Teach Central America Week

Educators Teach About Central America

More than seven million Central Americans reside in the United States and migration from the region is headline news. However, most schools teach very little about Central America, including the long history of U.S. involvement in the region.

In 2019, Teaching for Change launched Teach Central America Week (held the first week of October annually) to encourage and support teaching about Central America during Latinx Heritage Month. We have collected lessons, booklists, biographies of noted historical figures, and readings for free use by classroom teachers. Read about past weeks here.

Each year hundreds of teachers nationwide commit to teach about Central America during Latinx Heritage Month. Add your name and participate in the annual Teach Central America Week.

Resources for Teaching about Central America

Sign Up Today

Teach Central America Week October 7–11, 2024

Endorsement

Educators who sign on are expected to participate in AT LEAST ONE of the following ways:

• Implement lessons about Central America in my classroom

• Share a lesson I created about Central America with other educators

• Encourage my colleagues to get involved. Tell at least one other person in my building about what I'm doing!

• Attend an event during the week

• Share the story! (Invite a visitor, social media, etc.)

For whole school partnership the school community agrees to participate in ALL of the following ways:

• Endorse: School is publicly listed as supporting Teach Central America Week

• School leadership is publicly supportive

• Teach Central America Week is on the school calendar

• Parents are informed of Teach Central America Week

• School shares the resources to teach about Central America with teachers

• Every student engages in some type of activity related to Teach Central America Week’

• Share the story! (Invite a visitor, social media, etc.)

Organizations who sign on agree to ENDORSE Teach Central America Week, have their organization publicly listed, and participate in AT LEAST ONE of the following ways:

• Share a public statement in support of Teach Central America Week

• Promote the Teach Central America Week

• Host/cohost an event

• Align events and/or programming with Teach Central America Week

Community members who sign on and are expected to participate in AT LEAST ONE of the following ways:

• Have a conversation at your dinner table

• Share a public statement (on social media or other platform)

• Attend an event

• Promote teacher/student work; share stories/elevate the voices

• Donate your space for an event

• Donate your skills

• Make a financial donation

Endorsers

Hundreds of educators signed up to participate in the 2023 Teach Central America Week. Add your name.

Organizational Endorsers

• Advancing Latinas into Leadership Mentoring Program

• Amigos de las Americas

• An Open Book Foundation

• Arte Público Press

• Bilingual Education for Central America

• CASA

• Casa Camino Real Bookstore

• Casa de la Cultura El Salvador

• Central American Historical and Ancestral Society of California

• Center for Latin American Studies, Vanderbilt University

• Central American Collective

• Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee

• CSU Dominguez Hills Latina/o/x/e Cultural Resource Center

• The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador

• DC History Center

• Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Maryland, College Park

• Fox Valley Literacy

What Teachers are Saying

“With Central America in the news every day, we educators — and all people — need to know the history of USA involvement in Central America.”

“I am K-12 school counselor at a small rural school in South Dakota. We have two female students who are new to the country from Guatemala. While I am trying to build and ELL program, I am also trying to educate our local students on the girls' culture.”

“I must admit that I felt a sense of shame upon seeing this email — I have taught practically nothing about Central America! The only lesson I did last year was a way-too-rushed day about US intervention in the 1970s using Howard Zinn's People's History of Empire. I am excited to dedicate a week to the topic and would be eager to receive any additional materials that others recommend.”

“Approximately 60-65% of our school population have recently immigrated from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras. LatinX Heritage Month is already a critical cultural celebration at our school, and Teach Central America Week will help us further strengthen our school wide community building.”