Feature from Fall 2014 issue of Philanthropy magazine
By Ashley May
“As a sophomore at Cesar Chavez Learning Center in Los Angeles, Beatriz Vergara had a captivating history teacher last year.This teacher nurtured in her a love of the subject, instructing with enthusiasm and drama while fostering an encouraging class environment. Beatriz now finds history interesting and, daresay, fun.
But Beatriz didn’t always like going to class. She used to have a history teacher who let students smoke marijuana in the back of the room, spent the majority of instruction time on his laptop, and hinted the Latino stu- dents would grow up to “clean houses for a living.” In a middle-school science class, she never asked questions because she was afraid of her teacher, who at times called female stu- dents by rude nicknames.”