A brief account of student experiences at the Spanish-American Normal School (Northern New Mexico Normal School) in El Rito, New Mexico, during the 1950s. Founded as a teacher training center in 1909, the boarding school later served elementary and secondary Hispanic students seeking an education not available in poor rural New Mexico communities.…

Highlights from interviews with three Hispanic women who taught rural children in New Mexico over 60 years ago notes the recurring motifs of poverty, supportive families, obstructive political structures, social discrimination, and community vitality and support. Investigates how these women were able to cross the boundary that separated…