Our Mission
The mission of MASA-MexEd is to promote higher education for students of Mexican descent in New York.
MASA-MexEd provides positive guidance and support for underserved youth of Mexican descent living in New York City. We encourage program participants to strive to their fullest potential by setting and achieving academic goals in our tutoring and mentoring program. Furthermore, by fostering cultural and civic awareness, we empower a future generation of active and involved citizens.
Why do this work?
Mexicans currently represent the highest percentage of 16- to 19-year-old youth not graduated and not in school in the City: 47%, as compared to 22% for Puerto Ricans, 18% for African-Americans, and 7% for whites. Furthermore, students frequently drop out after enrolling in high school: while 95% are in school at age 14, just 25% are still in school at ages 18 to 19. That's a drop of 70%.
Our organization combats these alarming trends through the work of a network of dedicated volunteers who help us identify and eliminate the causes of low academic attainment.
To learn more about the educational needs of New York City's Mexican community, check out Kirk Semple's recent article in the New York Times, "In New York, Mexicans Lag in Education." Angelo Cabrera and Dr. Robert Smith - the President and Vice President of MASA's board - were both interviewed for the piece.
Our History
The Mexican American Students' Alliance (MASA) began its operations in 2001 under the leadership of Angelo Cabrera. The group, comprised of student activists, fought for the passage of New York's in-state tuition bill, which allows undocumented students to receive in-state tuition at CUNY and SUNY schools. Their efforts included participation in a three-day hunger strike, which culminated in the law's passage.
After the law passed, MASA began to focus its efforts on promoting access to higher education for students of Mexican descent living in New York. This focus was prompted by data indicating an alarmingly high dropout rate among Mexican and Mexican-American students in New York City. In the service of combating these trends, from 2002 to 2003, MASA conducted a series of college seminars with the help of CUNY's Admissions Office. In September of 2004, MASA moved its operations to Mott Haven, an underserved neighborhood in the South Bronx. Based at the local St. Jerome Church, the group developed an after-school program for students, also offering English as a Second Languages Classes for parents.
In the fall of 2006, MASA obtained access to the basement of St. Pius V Church and began offering after-school tutoring three times a week to elementary- and middle-school students, as well as services to parents, including ESL courses. MASA has provided these services on this schedule ever since.
In 2009, MASA merged with Mex-Ed Inc., another after-school program that provided services to high school students. Mex-Ed was co-founded in 2001 by Dr. Robert Smith, a professor at Baruch College and author of Mexican New York. The merger grew out of increasing collaboration between the two organizations, as well as the groups' shared vision and practices. Following the merger, the organization opted to shift its focus to early intervention efforts, targeting early childhood and elementary school students in particular. In keeping with that goal, in 2010, MASA began to operate a weekly playgroup for pre-school students.
During the summer of 2011, MASA-MexEd operated a successful summer program, comprised of homework help, arts programming, and a science course taught by volunteer and Columbia education student Irene Izaguirre-Lopez. Currently, MASA serves approximately 40 students, with the support of around 45 volunteers, not including the board and interns. The services offered during the school year include homework help and tutoring all three days, arts programming on Fridays, and, in some cases, weekend one-on-one tutoring for students who need additional support. In addition, MASA has also developed partnerships with several community-based organizations in order to expand the services offered to parents, including ESL courses, workshops on parenting and other issues, and financial literacy classes
People
Board of Directors
Click on each person's name to read more about them (click again to close the pop-up text box):
Angelo Cabrera, President and Co-Founder
Dr. Robert Smith, Vice President and Co-Founder
Aracelis Lucero, Director of Finance
Jessica Coffrin-St. Julien, Program Development Director
Volunteer Profiles
MASA-MexEd is extremely fortunate to have the support of a network of over 50 active volunteers. While space does not permit that we provide bios for all of them, we have included profiles of some of our volunteers below! Click on each person's name to read more about them (click again to close the pop-up text box):
Steve Alvarez
Sara Alvarez
Dr. Karen S. Camara
Carlos Gomez del Campo Maynez
Irene Izaguirre-Lopez, Chicano Caucus of Columbia University
Dianna Reyes
Krystal Reyes
Nataly Sauceda, Chicano Caucus of Columbia University