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Cypress Street Schoolhouse

Assistant Professor Jorge Rodriguez grew up in Santa Ana, but it wasn’t until he returned to Orange County to teach at Attallah College of Educational Studies that he learned about the significant role that the local community played in the history of school desegregation. Now, he has incorporated that history into his courses by leading students in his classes on a community walk focusing on the geographic histories of Orange and its impact on educators and community organizers. Students learn about the local landmark case Mendez v. Westminster, the desegregation histories in Orange County and tour historical landmarks within the Cypress Street Barrio Neighborhood, including the Cypress Street Schoolhouse and the Lydia D. Killefer School. “What better way to expose students to this concept of making the familiar strange than to actually walk the neighborhood that they walk on the way to school?” says Rodriguez, noting that students get to experience not just coming to Chapman, but actually living within an environment that has historical significance. “But not just any historical significance... the birthplace of desegregation is right there.” Participants regularly list the neighborhood walks as a highlight for the course, says Rodriguez. “They say, I can't not see this neighborhood as a historical landmark or see the value in this neighborhood. Because of the history and the legacy that exists here, I now see my campus from a different light.”

Alumni, Community, Neighbor-to-Neighbor, Students

Local History Makes Impact on Chapman Students

By Natalie Papazian / February 6, 2025

Assistant Professor Jorge Rodriguez grew up in Santa Ana, but it wasn’t until he returned to Orange County to teach […]

Paul Guzman, a resident of Orange, explains the history of the Cypress Street Schoolhouse

Community, Neighbor-to-Neighbor

New Students Find Common Ground at Cypress Street School

By Alisa Driscoll / October 1, 2018

Inside the last standing formerly segregated “Mexican school” in Southern California, 21 new Chapman students learned about the past of

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