We are entering our fifth year at Academia Cuauhtli!

Happy to share that this Saturday, on September 29, 2018, we are entering our fifth year at Academia Cuauhtli!

Organized by Nuestro Grupo, a community based organization in Austin, Texas, Academia Cuauhtli is a Saturday school that runs from September through March.  It consists of a formal partnership with the Austin Independent School District (AISD), the City of Austin's Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC), and Nuestro Grupo to offer culturally relevant instruction in Spanish to AISD elementary school children attending five Title I, East Austin schools—specifically Sanchez, Metz, Zavala, Houston, and Perez AISD Elementary Schools.  

As a language and cultural revitalization project, our Academia Cuauhtli students receive instruction exclusively in Spanish in the areas of civil rights, immigration/migration, indigenous heritage, local history, and the cultural arts.  Another feature is danza Mexica, roughly translated as "Aztec dance."

You can read more about in this piece published by the Annenberg Institute Voices in Urban education journal titled, "Academia Cuauhtli and the Eagle: Danza Mexica and the Epistemology of the Circle."

We, in Nuestro Grupo, AISD, the ESB-MACC, and the Austin Area Association for Bilingual Association, have established both a learning community and ecosystem of support for AISD dual language teachers who both teach at Academia Cuauhtli and AISD schools.  We are aware, for example, that they take what they learn from our co-constructed, TEKS-aligned curriculum, age-appropriate, Spanish-English curriculum, and offer it in the context of their classrooms throughout the district.  

Serving high-poverty schools, Title I federal dollars have served our communities well.  Title III funding for English learners, too.  I hope that we flip democrat (everybody vote!) so that we can re-ignite a public conversation on ways that a good government can do help our children and their families by funneling resources to our high-needs public schools.  This, atop our local and state struggles, for school finance equity and inclusion.

I and others for a long time have been saying that we need K-12 partnership to create pathways into higher education, including, if not especially, the teaching profession where teacher shortages are severe, especially in such areas as bilingual education, STEM, and now Ethnic Studies, about which I have consistently blogged (search my blog with keywords, "ethnic studies," "Mexican American Studies," and "SBOE").  Beginning with Mexican American Studies, now an official high school elective in the state of Texas, Ethnic Studies-Mexican American Studies teachers shall soon be in high demand.  

At the higher education level, we need to consider how we need to reorganize ourselves in order to be useful to these shifts in policy that are happening in Texas, as well as nationwide.  Do note that earlier this week, California's Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 895 into law.  SB895 will incorporate Vietnamese, Cambodian and Hmong  history into their state's curriculum.  For the first time, students will learn about the Vietnamese refugee experience, Hmong cultural studies, and how Cambodians were the target of genocide.  Congratulations to the people and children of California for taking this very important step.

Again, higher education, particularly teacher preparation programs and Ethnic Studies departments, centers, and programs everywhere needs to respond and be responsive to this already large and growing grassroots movement for curricular inclusion that is taking root nationwide.

We also need pathways for bilingual educators into principalship programs and other leadership positions so that we can have bilingual and bicultural principals and leaders who can serve our current demographic in culturally competent ways.  We also need professional and curriculum development monies for our current teacher workforce so that they can acquire a sense of efficacy in the curriculum.

Thankfully, despite our district's current funding crisis, we have worked well with AISD in this regard.  To wit, AISD is the first district in the state of Texas to have Ethnic Studies taught in almost all high schools districtwide.  As far as we know, Academia Cuauhtli is the only elementary-level Ethnic Studies program in the state of Texas and one of very few, nationwide, as Ethnic Studies is largely pursued at the high school level, grades 9 through 12.   

Prior to this, it is important to note, Mexican American Studies was taught in the Tucson Independent School District until it became illegal in 2010.  Though legal today after a precedent-setting court victory, MAS has yet to return.  That's another story...

We obviously need more programs like this so that our children can experience education in a more complete sense in terms of their identities, communities' histories, stories, cultures, and so on.  And we need district policies and state-level legislation that supports it everywhere.

It’s all quite motivating and inspiring.

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AcademiaCuauhtli/

And enjoy this video!  The children make me smile. 😊

-Angela Valenzuela

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRMmjsYhtRM&feature=youtu.be

Open to the Public: 10-Year Anniversary of the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center

Besides the 16 de Septiembre, the celebration of Mexico's independence from Spain, there is a lot going on this weekend at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC) located at 600 River in Austin, Texas.  Open to the public, it's going to be a fantastic celebration.  Check out my earlier post from yesterday that briefly recounts the ESB-MACC's long and winding history. 

Located downtown off of Town Lake, the beautiful ESB-MACC is also home to Academia Cuauhtli/Cuauhtli Academy, a Saturday school that is now in its fourth year of operation. Cuauhtli offers a rich, Spanish-only curriculum to fourth graders attending Sanchez, Metz, Zavala, Houston, and Perez elementary schools—all Title I schools located in east Austin. 

"Cuauhtli" is a Nahuatl term that means "eagle," and danza Mexica (Aztec ceremonial dancing; "danza" means ceremony).  It conveys our desire for all of our children to soar like eagles.  Because eagles are a universal symbol of resurrection, it further conveys our desire for Academia Cuauhtli to be a site of cultural regeneration and renewal.  Accordingly, our vision statement reads:

Honor our community’s cultural heritage, foster a social justice consciousness, and reclaim our collective identities in pursuit of educational freedom.

This is NOT a charter school.  This is a formal, legal partnership that consists of our community-based organization, Nuestro Grupo, the Austin Independent School District (AISD), and the City of Austin's ESB-MACC.  This coming year, additional formal partners are Education Austin and the Austin Area Association for Bilingual Education (AAABE). 

Thanks to Gardenia Mendoza, a columnist with one of Mexico's  leading newspapers, El Heraldo—and Franc Contreras who facilitated my conversation with Gardenia—Academia Cuauhtli has also received a bit of international notoriety via this piece titled, "Ser or No Ser Azteca," meaning "To be or not be Aztec." 

Academia Cuauhtli is a curriculum development and teacher professional development site that offers instruction based on a co-constructed, TEKS-aligned, curriculum in civil rights, local history, immigration/migration, Tejano history, the cultural arts, and Indigenous heritage.  With excellent instruction from maestra Rosa Tupina Yaotonalcauhtli, maestro Quiahuitl, and Kalpulli Teokalli Teoyolotl our curriculum offers danza Mexica and basic Nahuatl. Close to half of all of the curriculum that we have produced is available in AISD district-wide in English and Spanish in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 11.

This year, Cameron Allen, who is the Executive Directo of The Seed project at Houston Elementary School (español), will also be offering English as a Second language instruction to the chidren's parents and grandparents while their children and grandchildren are in Saturday morning school at Cuauhtli.

Thanks to all the people that make it work.  At the ESB-MACC, these include Director Herlinda Zamora, Linda Crockett, Marina Islas, Lori Navarrette, Frank Baca, Ulises Garcia, Esteban Salas, Tina Herrera, Josh Gomez, Ernesto Garza, Matthew Rodriguez, and Anthony Garcia.  Special thanks, as well, to Laura Esparza, the Division Manager for Cultural Affairs in the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of Austin.

Thanks to Dr. David Kauffman, AISD Executive Director of English Language of Multilingual Education, Claudia Santa Maria, Assistant Director of Elementary Dual Language, and Erica Baker AISD staff for their deep commitment to our program.  Many, many thanks, as well, to AISD Superintendent Paul Cruz, Edmund R. Oropez, Chief Officer for Teaching and Learning, for their unflagging support, and former AISD Board Member Paul Saldaña for encouraging overall AISD board support for our program.  

Thanks to Montserrat Garibay with Education Austin for her friendship and co-sponsorship support over the years.  Lupe Ramos with AAABE has also been an unflagging supporter such that together with Education Austin, nearly all if not all of our participating teachers are both AAABE and Education Austin (NEA "union" members).

Other co-sponsors include the LLILAS / Benson - UT College of Liberal Arts—a shout out to Lindsey Engelman—and the Center for Mexican American Studies, including support from directors, past and present, respectively, Dr. Domino Perez and Dr. John Gonzalez.  Both the Multicultural Engagement Center and the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at UT have gifted us with support for our events, as well.

We always remember AISD's former Chief Academic Officer Dr. Pauline Dow who was instrumental in getting our partnership launched in 2014, followed by an inauguration on January 17, 2015.

At the risk of forgetting a person or two, I wish to acknowledge the many members of Nuestro Grupo over the years that have been essential to this overall effort that Academia Cuauhtli represents including:

Dr. Emilio Zamora, Martha Cotera, Modesta Trevino, Oralia Garza de Cortes, Brenda Rubio, Randy Bell (co-coordinator), Anthony Martinez (co-coordinator), Dr. Christopher Milk,  Alonzo René Mendoza, Irene Gomez, Alicia Guerrero, Rebeca Ríos, Vasti Saraí Ríos, Dr. Emma Mancha-Sumners, Dr. Isabel A. Millán, Gina Tillis, Larissa Davila, Julia Hernandez, Kristina Gutierrez, Dr. Jesse Gainer, Nancy Valdez-Gainer, Juan Ramirez, Belinda Jiménez, Manuel Martinez, Luis Ramirez, Julia Hernandez, Yvette Cardenas, Fernando Rios, A.J. Hope, Jennifer Ross, Beatriz Hernandez, Clarissa Riojas, Tiffany Moreno, Brenda Ayala, Noreen Rodriguez, Martha Sanchez, Olivia C. Hernandez, Dr. Manuel Xavier Zamarripa, and Jessica Ochoa Zamarripa. 

For our legendary spring field trip to the Alamo in San Antonio, Drs. Andrés Tijerina and Gilberto Hinojosa have given generously of their time to share their knowledge and expertise on the deeper, more complete story of the Alamo than anyone can possibly get there as a tourist or visitor.

Cuauhtli teachers over the past four years to whom we are incredibly indebted for their hard work and commitment to Academia Cuauhtli include the following:

Patricia Nuñez, Belinda Jimenez, Sandra Velazquez, Danny Ramos, Santa Yanez-Montemayor, Gladiola Campos, Michelle Yanes, Manuel Martinez, Luz Alvarez-Sims, Veronica Rivera Garay, Diana Rendon, David Carrillo, Katheline Alcantara, Julia Carrillo, Liliana Batista, Rodrigo Rodriguez Tovar, Lucy Castellano, Eliza Saenz, Nelson Aguilar, and Kathi Peterka.  Many, if not most, of our teachers come out of Proyecto Maestría at the University of Texas at Austin, headed by Dr. Deb Palmer and Dr. Haydee Rodriguez.  Largely because of their great sacrifices and efforts, we have a robust bilingual education teacher's movement in Central Texas.

Thanks to all of our Academia Cuauhtli parents for sharing your amazing children with us—and for being the blessing to our community that you are.

Consider liking us on Facebook.

With a brand new crop of volunteers ready to take on our many tasks, we collectively await and anticipate another exciting year!

Angela Valenzuela, Convener

Nuestro Grupo/Academia Cuauhtli