This curriculum development project has been made possible by the New York State Local Government Record Management Improvement Fund. The purpose of the project is to use government archives and historical materials to create a customized curriculum to address the special needs of our immigrant students. All the students of Liberty school are immigrants who have recently arrived in New York City. Frustrated by their lack of English proficiency and confused by the new strange culture, they need to have a truly welcoming study environment where they feel competent and confident. To accommodate their needs, a group of teachers of our school wanted to develop a curriculum that would genuinely reach them. They found that the New York City government archives contain rich historical records of the lives of immigrants, and it is possible to use those materials to develop a curriculum that would engage new immigrant students.

In the past years the participating teachers of the project focused on the Latino experience of New York City. They researched records of the New York City Archives, the Mayor's Office, Community Boards and some other government organizations. Based on the historical materials selected, they developed this curriculum, which can be used in the courses of Social Studies, Spanish Native Language Arts, and English as a Second Language as supplementary lessons or resource materials. The instructional objectives of the lessons in the curriculum fit the New York State new learning standards, which require students to develop skills in the use of primary resources. Students will have a great opportunity to examine a series of social issues in the context of massive immigration and great cultural diversity. We hope the authenticity of the instructional materials about their predecessors in the city will arouse genuine interest in the immigrant youngsters, who will be motivated to strive to achieve the new learning standards.

The website La Vida Nueva, is the result of the collective effort of the following Liberty High School teachers: Youkun Jiang, Shangsan Qian, Amy Shaheen, and Sherry Tu. Bruce Schnur, Principal of Liberty High School also participated in the project activities. Dr. Susan Lowes and Priscilla Stadler helped design the web site, and patiently guided and trained us to furnish the website with scanned documents and curriculum materials. We are thankful for their expertise and generosity. We would like to thank Julie Daniels, New York State Archives and Records Administration Officer, and Brenda Parnes, Regional Advisory Officer, without whose encouragement the project would not have been possible.

For further information, please contact Sherry Tu, Project Director at tus8@hotmail.com.