Concerned about the needs of the growing Central American student population, and about US involvement in the region, teachers in eleven major cities formed action committees. During the 1980s, these local committees coordinated tours to and from Central America, raised funds for schools in Central America and teachers' unions, established sister schools and sister unions, offered courses and workshops, and developed curricula. Some of the curricula are still distributed today such as Wilfredo: A Boy from El Salvador and Of Secret Wars and Roses.
Nicaragua: Song of Hope published by Network Educators' Committees of Central America in New York.
Representatives from committees of teachers working on Central American issues met in Los Angeles. They formed the Network of Educators Committees on Central America (NECCA) to improve communication and to coordinate joint projects. The Seattle and Boston committee coordinators served as volunteer national co-coordinators.
Wilfredo: Un niño de El Salvador / A Boy from El Salvador is a 45-page free, downloadable bilingual book for children about the experiences of a 12-year-old boy in San Francisco who immigrated to the United States when he was 10.
National Meeting in Boston, MA, with representatives from NY, NY; LA, CA; Minneapolis, MN; Weschester, NY; Lexington, MA; San Diego, CA; Washington, DC; Seattle, WA; Boston, MA. We decided to place the national focus on Educators' Tours to Central America and Sister Schools. Deborah Menkart was selected as the New East Coordinator.
NECCA Tour to El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras. SD/LA School construction Project in Nicaragua. NICA BESP Teacher training on Atlantic Coast.
First workshop for teachers on Teaching About Central America. Presented at MCEA (Montgomery County Educators Association) with the topic on Nicaragua.
The National Conference was held in San Francisco with representatives from Minnesota, New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, Boston, and Washington, DC.
Rachel Wyon and Deborah Menkart led the Teacher's Tour to El Salvador and Honduras.
Various NECCA committees hosted a tour of Nicaraguan students.
