Cardenas, Jose A.

Dr. José A. Cárdenas, a professional educator for 45 years, served at all levels of the educational professional hierarchy and was nationally recognized as an educational expert and civil rights advocate. Cárdenas authored several books and articles in addition to giving presentations on school finance reform, bilingual education, and dropout prevention around the country. He founded Texans for Educational Excellence (TEE) in 1973. TEE expanded its goals in 1974 and became the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA). IDRA advocated the right of every child to a quality education and addressed numerous education issues in Texas and around the United States, including school finance, wealth disparities, teachers' salaries, bilingual education, desegregation, curriculum development and evaluation, and the dropout problem. In addition to advocating for Mexican Americans, IDRA has been active in the multiculturalism movement on behalf of African Americans, Vietnamese, and other groups. Cárdenas retired as director of IDRA in 1993.

Dr. José A. Cárdenas, a professional educator for 45 years, founded Texans for Educational Excellence (TEE) in 1973 with a grant from the National Urban Coalition. TEE expanded its goals in 1974 and became the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA). Nationally recognized as an educational expert and civil rights advocate, Cárdenas served as superintendent of San Antonio's Edgewood ISD, chairman of the education department at St. Mary's University, director of IDRA, and at all levels of the educational professional hierarchy. Dr. Cárdenas authored several books and articles in addition to giving presentations on school finance reform, bilingual education, and dropout prevention around the country. He retired as director of IDRA in 1993.

With Cárdenas as its director, IDRA advocated the right of every child to a quality education. IDRA addressed numerous education issues in Texas and around the United States, including school finance, wealth disparities, teachers' salaries, bilingual education, desegregation, curriculum development and evaluation, and the dropout problem. IDRA also acted as an educational research consultant for landmark court cases on bilingual education and public school funding. In addition to advocating for Mexican Americans, IDRA has been active in the multiculturalism movement on behalf of African Americans, Vietnamese, and other groups.

Funded by both federal and state governments and by funds awarded from private foundations such as Carnegie and Ford, IDRA collaborated with federal, national, state and local agencies and organizations, including the Department of Education, the National Education Association, and the Texas Education Association. IDRA produced numerous publications on bilingual and multicultural education, equal educational opportunity, mental health, teacher-resource guides, and school finance.

[Sources consulted: IDRA’s homepage, www.idra.org, and the Handbook of Texas Online, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/II/kai2.html.]