Usually when I read through my emails these days, I get a little depressed after reading about what is going on in the U.S. and abroad, primarily through the promulgation of the Trump Administration. And so I was particularly delighted when I got the press release from the Madison Metropolitan School District that they have approved the renaming of three Madison schools. One was named after the late Jeffrey Erlanger, who appeared on Mr. Rogers as a child and became a prominent civil rights champion for disability rights in Madison. While I read a lot about him, our paths never really crossed.

The second was named after the late Roberto Sanchez, a UW-Madison professor who was devoted to the academic success of Latine students.

When I was the accountant for Centro Hispano in the early 2000s, Sanchez had been a big supporter of Centro. In honor of him, Centro created the Sanchez Award given annually to community leaders who advance educational and career opportunities for Latine individuals in the Madison area

As he retired, Sanchez wanted to continue his legacy of providing support to Latine students. Scholarship programs were set up at UW-Madison and Madison College as well as a college in Texas. Most importantly, Sanchez endowed the start of the Sanchez Scholars program at MMSD. This program provides financial and academic support to Latine high school students during their high school careers. It makes a huge difference in the academic success of the Latine students it touches.

The thirs school was renamed after the late Ada Deer, someone with whom I crossed paths with many times over the course of over 30 years. I can truly speak to Ada’s integrity and impact on the lives of many people.