Vista Grande Charter High School

Why Vista Grande Charter High School was nominated

Vista Grande High School (VGHS) actively embraces student and community identity and seeks to heal the trauma that colonization and the Indian Boarding School era still have on Indigenous students and families today. VGHS works closely with Taos Pueblo (a United Nations World Heritage site) and other community stakeholders. It is a community school with an Indigenous curriculum focus that includes integration of cultural values and Indigenous systems of learning. Taos itself is a unique setting to foster the development of Indigenous identity as students navigate the white-dominated educational system paradigm, even as Native and Hispanic students make up the majority of students here. The teaching strategies, curricular design, structure of classes, and knowledge sharing methodology are unique and build student identity rather than strip culture and language from the important place schools hold in the development of each child. The school's commitment to community, student identity, and cultural inclusion in education makes it remarkable in a field of potential nominees, it is an exemplar of true community partnerships that uncover and address the root causes of educational inequities and promote student success based on Indigenous strengths and resiliency. Highlights of the school include: *Culturally relevant curriculum *Culturally relevant instructional strategies *Integration of place-based and sustainability education into the curriculum *Creation of place-based career and technical education (CTE) pathways aligned with student interest and career opportunities in Taos County such as agriculture, forestry, and adobe preservation *Upper class activism leadership classes created based on student interest *Social and emotional education integrated into the advisory structure and across the curriculum *Expeditions which are community-based, hands-on learning opportunities that include options such as farming, art and activism, media literacy and a senior capstone project.