El Otro Lado in the Schools brings classrooms alive through story-based, arts and experiential learning to nurture connection, empathy and a sense of home and belonging to discover our stories have the power to touch others, build understanding, and restore ourselves and the world.

The “I Am From” poem is an exercise from the El Otro Lado curriculum guide drawn from the work of George Ella Lyon and Levi Romero. It is an experience designed to engage people in the creative process by exploring our human connection to place. In the video above, members of our Santa Fe community share stories at one of the El Otro Lado culminating celebrations.

The “I Am From” experience is just one of many that educators bring into classrooms through the El Otro Lado program. Each year, teachers and community artists come to the Academy to receive training and support, learning the El Otro Lado methods for their classrooms across Santa Fe.

The cost for this inspirational community program is $3,000 per classroom. Our local schools are working hard along with the Academy to raise money to continue to offer El Otro Lado to Santa Fe schools in the coming years. Please join us in supporting this important work in classrooms across Santa Fe by donating today!