About

This website is dedicated to the advanced and implementation of Mexican American Studies courses and contention in the K-12 Public Education system through the State of Texas.

WHAT IS MAS?

MAS is the acronym for Mexican American Studies. Mexican American Studies, also known as Chicano Studies, Chicana/o Studies, and more recently, Chicanx Studies in some institutions, is a multidisciplinary academic field of study that examines the Mexican American/Chicanx people in all of its many facets, including their history, language, literature, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and the fine and performing arts (visual arts, music, dance, drama and performance art). Since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, Chicano/Mexican American Studies programs and courses have been offered primarily at colleges and universities across the nation. Within the last five years, there has been a more intensive effort to implement MAS courses in Texas and the nation from Pre-Kindergarten through 12thgrade.

What is MAS Flyer

WHY MAS FOR TEXAS SCHOOLS?

Because studies (Cabrera in Tucson, Arizona and Dee/Penner at Stanford, see links below) show and prove that these MAS courses help our students to succeed in school. Students who took MAS courses, regardless of ethnicity, scored higher on standardized tests, graduated at higher rates, increased their attendance, and were more academically engaged and did better in their other courses as well.

Cabrera Study

Dee/Penner Study

HISTORY OF MEXICAN AMERICAN STUDIES IN TEXAS
  • Escuelitas: 1880s-1950
  • The Chicano Civil Rights Movement of the 60s-70s and the creation of Chicano Studies and Bilingual Education programs across the nation.
  • First Chicano/Mexican American Studies courses and programs in Texas: UT Austin & Texas  A&I.
  • National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies (NACCS)/Tejas Foco.
  • Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approves Mexican American Studies (MAS) as a       Field of Study in 2003 which allows community colleges across the state to offer courses and       an Associate of Arts degree in MAS.
  • NACCS Tejas Foco fight for MAS with Texas State Board of Education:
    • Request for a MAS History course for high school students in 2013-2014
    • Proclamation 2016 and a call for textbooks for Mexican American, Native American, African American and Asian American Studies.
    • The racist Mexican American Heritage textbook fight in 2016.
    • Historic approval of a MAS History course, a pathway for the development of other Ethnic Studies courses, and the name change battle.
    • Final approval of an Ethnic Studies: Mexican American Studies History course in 2018.
    • Four Statewide Summits on Mexican American Studies for Texas Schools.