By Edwin Ramirez-Ceja

Lovingly known as “The Salad Bowl of the World,” the Salinas Valley produces about 70 percent of the nation’s lettuce, relying heavily on migrant farmworker families.

For their children, however, the demands of seasonal work can mean interrupted schooling. California Mini-Corps, a program of the Butte County Office of Education, works to close that gap supporting students while developing future educators.

Oscar Joel Benavidez is one of them.

Beyond the fields, Salinas is a hub for culture and the arts, especially for the Mexican-American community, which continues to grow and evolve each year. Contributing to this development is Benavidez, a former CA Mini-Corps tutor who now serves as Dance Director at Alisal High School. With his work both inside and outside the classroom, he has become a role model for many students. Oscar loves to show his family roots tracing back to La Sauceda, Jalisco, which brings a personal and cultural depth to the Folklórico program he helps lead.

 “We’re able to put the Mexican culture on the map, and also Salinas,” Benavidez said.  

Before he became a key figure of preserving and growing the arts, he was a first-generation college student at Hartnell Community College, where he received his associate’s degree in liberal arts with an emphasis on performing arts. During his time at Hartnell, he began working with California Mini-Corps, where he discovered his passion for teaching and migrant education. It was with Mini-Corps that Benavidez discovered how a great educator can make an impact on a student’s life. Lorena Silva, a long-time coordinator at Hartnell who mentored Benavidez, instilled in him the confidence to continue pursuing higher education, a theme that Oscar loves to pass on to his students. 

“I choose to give back to my community,” Benavidez said, “because my community gave to me.”

About CA Mini-Corps

One of the most successful statewide tutoring and teacher preparation programs in California is the CA Mini-Corps, which operates under the Butte County Office of Education as a subgrantee of the Migrant Education program coordinated by the California Department of Education. Mini-Corps works relentlessly to support students of migrant families, whose seasonal work in vital California industries presents unique challenges in the classroom for children. Through this program, future bilingual educators provide supplementary tutorial services to these students while engaging in professional development workshops where they learn the necessary skills to academically support students while in the program and beyond into their teaching careers. CA Mini-Corps is widely considered one of the state’s most proven educator pipelines over its 59-year history.

Benavidez continued his education at San Jose State, where he received a bachelor’s of arts in dance, becoming the first in his family to graduate from a four-year institution. During his time at San Jose State, he gained valuable experience with Mini-Corps that he still uses to this day. 

Mini-Corps offers summer programs such as Outdoor Education, Indoor Education, and Puppetry. Benavidez has had his hand in each of those programs and is now training current puppetry program participants. He describes the program as another tool in a tutor’s toolbox to be able to use in the classroom and a different way of bringing hard topics into the classroom. Some of the topics he covers are nutrition, hygiene, bullying, and self-esteem, using handmade puppets to create vibrant imagery.  

He has also been a part of the Outdoor Education program, starting off as an instructor for two years before COVID-19. As many programs were trying to figure out their next steps, Mini-Corps pivoted to fit the times as well. Benavidez came back as a team camp assistant and formed part of the leadership team that slowly brought back the outdoor program. During this time, he worked on his credential of dance education at Cal State East Bay.  

The Outdoor Education program is a branch of Mini-Corps that works in the summer session at different outdoor schools around California, serving students in regions from as far south as Temecula County all the way up to Butte County. 

”I made my hobby my profession,” Benavidez said, proving the adage that when you do what you love for a living, you never have to work a day in your life

BCOE’s Commitment to Arts Education

Benavidez’s commitment to dance echoes BCOE’s core philosophical approach to the arts and arts education: the arts are not just an extra class, but a core subject. When Benavidez decided to take dance at Alisal High, he found how the arts played a critical role in his engagement and self-expression. In what he described as a “full-circle moment,” he now teaches in the very same classroom where his dance journey began.

Many small decisions can impact a student’s future, and it’s clear for Benavidez that the decision to join dance has changed his life. 

“I was able to travel to different places and perform in different places,” he said. “That gave me my wings to be able to travel and do things independently. And that’s what I hope that my students are getting.”

Benavidez is also the Visual and Performing Arts Chair and Coordinator for the Salinas Unified School District, which works to expand the arts in the Salinas Valley at the high school level. 

At just 30 years old, he is the president of the California Dance Association, serving on committees at the state level. With his Folklorico background in a world of contemporary and ballet styled dance education, he is a trailblazer for students who love dance all across the state. (Baile Folklorico is a collective term for traditional Mexican dances that combine regional folk culture with ballet characteristics, such as pointed toes, choreographed movements, and, often, flowing skirts.)

Turning a Tutorship Into His Path

Continuing his advocacy work, he is currently the executive director and founder of Danzantes del Valle. The non-profit organization serves elementary school students, high school students and adults that want to learn Folklorico. 

Danzantes Del Valle’s mission is to provide students with cultural awareness through dance while teaching teamwork and discipline, creating community leaders. Currently operating in 12 different schools, the program gives students the opportunity to learn dances and perform them for the Salinas community, participate in workshops, and experience professional shows firsthand. Dance instructors for Danzantes Del Valle are trained by teachers from Mexico so they can offer the best support to their students. Karina Javier, program director at Danzantes Del Valle, emphasized the importance of having leadership from someone like Benavidez, who can walk the walk.

”He’s the type of teacher who sees your potential,” Javier said.

Similar to how Mini-Corps is a teacher pathway program, guided by credentialed teachers, dance instructors of Danzantes Del Valle are guided by professionals. Many amazing opportunities stem from Danzantes Del Valle, such as scholarships, opportunities to travel, and networking opportunities with other dancers. 

Opportunities find those that look for them, and Benavidez looks for opportunities to help students find their step in the world of dance. Now that he is in a position to help the next generation, he speaks highly of his mentors he has met, especially during his time with BCOE’s CA Mini-Corps.

“Truly, de corazon, I wouldn’t be the educator I am today if it wasn’t for Mini-Corps,” he said.

Benavidez shines a light on what Mini-Corps can do for future bilingual, bicultural educators, citing his own experience with the program over 11 years, the vital mentorship he’s received, and the inspiration to create his own successful initiatives for his students and community.

”It’s more than just a program,” Benavidez said. “It is a space to grow and build connections.” 

Edwin Ramirez-Ceja is a California Mini-Corps tutor and a communications intern at the Butte County Office of Education.