Sent: November 29, 2021
AHA selections include Navajo language and culture
The unique class at the Atrisco Heritage Academy includes field trips, trial trials, art shows, cooking and catering, performances, and a recent fashion show.
Note: Employees who support New Mexico lawmakers attended schools as they prepared for the 2022 legislature. We introduce some of the APS schools and programs you have heard about.
Atrisco Heritage Academy High School, located in southwest Albuquerque, is committed to student success. Much of this is achieved through a variety of courses that keep students and their families busy.
“This is really how we work here,” says AHA director Irene Cisneros. “There are always discussions about what is best for students and what we need to help them succeed after high school.”
Students can choose from a wide range of offerings, including culinary arts, law, ethnic studies, career development clubs, and programs that community parents have asked about, such as mariachi and baile folklórico, which the school’s performing arts center provides for performances.
Atrisco Heritage is also the only local school that currently has a full-time teacher of Navajo language and culture. “The students love that there is a native classroom,” says Mildred Chiquito, the class teacher, “because I don’t just teach the language. I teach all the culture. Many of the children’s families have moved to the city for work, and the children have become a little detached from the cultural part. It opens up a lot of cultural connection back to their homeland. “
Chiquito commutes nearly two hours from her home on the Navajo Reservation every day to bring her language and culture into her classroom. “I live it every day and bring in my indigenous values, my indigenous teachings,” she says. “The children want to know. You are very curious and want to learn. They work together and help each other and when they see it in a school they feel a little more comfortable. “
Chiquito’s students love taking part in cultural activities and excursions, and sometimes their former students come back to help and present to the class. The AHA’s Navajo Language and Culture class currently has Navajo and Pueblo students but is open to anyone interested in learning. A recent outdoor fashion show over lunch (see video below) allowed the class to share their culture with the rest of the school. The class explained the meanings and meanings of many styles and garments, while special guest hosted Autumn Montoya, Miss Indian New Mexico 2021.
Booked trips and other activities such as trial trials, art exhibits, cooking and catering, and performances that take place outside of the traditional classroom are a key component in keeping students interested in the types of educational and career options available to them after high school School is available.
“There are a lot of activities outside of the classroom. It’s really about asking ourselves how we involve our students in learning, so it’s a place they want to be, ”says Jessica Cano, teacher and bilingual coordinator.
Leadership and community involvement are also essential features of the school, which is illustrated in part by the fact that AHA has both a teacher and a student as board members for the Valle del Oro National Wildlife Refuge.
The diverse range of courses, activities, and opportunities has helped AHA students achieve their graduation and post-graduate success. Dr. Antonio Gonzales, Assistant Superintendent of Leadership and Learning for Zone 2, said, “Atrisco Heritage can boast of being the largest individual feeder to the University of New Mexico – the state’s largest flagship university – on an annual basis for prior to the pandemic at least a couple of years. It’s not coming from any public or private institution in New Mexico or outside of the state. “
The commitment to student success is evident across the faculty and staff. “As long as you are here, you are my children,” Chiquito tells her students. “I am here to help you succeed and I will do everything I can to help you where you are.”
Navajo Language and Culture is just one of the options available to APS students. Other Native American programs include Native American Government and Business, Navajo Government and History, Reading and Math Intervention, Navajo and Zuni Languages, Distinguished Stoles and Seals Awards, and the Graduation Credit Recovery Program.
To learn more about Indian programs, visit the APS Indian Education website.
Video: Atrisco Heritage Academy Indian fashion show
Comments are closed.