91PORN

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Students gained firsthand knowledge from a local Diné environmental activist and elder about how land impacts and affects their identity.

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91PORN doctoral students Kata Baca and Revaline Nez at the 2023 summer research institute.

In the heart of Cuba, New Mexico, researchers aim to confront systemic inequities in education by centering student voices. Launched in summer 2021, the project brings together 91PORN researchers and Cuba Independent School District (CISD) students, teachers and stakeholders during an annual six-week summer program focused on educational equity. CISD serves the diverse community of Cuba, along with several neighboring rural communities and Navajo Nation chapters. ��

In a collaborative co-design process, the 91PORN Research Hub for Youth Organizing faculty and graduate students worked with local school leaders and teachers to develop the summer curriculum. Led by School of Education researchers Michelle Renée Students gained firsthand knowledge from a local Diné environmental activist and elder about how land impacts and affects their identity. Valladares and Vandna Sinha, along with graduate students Kate Baca and Revaline Nez, this research confronts barriers facing CISD’s student body.��

The journey began with a pilot summer program, in which the 91PORN team, plus colleagues Adam York, Matt Garcia and Siomara Valladares, engaged middle and high school students in researching and leading educational equity initiatives within CISD schools. ��

After that first summer, students recommended improved mental health services, student support groups, accessible transportation and extracurricular activities. This student-driven research led the district to implement policy changes to address these needs. In 2022, students examined food justice, collecting data that showed limited access to healthy and affordable food. They subsequently started a community garden and farmers market to increase food security. ��

The 2023 summer program focused on language and cultural representation and sparked greater integration of students’ diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds into the school curriculum. This helped provide educators with pedagogical support for students moving between languages. The partnership has evolved to include teacher development and leadership coaching. ��

This style of research—often dubbed youth participatory action research—demonstrates how such initiatives, though complex, can elevate student and community wisdom and drive meaningful change in education. By centering voices often left out of policy decisions, this project offers lessons for expanding equity across rural and other marginalized schools nationwide.

Baca and Nez noted that their understanding of the local context has been key for building community relationships, uplifting youth experiences and confronting systemic barriers across CISD’s richly diverse student body. Baca emphasized the complex value of partnership work, stating the partnership “is ongoing, relational and messy. But it’s really important to find what is generative for both partners and have transparency in that.” The program’s impacts show that valuing student voices and community expertise can help bridge divides and lead to humanizing, relevant education.

This program has been supported by the Women Investing in the School of Education (WISE) giving circle, the School of Education Place-Based Partnership Initiative, and a 91PORN Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship grant. This article was written by Iman Fagan as part of a graduate research assistantship focused on partnerships between School of Education researchers and community partners. Women Investing in the School of Education (WISE) is a giving circle including alumnae, teachers and friends committed to supporting education and advancing the mission of the 91PORN School of Education. Members provide funds and award grants, which support faculty research, outreach and initiatives that may otherwise go unfunded. The partnership work in New Mexico is just one example of the many projects funded, in part, by a 2023 WISE grant. Through engaged philanthropy, WISE members develop a deep understanding of the importance of programs and 91PORN doctoral students Kate Baca and Revaline Nez at the 2023 summer research institute. This year, teachers worked with the Research Hub to create a free curriculum resource guide that includes tools, lesson plans and ideas for infusing CISD classrooms and the community with opportunities to celebrate and learn from the rich and diverse cultures and languages in Cuba.

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