The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Cultural Connections in Schooling." Contents include: (1) A Defining Moment for…

Education levels are on the rise among Mexican immigrants, who now comprise the fourth largest group of college-educated immigrants in the United States, after those from India, China, and the Philippines. The number of Mexican immigrants with a bachelor's degree or higher grew from 269,000 in 2000 to 678,000 in 2017--an increase that is primarily…

This essay provides an overview of the huelga schools established in Houston, Texas, in 1970. For 2 years, from 1970 to 1972, the Mexican American community opposed the Houston Independent School District's plan to integrate the schools by pairing so-called White Mexican Americans with African American students. While they protested this decision,…

This qualitative study examines how Latina girls' understanding of infidelity influences how they approach and interact with romantic partners. In-depth interviews with 24 Mexican American girls, ages 14 to 18, growing up in inner-city neighborhoods, formed the basis of this study. Although cheating was a major concern, most of the girls were more…

Objective: To examine the impact of adherence to a healthy snacking component of a 6 month school-based intervention program for overweight and obese children. Design: Randomized controlled intervention trial Methods: Mexican American children who were = 85th percentile for body mass index (BMI) were recruited between 2005-2012 from three Houston…

Analyzes the evolution of Mexican American identity in Houston's Chicano community. Describes immigrants' emphasis on community pride in "mexicanismo" and Mestizo-Indian heritage, abandonment of indigenous identity and demands for White status in 1930s and 1940s, and identification with racial minorities during the civil rights movement.…

An ethnographic study of Mexican Americans living in Houston is presented in this monograph. The Mexican American population is studied in regard to such factors as population distribution, culture, socioeconomic background, education, employment, social activities, and environment. The barrio environment is discussed in terms of its setting,…

A 3-year case study of a Houston (Texas) high school demonstrates that high stakes testing is an alienating feature of schooling. The need to pass the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills to graduate discourages many Mexican American and immigrant Mexican students from completing high school or considering college. The English-only nature of the…

Data collected in 1978 indicate that, despite Houston's recent growth, minorities have not found better housing opportunities there. Blacks and Hispanics continue to be denied housing, to be charged more than Whites for available houses and apartments, and/or to be forced into living far from the central city. (GC)

Combined with the overabundance of free time caused by unemployment, pachuco gangs in Chicano neighborhoods became very active during the 1940s. Houston had its own pachuco gangs that not only had feuds with each other but also clashed with Houston police. (NQ)

Examines the different spoken conditional verb forms used with reference to future time as manifested in the speech habits of those Mexican Americans living in Houston. The frequency with which certain variant forms appear indicates a definite trend in the evolution of linguistic change. Within this linguistic context, the imperfect subjunctive…

Examined an aspect of modality in the Spanish spoken in the Houston, Texas community. Demonstrates that semantic-pragmatic variation and change are taking place and affecting the forms of "deber (de) and "tener que" in their deontic and epistemic modes. Interviewed Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in Spanish. Analyses show an…

Compares 86 Mexican-American secondary school students in Houston, Texas, who had and 90 students who had not received bilingual instruction in elementary grades. Finds small difference in grade point average (GPA) and absenteeism and fewer dropouts/retentions among bilingual program participants. Finds more years of bilingual instruction…

In a group of 154 U.S.-born and 127 Mexico-born Hispanic teens delivering at a county hospital in Houston, only 50 returned for their scheduled postpartum visit. Returning teens across groups were more likely to have no prenatal care, have a preterm or expired infant, report no educational plan, and have a support system. (KS)

Investigates whether, due to the language contact situation in Houston in a group of a Mexican-American speakers, the imperfect forms of subordinate language (Spanish) are going through a process of reduction in favor of the forms of the superordinate language (English) when compared to the speech of Spanish monolinguals. (Author/VWL)