May 30, 2022: Last week, Toledo Public Schools and its Escuela SMART Academy honored José Luna for his decades of service as its Hispanic Liaison, thereby establishing The Luna Award.
Educator David H. Ibarra, J.D., has previously said: “José embodies what César Chávez envisioned for Latinos. He was a migrant farmworker for ten years. He worked in the GM Plant in Defiance for another 15 years. Many Mexican men would have been fine with that, but José attended college at Bowling Green State University and became an educator.
“José Luna has been an integral part of intense efforts to expand opportunities for Latino students by fostering initiatives to bring post-secondary education to our student population. He continues to serve an invaluable role in opening our Toledo public schools to institutions of higher learning and getting access to our Latino youth. What is more he has used his life to become the type of educator and man that our community so sorely needs.”
In an earlier statement, Dr. Romules L. Durant, Superintendent, Toledo Public Schools, emphasized that: “José Luna has been a true asset to Toledo Public Schools, but, more significantly an educator, mentor, advocate, and role model to the Hispanic/Latino students of our school district and communities.”