Candidate Statement for the office of Director
from Eliana Rojas:
Title: Assistant Professor
Position: Neag School of Education, Curriculum and Instruction, Sheltered Mathematics Content Instruction for ELLs, University of Connecticut
Questions: What experiences with students and colleagues have influenced your commitment to equity and access for the mathematics education of all learners, in particular Hispanic/Latino students? How will this impact your leadership of TODOS if elected?
Eliana's Response: As a Latina student-parent-teacher and H.E. faculty, I experienced the frustration of my community trying to respond to the demands of a culturally irrelevant educational system that ignores the value of diversity and calls for practices of acquiescence. Many of my best Latino/a mathematics students (L-ELL) were removed from my bilingual classrooms so ‘they could learn English’ instead. Tested in a language in which they were not proficient, “an invitation to failure”, many dropped out.
I focus my scholarship and community work on outreach to provide access to opportunities. I have secured grants (2.8 m) for projects that build capacity through collaborations and partnerships among University faculty, educational institutions, communities, parents and students in the US and Latin America. “Mathematics practices in neighboring countries are relevant”.
As a TODOS Director, I will make sure the voices of Latino/mathematics teachers, their students and families are heard. “Let’s teach and learn mathematics through our students’ histories and stories”.
Research-based successful practices are being implemented and need more dissemination. Access to a strong, rigorous and relevant mathematics curriculum is a priority. Many misguided decisions have been made, more authentic assessment, including the option of bilingual assessment instruments, need to be in place.
Perhaps inadvertedly, we have ignored mathematics as the catalyst for solving our inequalities. We, TODOS, need to be committed to and invested in these efforts.
