UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A new book co-edited by Gilberto Q. Conchas, the Wayne K. & Anita Woolfolk Hoy Endowed Chair of Education at Penn State, and Victor DeAlba, a doctoral candidate in educational leadership at Penn State, highlights the “resilience and brilliance” of Latina/o/x students navigating the U.S. educational system.
“We Are Children of the Corn/Somos Hija/o/xs del Maíz: Husks of Hope, Resistance, and Latina/o/x Educational Success,” published by Myers Education Press, examines how families, schools and communities provide “husks of support” that help students persist, flourish and plant seeds for future generations to succeed in the United States. According to Conchas and DeAlba, the symbolism of maíz — corn — highlights the cultural scaffolds that sustain students. Husks protect the kernel, just as families, educators and communities surround students with care and resources that allow them to thrive.
The volume, co-edited with Nancy Acevedo of California State University, San Bernardino, expands the Framework of Atravesada/o/xs Nepantleando (FAN), which illuminates how Latina/o/x students develop “la facultad” — a sharpened critical consciousness — and act as bridge builders who create pathways of success for others.
In the Q&A below, Conchas and DeAlba emphasized that the book’s release comes at a time when Latina/o/x students face escalating challenges, from anti-immigrant legislation to cuts in educational resources. Against this backdrop, they said, the anthology reframes the national conversation by centering community strengths and collective innovation.
Q: How could this book help shape the national conversation on challenges faced by Latina/o/x students?
Conchas: This volume insists on entering the hope, resistance and educational brilliance of Latina/o/x students at a time when their communities face multiple social and economic challenges. Rather than conceding to a climate that seeks to restrict what is possible, we document how students, families and educators cultivate spaces of belonging, critical consciousness and opportunity. Our goal is to reframe the conversation so that Latina/o/x students are seen as protagonists in educational equity, and to call for sustained investments in the supports that make their flourishing possible.
Q: What is the Framework of Atravesada/o/xs Nepantleando, and how does it apply to academia?
DeAlba: FAN illuminates how Latina/o/x students navigate the borderlands of identity, culture and schooling while serving as bridge builders for their peers and communities. The chapters show FAN in practice: teachers validating student voices in classrooms, counselors centering “la facultad” in mentoring programs, and higher education leaders transforming access into completion through peer networks. Like preparing soil for strong stalks of maíz, FAN equips educators, organizers and policymakers to nurture the conditions where students’ gifts can grow and help transform inequitable structures.
Q: The book describes Latina/o/x students as not only persisting but also “planting seeds for future generations.” What does that mean for sustainable systems?
DeAlba: Students in this book are not only succeeding, but they are also preparing the soil for others. Many cultivate “la facultad,” a sharpened awareness that helps them navigate institutions and share survival strategies with siblings, peers and future cohorts. This intergenerational ethic reframes success as being collective rather than individual, underscoring the need to institutionalize belonging, strengthen bridges between secondary and higher education, and sustain mentorship across time.
Q: The book also includes Afro-Latina/o/x and Indigenous perspectives. How does this broaden understandings of Latina/o/x identity?
Conchas: The anthology showcases the multiplicity of histories and communities that shape educational experiences. Chapters highlight Latina/o/x voices and incorporate Afro-Latina/o/x and Indigenous knowledge and teachings — what we call reconnecting to maíz, or corn. Success emerges through a plurality of pathways shaped by unique histories and relationships, pushing back against deficit frameworks and honoring the richness of Latina/o/x identities.
Q: What do you hope readers take from this book?
Conchas: The central lesson is this: Meaningful change requires valuing the cultural wealth and ancestral knowledge already present in Latina/o/x students, families and communities. Educators, policymakers and leaders must center student voices and invest in the “husks of support” that sustain resilience and achievement. Most importantly, institutions must build with communities rather than for them. By doing so, we can create enduring systems of equity that honor the sacredness of maíz — life-giving seed — and the generations it sustains.