AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR, DR. FRANCISCO JIMÉNEZ,
TO VISIT TESSERACT SCHOOL
PARADISE VALLEY, ARIZONA—September 16, 2010—Award-winning author, professor and 2002 U.S. Professor of the Year, Dr. Francisco Jiménez will visit Tesseract School Thursday, September 23 as part of Tesseract School’s Artist in Residence program, through the Tesseract Parents Association Cultural Enrichment Committee.
Dr. Jiménez emigrated with his family to California from Tlaquepaque, Mexico, and as a child he worked in the fields of California. During his visit, he will speak with students in kindergarten through high school sharing “The Immigrant Experience: A Personal Story” about his life experiences. Dr. Jiménez will also discuss several of his books that are incorporated into Tesseract’s Spanish, language arts and visual arts curriculum including his award-winning collection of autobiographical short stories, “The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child,” as well as what it is like to be an author.
“We are just thrilled to have Dr. Jiménez visit. The students in Spanish class are looking forward to speaking with him—in Spanish and English—and hearing about his experiences firsthand,” said Jessie Tolman, Tesseract middle school Spanish educator. “As our students learn to read, write and speak Spanish, an important part of our program includes exposing them to the rich diversity of cultures in Spanish-speaking countries while gaining an understanding of the people who speak it.”
At Tesseract School, students start learning Spanish at the age of three. The foreign language program continues throughout high school, where students can then choose to continue with Spanish or take Mandarin. Incorporated throughout Tesseract’s innovative, student-centered curriculum, educators from all subject matters collaborate to integrate lesson plans with Spanish and Mandarin classes, drawing cross-curricular connections and reinforcing concepts and themes through art, literature, humanities, social studies and service learning.
“We have all been eagerly looking forward to Dr. Jiménez’s visit. The ability to meet and interact with someone whose books and life-experiences are part of the curriculum is a wonderful opportunity for our students, and is also a perfect example of the cross-curricular connections we provide for our students,” noted Nigel Taplin, Tesseract’s head of School. “Students have prepared for his visit in their language arts classes, to speak with him about writing techniques and being an author; in their Spanish classes, to speak with him, in Spanish, about his experiences in Mexico and the U.S.; and in visual arts, by creating their interpretations of cardboard houses similar to those in the migrant communities Dr. Jiménez writes about in his books.”
About Dr. Francisco Jiménez:
Author and educator, Francisco Jiménez emigrated with his family from Tlaquepaque, Mexico to California and as a child worked alongside his parents in the fields of California. He received his bachelor of arts from Santa Clara University and a master of arts and doctorate of philosophy in Latin American literature from Columbia University under a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. He has served on various professional boards and commissions, including the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, California Council for the Humanities and the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities (WASC). Dr. Jiménez’s autobiographical books “The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child,” “Breaking Through,” “The Christmas Gift/El regalo
de Navidad” and "Reaching Out" have won several national literary awards. For more information about Dr. Jiménez, please visit www.scu.edu/fjimenez.
About Tesseract:
A leader in education in the Valley, Tesseract School prepares students to excel in college and beyond, lead lives of purpose, and become ethical and compassionate citizens with a global perspective. Tesseract’s innovative educational approach engages students in learning, enabling them to master the basics and become critical thinkers. As a non-profit, independent private school for students in preschool through grade 12, resources are directed to recruit and retain outstanding educators and continually enhance the school’s two campuses in Phoenix and Paradise Valley. For information visit www.tesseractschool.org or call 480.991.1770.
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