Marla Colondres
Swenson Arts and Technology High School
2024 Spring Enrollment: The Past, Present, and Future of Latinx Studies
Marla Colondres began her teaching career 31 years ago at a rural public school in Puerto Rico. After moving to Philadelphia to pursue a Master’s in Multicultural Education at Eastern University, she began teaching in the School District of Philadelphia, and has done so for 29 years. She currently teaches Spanish 2 and Spanish for Heritage Speakers at Swenson Arts and Technology High School.
Colondres learned about the TIP through the School District of Philadelphia newsletter. The seminars, which covered interesting and relevant topics, caught her attention, and she applied to TIP to continue learning and to enhance the lessons for her students. Through TIP, she has been able to explore and incorporate LGBTQIA+ Activism within the Latinx Civil Rights Movement into her Spanish curriculum.
Colondres participated in the Spring 2024 seminar, The Past, Present, and Future of Latinx Studies. Through the seminar, she gained new perspectives on teaching for equity and developed a deeper understanding of the history of LGBTQIA+ Latinx leaders and their social impact.
Colondres stated that the seminar “greatly influenced” her teaching, and provided her the tools and framework for creating a unit that promotes equity and empowers all students. She is now more committed to dismantling racism, discrimination, and injustice within her classroom.
In spring 2025, she will take the seminar titled, Diverse Children’s Literature: Literature, Art, Cultural Artifacts, and Contested Terrain, which will allow her to research and analyze
literature, art, and culture from native Spanish speakers and Latinx authors in the diaspora. One of her goals is to develop a unit for her Spanish Heritage Speakers class and have it available for teachers nationwide. Another goal is to integrate literature and cultural artifacts from diverse voices; she wants her students to feel heard, understood, and empowered.