Program Takes Pupils to Albuquerque
For 80 students at Utah Street Elementary School in Boyle Heights, education goes far beyond the classroom walls.
Their science lessons introduced them to plant and animal life in desert and mountain environments. Now many of the students are in Albuquerque, watching their textbook pages come to life.
“We’re going to see scorpions, iguanas and snakes,” said Rosalba Hernandez, 10, before boarding a train this week at Union Station for New Mexico.
The students are part of a Project B.E.S.T. (Better in English and Science With Theater). Mayra Fernandez, a teacher for 28 years, created the federally funded project three years ago when she noticed that her students were not performing at the level they should have been.
The program seeks to reinforce science and English lessons through theater, Fernandez said. The five-day trip to New Mexico will include a bus tour of Albuquerque, a visit to the Navajo reservation and a stop at the Rattlesnake Museum.
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