Indian Focus

Jerry Lassos, American Indian Resource Specialist

Jerry Lassos is in his third year as an Indian Ed Focus Teacher at Merrill.  He is also working with American Indian students at South and Thomas Jefferson High Schools.   Jerry is from Venice, California.  In the Air Force he competed in fast-pitch softball.  Jerry began teaching in Jeffco before becoming certified as a gifted and talented specialist with a focus on identifying and programming for underrepresented groups.  Jerry served on the Jeffco diversity training team and attended the Teaching Tolerance Institute sponsored by the Multicultural Center at the University of Washington and the Southern Poverty Law Center. While with the institute Jerry had the opportunity to work with Dr. James Banks and meet Civil Rights Attorney Morris Dees, a personal hero.

In May of 2008, Jerry received Jeffco’s Wayne Carle Diversity Award.  He was a founding board member of West Denver Prep Charter School (now STRIVE Prep) and served on the board from 2004-2012.

Jerry attended the University of Colorado and received his bachelor’s degree at Cal State Northridge.  He has a master’s degree in Secondary Social Studies from UCD.  He has gifted and talented certification from the University of Denver. Jerry is of Tongva/Gabrielino heritage (San Gabriel mission of California).  His wife, Lidia, has Seminole heritage.  Rose, his daughter, is a CU Biomedical Mechanical Engineering graduate and works at Harvard and MIT.

http://indianedatmerrill.wikispaces.com/

Check out this wonderful video from Jerry Lassos and Steven Haas on strength-based programming, Visual-Spatial learning style strategies, and 21st Century technology for ALL American Indian students.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jiziUo6mGs&feature=youtu.be

Indian Focus News

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