Manuelita de Atocha Romero Lucero, Mela Leger (1928–2006) was an early proponent for bilingual education in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. With her husband

Ray Leger Ray Leger (January 6, 1925 – October 14, 2009) was an American politician and educator who served as a member of the New Mexico Senate for the 8th district from 1973 to 1980. Early life and education Leger was born on January 6, 1925, in L ...

, she helped write the 1973 Bilingual Multicultural Education Act, which provided for Spanish and Indigenous languages to be taught in New Mexico K12 schools.

Early life

When Leger first attended school in New Mexico, she spoke only Spanish. During that time, children were punished for speaking Spanish in class. After graduating from Loretta Heights College in Denver, she married

, another influential advocate for bilingual education in New Mexico who later became state senator.

Career

After earning her master's degree and teaching certificate from New Mexico Highlands University, she was one of a small numbers of educators throughout the nation who participated in pilot testing, national discussion, and

curriculum development Curriculum development is a process of improving the curriculum. Various approaches have been used in developing curricula. Commonly used approaches consist of analysis (i.e. need analysis, task analysis), design (i.e. objective design), selecting ...

for bilingual children. After teaching Spanish-speaking children how to read English in the national pilot program, she traveled to meet with educators, parents, and lawmakers throughout the state to advocate for the benefits of bilingual education. Early in her career as a teacher, she founded one of the first bilingual multicultural elementary schools in the nation, which was visited by national and state policy makers and educators. Navajo-class

Along with her husband, Leger was a major contributor to New Mexico's 1973 Bilingual Multicultural Education Law, the first of its kind in the nation. In 1975, New Mexico created the first teaching endorsement for ESL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) in the nation. Leger trained generations of bilingual teachers during her tenure at the Teacher Training Center in Las Vegas, New Mexico, as well as the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

. As of 2016,

Indigenous languages An indigenous language, or autochthonous language, is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples. This language is from a linguistically distinct community that originated in the area. Indigenous languages are not neces ...

offered in New Mexico schools included Jicarilla,

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

, Keres,

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

, Tewa, Tiwa, Towa, and Zuni.

Legacy

During the implementation phase of the New Mexico Historic Women Marker Initiative from 2006-2010, Leger was selected to be honored with a historic marker for her contributions to education that is listed in the

Historical Marker Database The Historical Marker Database (HMdb.org) is an online database that documents locations of numerous historical markers in the United States as well as other countries. The database was launched in 2006 by computer programmer J. J. Prats. The HMd ...

Personal life

Her daughter,

Teresa Leger Fernandez Teresa Isabel Leger Fernandez ( ; born July 1, 1959) is an American attorney and politician representing New Mexico's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Early life and education Leger Fernandez was born ...

, currently serves New Mexico's Third

Congressional District Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

References

1928 births 2006 deaths Educators from New Mexico Founders of schools in the United States {{DEFAULTSORT:Leger, Mela New Mexico Highlands University alumni Education activists Language teachers Bilingual education Women in Red 2022