Teaching Central America: Community, Knowledge, and Liberation in 2025
Over the summer, Teaching Central America Program Specialist Jonathan Peraza Campos had the opportunity to spread the word about Teaching Central America and to help grow infrastructure for Central American studies across the country.
In these dire times, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and in despair. However, while at the XITO teacher institute in Tucson, Peraza Campos reminded the audience that “Teachers are seed bombs.” Teachers nurture youth to be committed to life and liberation. We multiply the movement through our work in the classroom and beyond by equipping our students with empathy, critical analysis, historical literacy, and civic leadership.
Through Central American studies in K–12, teachers can nurture the movement against racial and migrant oppression through their students.
UCLA’s Ethnic Studies Teacher Specialization Program
Jonathan Peraza Campos with Teaching Central America program advisor, Floridalma Boj Lopez
Peraza Campos is pursuing an ethnic studies teacher certificate at UCLA’s Ethnic Studies teacher certificate program. To grow in his capacities as an educator of ethnic studies and Central American studies, Peraza Campos is now part of a powerful cohort of Southern California teachers who are building their knowledge and skills to teach liberatory ethnic studies. Throughout the program’s summer intensive session in June and July, he had the opportunity to promote the Teaching Central America program to his cohort and to connect with teachers committed to teaching Palestine using Rethinking Schools’ Teaching Palestine publication.
Abrego led a session titled “Accompaniment: The Role of Educators in Supporting Immigrant Students and their Families” to develop an understanding of legal violence in U.S. immigration and crimmigration law. She dialogued with teachers about how they are supporting immigrant youth in these trying times of anti-immigrant racism and persecution.
Boj Lopez facilitated a workshop titled “Guatemalan Students Contesting Erasure and Exclusion in Los Angeles” for teachers to understand Guatemalan Maya Indigeneity and the erasure of Maya Indigenous youth identity in school systems. Boj Lopez works extensively with teachers and in her field to expand Central American studies and Indigenous studies in Los Angeles beyond traditional and minimizing frameworks that do a disservice to the city’s Maya students.
We celebrate these trailblazing scholars in the field that is helping our Central American and Maya youth to know, love, and fight for their communities!
Xicanx Institute for Teaching and Organizing (XITO)
In July, Peraza Campos was invited to participate on a panel for the 12th annual XITO Summer Institute in Tucson, Arizona. He highlighted the work of Teaching Central America at Teaching for Change to expand Central American studies across the country by providing resources and programming to teachers and schools. He also shared about his ethnic studies teaching and organizing in Atlanta through Escuelitas and Vos del Sur at Migrant Roots Media.
At the institute, many teachers were excited to learn about Teaching Central America or to share appreciation for the program for providing resources to teach their large Central American student populations. Sean Arce from XITO and LESMC remarked that he uses Teaching Central America resources with his Central American students and “They eat it up!” We commend XITO’s work and look forward to continued collaboration and struggle for a decolonial ethnic studies praxis.
Mexican American Studies (MAS) Teacher Academy
After XITO, Peraza Campos was eager to attend another year of the Mexican American Studies (MAS) Teacher Academy hosted by the University of Texas, San Antonio and partners. Over the last few years, he has learned much about Mexican American studies in Texas and its growing potential in the state thanks to the MAS Academy. This past year’s theme, “A Decade of Creation-Resistance and MAS Legacies in Tejas,” celebrated the years of building and organizing from MAS teachers, scholars, and community members. This year, Peraza Campos joined talented scholars, teachers, and cultural workers as a facilitator with his workshop titled “Crossing Borders, Building Puentes: Intersections of Central American Studies and Mexican American Studies with Teaching for Change.”
In this workshop, he provided an overview of the program’s curated materials and offerings to teach Central American studies. Most importantly, he provided guidance in how to connect Mexican American studies themes to Central American studies in order to cross disciplinary borders and build bridges between both Mexican American/Chicanx and Central American communities. Key intersections between the communities include Indigenous histories and modern Maya experiences, migrations, conflict and solidarity, and the notable and growing Central American population in Texas.
According to teacher feedback from the session:
“This was perhaps one of my favorites of the entire conference! I loved the focus on intersectionality, and the resources for my own lessons will be well-put to use!”
“Loved it! Important to understand how Central Americans cross connect with MAS! Excited to possibly see African American, Asian American, and Arab American and American Indian intersections next year!”
“This was so informative! I really appreciate the lesson frames that were created, making it easy for us to get the info and plug it in.”
“WOW! I absolutely loved this because of how relevant it is for me and my students. I cannot wait to use the resources shared!”
“Mr. Peraza’s presentation on incorporating CAS into our curriculum was outstanding. It highlighted the gaps in our current approach to CAS and emphasized the need for stronger connections with our students. The resources he provided will be invaluable in fostering these connections.”
Teaching for Change is a proud supporter of the MAS Teacher Academy and the ongoing creation-resistance of Texas ethnic studies teachers.
Vos* del Sur: A Central American Studies of the Global U.S. South
In June, Peraza Campos and co-founder and co-facilitator Alejandra Mejía from Migrant Roots Media hosted a student project showcase to conclude the Vos* del Sur program. Vos* del Sur, a play on words of the common Central American pronoun vos (meaning “you”) and the word voz (meaning “voice” in Spanish), was a Central American Studies course focused on the experiences of Central Americans of the Global/U.S. South. Peraza Campos and Mejía from Migrant Roots Media held programming between 2024-2025. Together, they created a space where canonical Central American scholarship, film, art, and literature were in dialogue with the marginalized voices and experiences of Central Americans who call the U.S. South home.
After Migrant Roots Media Executive Director Roxana Bendezú provided opening words where she celebrated the program, Peraza Campos and Mejía opened with their projects and introduced the participants’ projects. Many of the featured projects took artistic and academic approaches to articulating the Central American Southern experience. Each of the projects examined the root causes of migration from Central America to the U.S., especially the U.S. South, and the relationship between migration and U.S. imperialism and global racial capitalism. Projects included a discussion of the Garífuna settlement in Central America and the South, Banana Republic dynamics with Honduran labor in the South, Salvadoran and Guatemalan war trauma, transnational solidarity between Central America and the South, Indigenous reconnection, and more!
Teaching Central America looks forward to sharing these student projects once they are showcased on the Migrant Roots Media website to provide further resources for classroom teachers to teach the Central American South.
Teaching Central America: Community, Knowledge, and Liberation in 2025
Over the summer, Teaching Central America Program Specialist Jonathan Peraza Campos had the opportunity to spread the word about Teaching Central America and to help grow infrastructure for Central American studies across the country.
In these dire times, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and in despair. However, while at the XITO teacher institute in Tucson, Peraza Campos reminded the audience that “Teachers are seed bombs.” Teachers nurture youth to be committed to life and liberation. We multiply the movement through our work in the classroom and beyond by equipping our students with empathy, critical analysis, historical literacy, and civic leadership.
Through Central American studies in K–12, teachers can nurture the movement against racial and migrant oppression through their students.
UCLA’s Ethnic Studies Teacher Specialization Program
Peraza Campos is pursuing an ethnic studies teacher certificate at UCLA’s Ethnic Studies teacher certificate program. To grow in his capacities as an educator of ethnic studies and Central American studies, Peraza Campos is now part of a powerful cohort of Southern California teachers who are building their knowledge and skills to teach liberatory ethnic studies. Throughout the program’s summer intensive session in June and July, he had the opportunity to promote the Teaching Central America program to his cohort and to connect with teachers committed to teaching Palestine using Rethinking Schools’ Teaching Palestine publication.
Peraza Campos was excited to cross paths with Dr. Leisy Abrego and Teaching Central America advisor Dr. Floridalma Boj Lopez, both professors in the Cesar E. Chavez Department Chicana/o and Central American Studies.
Abrego led a session titled “Accompaniment: The Role of Educators in Supporting Immigrant Students and their Families” to develop an understanding of legal violence in U.S. immigration and crimmigration law. She dialogued with teachers about how they are supporting immigrant youth in these trying times of anti-immigrant racism and persecution.
Boj Lopez facilitated a workshop titled “Guatemalan Students Contesting Erasure and Exclusion in Los Angeles” for teachers to understand Guatemalan Maya Indigeneity and the erasure of Maya Indigenous youth identity in school systems. Boj Lopez works extensively with teachers and in her field to expand Central American studies and Indigenous studies in Los Angeles beyond traditional and minimizing frameworks that do a disservice to the city’s Maya students.
We celebrate these trailblazing scholars in the field that is helping our Central American and Maya youth to know, love, and fight for their communities!
Xicanx Institute for Teaching and Organizing (XITO)
In July, Peraza Campos was invited to participate on a panel for the 12th annual XITO Summer Institute in Tucson, Arizona. He highlighted the work of Teaching Central America at Teaching for Change to expand Central American studies across the country by providing resources and programming to teachers and schools. He also shared about his ethnic studies teaching and organizing in Atlanta through Escuelitas and Vos del Sur at Migrant Roots Media.
The panel, titled “Education as a Front, a Weapon and a Tool: Cross Movement Solidarity in a World on Fire,” was an inspiring and courageous dialogue among teacher and organizer peers Lupe Carrasco Cardona (Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium, Association of Raza Educators), Lara Kiswani (Arab Resource and Organizing Center), Basha Jamil (Council of American-Islamic Relations – Los Angeles), Ren Manning (Borderlinks), and Peraza Campos representing Teaching for Change and his local ethnic studies work with Escuelitas and Vos del Sur at Migrant Roots Media.
At the institute, many teachers were excited to learn about Teaching Central America or to share appreciation for the program for providing resources to teach their large Central American student populations. Sean Arce from XITO and LESMC remarked that he uses Teaching Central America resources with his Central American students and “They eat it up!” We commend XITO’s work and look forward to continued collaboration and struggle for a decolonial ethnic studies praxis.
Mexican American Studies (MAS) Teacher Academy
After XITO, Peraza Campos was eager to attend another year of the Mexican American Studies (MAS) Teacher Academy hosted by the University of Texas, San Antonio and partners. Over the last few years, he has learned much about Mexican American studies in Texas and its growing potential in the state thanks to the MAS Academy. This past year’s theme, “A Decade of Creation-Resistance and MAS Legacies in Tejas,” celebrated the years of building and organizing from MAS teachers, scholars, and community members. This year, Peraza Campos joined talented scholars, teachers, and cultural workers as a facilitator with his workshop titled “Crossing Borders, Building Puentes: Intersections of Central American Studies and Mexican American Studies with Teaching for Change.”
In this workshop, he provided an overview of the program’s curated materials and offerings to teach Central American studies. Most importantly, he provided guidance in how to connect Mexican American studies themes to Central American studies in order to cross disciplinary borders and build bridges between both Mexican American/Chicanx and Central American communities. Key intersections between the communities include Indigenous histories and modern Maya experiences, migrations, conflict and solidarity, and the notable and growing Central American population in Texas.
According to teacher feedback from the session:
“This was perhaps one of my favorites of the entire conference! I loved the focus on intersectionality, and the resources for my own lessons will be well-put to use!”
“Loved it! Important to understand how Central Americans cross connect with MAS! Excited to possibly see African American, Asian American, and Arab American and American Indian intersections next year!”
“This was so informative! I really appreciate the lesson frames that were created, making it easy for us to get the info and plug it in.”
“WOW! I absolutely loved this because of how relevant it is for me and my students. I cannot wait to use the resources shared!”
“Mr. Peraza’s presentation on incorporating CAS into our curriculum was outstanding. It highlighted the gaps in our current approach to CAS and emphasized the need for stronger connections with our students. The resources he provided will be invaluable in fostering these connections.”
Teaching for Change is a proud supporter of the MAS Teacher Academy and the ongoing creation-resistance of Texas ethnic studies teachers.
Vos* del Sur: A Central American Studies of the Global U.S. South
In June, Peraza Campos and co-founder and co-facilitator Alejandra Mejía from Migrant Roots Media hosted a student project showcase to conclude the Vos* del Sur program. Vos* del Sur, a play on words of the common Central American pronoun vos (meaning “you”) and the word voz (meaning “voice” in Spanish), was a Central American Studies course focused on the experiences of Central Americans of the Global/U.S. South. Peraza Campos and Mejía from Migrant Roots Media held programming between 2024-2025. Together, they created a space where canonical Central American scholarship, film, art, and literature were in dialogue with the marginalized voices and experiences of Central Americans who call the U.S. South home.
After Migrant Roots Media Executive Director Roxana Bendezú provided opening words where she celebrated the program, Peraza Campos and Mejía opened with their projects and introduced the participants’ projects. Many of the featured projects took artistic and academic approaches to articulating the Central American Southern experience. Each of the projects examined the root causes of migration from Central America to the U.S., especially the U.S. South, and the relationship between migration and U.S. imperialism and global racial capitalism. Projects included a discussion of the Garífuna settlement in Central America and the South, Banana Republic dynamics with Honduran labor in the South, Salvadoran and Guatemalan war trauma, transnational solidarity between Central America and the South, Indigenous reconnection, and more!
Teaching Central America looks forward to sharing these student projects once they are showcased on the Migrant Roots Media website to provide further resources for classroom teachers to teach the Central American South.
Posted: September 12, 2025