SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane Public Schools board approved Wednesday night naming the school Rubén Trejo Dual Language Academy, honoring the local icon.
Rubén Trejo, who lived in Spokane from 1973 until his death in 2009, was a prominent artist and educator. Born in a boxcar in Minnesota to Mexican immigrant parents who worked on the railroads, Trejo’s early life involved seasonal crop picking across the Midwest and time spent in Mexico.
Trejo spent 30 years teaching at Eastern Washington University, where he mentored many Latino students and co-founded the Chicano studies department.
The Rubén Trejo Dual Language Academy, serving kindergarten through seventh grade, will begin classes in September at the newly renovated Pratt building in East Spokane. The school, which previously shared a facility with another option school, provides bilingual education with half of the instruction in Spanish and half in English.
Trejo’s legacy includes his national recognition as a sculptor and artist. His contributions to education and the arts have left a lasting impact on the Spokane community.
