Stanford Teach-In

• In Event: Symposium on Stanford’s Teach-In on Undocumented Students in the United States

Abstract

Purpose
The aim of this paper is to identify the reasons why students, professors, and staff came together to organize a teach-in on undocumented students, the topics that were chosen, speakers invited and lessons learned. We hope that by making the content of our teach-ins explicit, the education research community will see the benefits of organizing and documenting a teach-in as a vehicle for community voice.

Perspective
It is estimated that “children account for 1.8 million, or 15 percent, of the undocumented immigrants living in this country. These children have, for the most part, grown up in the United States and received much of their primary and secondary education here” (Gonzales, 2007, p. 1). Yet, without any means to legalization they are seldom able to go on to college or work in the country legally. There are approximately 80,000 undocumented youth who have lived in the United States for 5 or more years by age 18, but only 65,000 go on to graduate from high school each year (Abrego, 2006). Moreover, because of the barriers students encounter to continue their education and their inability to enter the workforce, it is estimated that only 5 to 10 percent of undocumented high school graduates go to college (Abrego, 2008).

Methods
In Spring of 2009, Stanford University held its first teach-in on undocumented students in higher education. Subsequently, for the last three years students, professors and staff, come together to brainstorm topics, speakers and presenters on issues that undocumented students face.

Data Sources
Over the past three years, we have collected a variety of data sources. We will use information from funding proposals, event programs and information material to describe the content of past teach-ins. Informal panelist input and information from feedback forms will help explain teach-in organizational changes.

Conclusion
Three years ago, a small group of graduate students saw that fellow students, staff and faculty members seemed to know very little about the struggles undocumented immigrant students face when pursuing a higher education. There were no classes or seminars that targeted the experiences of undocumented students in education, yet there were countless undocumented students living less than ten miles away from the elite institution.
At first, the focus was on increasing awareness among the Stanford community. We invited law professors, journalists, authors, immigration advocates, teachers, counselors and undocumented students to share their experiences. The third year, we decided to focus on addressing the needs of undocumented students. We provided information on college, financial aid, career options and graduate school.
We have begun essential conversations among students and faculty members. More importantly, we have demonstrated that we are willing and eager to listen to the needs and struggles of our surrounding community.

Significance
This paper makes a contribution by documenting the three teach-ins on undocumented students. Documentation can provide a record of this journey, allowing the lessons learned by Stanford students to be shared with other researchers, practitioners, and school officials.

Authors

• Ana Paulina Moreno, University of California - Santa Cruz

• Claudia Rodriguez-Mojica, Stanford University