Dr. Curtis Acosta is a professor of education at the University of Arizona South. Previously, he was a high school teacher for nearly 20 years in Tucson, where he developed and taught Chican@/Latin@ Literature classes for the renowned Mexican American Studies program in the Tucson Unified School District. His work was featured in the documentary Precious Knowledge, and his teaching also received profiles on The Daily Show with John Stewart, CNN, PBS, The New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times amongst many other media outlets. He has been fortunate to have articles published in The English Journal, Voices in Urban Education, Multicultural Perspectives and the books Educational Courage: Resisting the Ambush of Public Education and Rethinking Sexism, Gender, and Sexuality.
Dr. Acosta's current passion is assisting educators in the application of community and culturally sustaining pedagogy, in combination with humanizing teaching practices, in order for youth of color, and all students, to reach their academic potential.
Dr. Acosta received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, and later obtained a Master’s of Arts degree and Ph.D. in Language, Reading, and Culture from the University of Arizona in Tucson.