Latino Studies School’s Focus

By DANIELLE SOTTOSANTI

SOUTH SIDE

Toltecalli wins kudos from Chicano group

Visitors to a South Side charter school will see a special sculpture of Mexican-American labor activist Cesar Chavez when they enter, but Chavez’s influence on the students goes beyond first impressions.

“He was a Mexican-American hero,” said Larissa Barreda, a sophomore at charter high school Toltecalli Academy, 251 W. Irvington Road.

Barreda, 15, said she’d like to incorporate some of Chavez’s qualities into her own life.

“He cared about everybody,” she said.

Chavez’s values of community, respect and cultural knowledge permeate Toltecalli Academy on many levels.

“We’ve always been familiar with Cesar’s work - his advocacy and community service - and so we’ve weaved it in the academic services that we offer our students,” said Magdalena Verdugo, superintendent of Calli Ollin Academy Schools.

Toltecalli Academy, which is now in its fifth year, is one of three schools in the Calli Ollin school system.

The school’s academic program captured the attention of Chicanos Por La Causa Inc., a nonprofit, statewide community development corporation.

Toltecalli continues Chavez’s legacy, embracing a variety of cultures, said Edmundo Hidalgo, Chicanos Por La Causa’s president and CEO.

“We believe that (Toltecalli) went hand in hand with the whole philosophy that Cesar had,” he said.

Like Chavez, the school focuses on the positives rather than the negatives, Hidalgo said.

Latino Studies School’s Focus - Education - redOrbit