local history into curricula

Even young students often voice a pride in their culture, their home and their neighborhoods. And yet educators have long complained that it’s hard to interest students in many of humanities and social studies courses that are required for high school graduation.

Two grant-funded initiatives at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Center for Mexican American Studies aim to give local students a more personalized history curriculum that could raise their interest, and their achievement.

Both programs seek to incorporate local history into their learning plans.

Dr., J. Joy Esquierdo, director of the UTRGV Center for Bilingual Studies, and Dr. Stephanie Alavarez, director of the Center for Mexican American Studies, received just under $100,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities to fund a two-year project, “Social Studies through Authentic and Relevant Content: Promoting Humanities Learning in Elementary Schools.”