Colorado Academy’s Spanish 3 classes welcomed Gerardo Lopez to CA in January. Lopez is a current activist in gang prevention and an ex-gang member in Los Angeles. He works with at-risk youth and has a powerful message about overcoming adversity and effecting positive change.

 

The presentation provided an opportunity for Spanish students to make real-world connections and apply new perspectives to their lives and to their in-class work reading the novel, La Vida y Muerte en La Mara Salvatrucha (Life and Death in the Mara Salvatrucha).

 

CA parent Johnnie Williams works with Lopez at GRASP (Gang Rescue and Support Project), which helps young people escape the gang lifestyle. GRASP is a highly respected and successful program of Metro Denver Partners, a non-profit organization, that for more than 45 years has helped kids to better futures through one-on-one mentoring in Denver.

 

Lopez visited students again during PlatFORUM, CA’s annual student- and faculty-led education workshops in February.