TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) -
As the Tucson Unified School District continues to work to change curriculum now that it has suspended the Mexican American Studies (MAS) program, there appears to be some confusion about several things.
The district eliminated the program after the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction found it in violation of a new state law that specifically targeted the program.
A TUSD teacher who taught in the MAS program delivered to TUSD headquarters on Thursday, what she said, were more than 15,000 petition signatures, demanding TUSD place books from the suspended program in school libraries.
However, TUSD says the books already are there.
Still, some, including the teacher, Norma Gonzalez, who believe the district acted too quickly to eliminate the MAS program continue to have concerns.
Gonzalez says she wants the district to take seven MAS books out of storage.
"To take them out of there and put them back in the classroom and in the libraries and, more specifically, in the hands of students who are eager to learn," Gonzalez says.
A district spokeswoman says the books are in school libraries, and recently, some schools ordered more.
"Some of them were one copy of each title. Some of them were multiple copies. Some just wanted a particular title," says TUSD Director of Communications Cara Rene.
Rene says teachers also have access to the seven books that were stored when MAS was suspended.
Rene says teachers must use them in a way that does not violate the new law.
"If it's things are taught exclusively from Mexican American Studies perspective--as it was previously--that's what's been suspended because of the state ruling," Rene says.
Another accusation is that the district has not been communicating with teachers, students and the community about how the new curriculum that replaces MAS will look.
"We should have, by now, some sort of plan presented to the community, to the students, to the teachers, to the parents to say this is what the district is thinking of doing," says MAS Community Advisory Board Chairman Raul Aguirre.
A district administrator disagrees, saying it is a complex process that has just begun.
"We needed to begin to look at our social studies curriculum and we needed to begin to incorporate a more multi-cultural approach. That is still very much a work in progress," says TUSD Assistant Superintendent for High Schools Abel Morado.
"But I know that the principals have been meeting with the teachers regarding their lesson plans, regarding remaining in compliance and even speaking to the students in class about what this elimination of the curriculum means, and how we can remain compliant with the law," Morado says.
Morado says the TUSD board gave its directive on restructuring the curriculum on January 10.
He says the Arizona Department of Education last week sent the district instructions and information on how the state will monitor TUSD's compliance with the law.
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