Coral Way: A Digital Oral History and Transcription Project

Abstract

The University of Arizona Libraries is partnering with the UA College of Education, Historical Museum of South Florida and the University of Miami Special Collections Library to create, and make electronically accessible, an oral history of the first federally funded bilingual/bicultural school in the country in Miami, Florida (Coral Way Elementary). The national impact of this original bilingual program influenced federal legislation and Arizona’s educational system. Much of the existing published information about the school, such as text book references are either incorrect or incomplete. The poster session will map out the process of planning and implementing this outreach and collaborative effort. It will describe the plans for the oral history project which will capture through personal interviews the stories and memorabilia of those teachers, administrators, students and their parents involved in the first five years of the program (1963 – 68).