Racially Just Utah (RJU), ACLU of Utah, and Salt Lake Peer Court are collaborating with other community partners to host a film screening of the documentary, Precious Knowledge, on September 20, 2016, at the Marmalade Branch Library from 6:00pm to 8:30pm.

This film highlights the innovative social justice curriculum adopted in Tucson High School that became a national model of educational success. While 48% of Mexican American students currently drop out of high school, Tucson High’s Mexican American Studies Program had 100% of enrolled students graduate from high school and 85% go on to attend college.

According to the Utah State office of Education, 30% of children who identify as English-Language Learners and 26% of Latino youth dropped out of high school in 2015. There is a critical need to close the academic success gap that exists among youth of color and their counterparts. We hope to engage students, educators, parents, and administrators in a dialogue regarding culturally relevant curriculum that can be adopted in Utah schools to help increase graduation rates and inspire college attendance.