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.

From the description of José A. Cárdenas papers and the records of the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), 1960-1998. (University of Texas Libraries). WorldCat record id: 319070616

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