Casa Xalteva was founded in 1995 by Dr.Ken Carpenter and Dr.Gregory Calvert with the purpose of taking kids off the streets and putting them back into the school system. Don Ken and Don Gregory, as they are referred to in Casa Xalteva, arrived in Granada in the early 90’s and immediately fell in love with it. They decided to buy a house to serve as a Spanish school, with the intent of using the income generated by Spanish instruction to fund the program and house kids from the streets, including kids from abusive families, and kids with drug problems. The main focus was for these kids to become productive adults through education and a stable home environment.

It proved to be quite the challenge, but Don Ken and Don Gregory were determined to make it work. They moved to Granada and for the following 3 years devoted their time, energy, and determination to training maestros to teach Spanish to foreigners, to work with the children, and to create a caring and sustainable project that would enrich the lives of all involved. Unfortunately after the three years they had to make the hard decision of returning to the University of New Mexico in order to work and provide additional funding to help the project continue.