"A Personal Reflection on the importance of Project MALES," by Dr. Blandina "Bambi" Cardenas

Thanks to Dr. Blandina "Bambi" Cardenas for her wonderful reflection on last Wednesday evening's Zoom meeting with UT Austin Educational Leadership and Policy Professor and Department Chair Dr. Victor Saenz, Texas A & M Professor Dr. Luis Ponjuan, and Executive Director Dr. Emmet Campos and their graduate students—some of whom we in Nuestro Grupo share—associated with Project MALES. Relatedly, the Chronicle of Higher Education just posted a piece titled, "The Male Enrollment Crisis." As Dr. Cardenas well describes, they are doing God's work. 

I should add that our gathering began with a wonderful reflection by Dr. Emilio Zamora on what it means to follow one's destiny as a combination of getting swept up by the times and the decisions we all do or do not make to follow those paths that open up before us in our lives. As a happy recipient of one of the few endowed chairs that University of Texas has to offer, his was a soulful, reflective message of hope that allowed us all to celebrate his recent success.

Last Wednesday evening was so incredibly fulfilling, deepening connections to all our work in the Austin community and beyond. Speaking on behalf of Dr. Cardenas and all the members of Nuestro Grupo, the community-based organization that founded Academia Cuauhtli, we could not be happier.  

-Angela Valenzuela

A Personal Reflection on the importance of Project MALES

by

Dr. Blandina "Bambi" Cardenas

Last night I had an incredible experience with Nuestro Grupo, convened by the incredible Angela Valenzuela and including a collection of brilliant UT graduate students, faculty, activities and a few of us who occupy the role of ELDERS. What made this so compelling is that we were joined by Dr. Victor Saenz and his colleagues, Dr. Luis Ponjuan and Dr. Emmet E, Campos who have for more than 9 years developed and sustained Project MALES, a school based peer and near-peer mentoring program that encourages and empowers middle and high school male students of color for student success and advancement to post secondary schooling.

Schools are falling FAR FAR short in reaching all males, but particularly males of color. I urge you to google Project MALES to learn more, especially if your professional mission intersects with young men whether in education, criminal justice or human services. Even as we rejoice in the triumphs of so many of our children and recognize that much progress has been made in many areas, we only need to listen to the news, look at the data and take a clear look at the prevalence of violent crime to come face to face that we need to be smarter about how we support all of our children, but particularly males, in their path to constructive adulthood.

This morning I was responding to a memory from Andy Porras, a friend from my home barrio of San Felipe in Del Rio, who recalled how when Little League (LL) first started in DR, it was exclusively Anglo. His Dad went to the LL organizers and asked that they integrate MA boys into the league. He was challenged to organize LL in the barrio and proceeded to do just that. I remember him well.

The teams remained segregated, but we had the benefit of some pretty spectacular African American players like Sidney, Roger, and Larvell Blanks who went on to professional sports careers. The LL games brought the community together and a number of men who would not have normally taken on leadership roles were right there with Mr. Porras, encouraging the boys and serving as parent/mentors to all the boys. I would venture to say that every single one of the boys involved in LL went on to productive lives, many went on to higher education and leadership roles, others went in to the military. I am sure many of you of my vintage can remember heroes similar to Mr. Porras in your communities.

But the truth is that much has changed since that time. So many of our families are led by single females and many do not have the benefit of the extended families and close communities we once enjoyed. As one of those females who raised a son, I stand with these strong, valiant women--but I also recognize how very hard that is, even with all the resources I had in my life. Boys just simply need good, loving, relevant males in their life, especially during the critical middle school years. But more and more our of schools are overwhelmingly female.

Teachers are as much as 85% female. Are they superbly good at the jobs, yes! Do they make great Principals and Superintendents, YES! But we still have to figure out how to best support male students. Our children are influenced greatly, whether we admit it or not, by social media, video games that glamorize aggression, the continued objectification of women and the glamorization of celebrity, visibility and the material. Moving into manhood has to be confusing, frightening and too often isolating.

Project MALES is one exciting, promising program. Undoubtedly other strategies specific to conditions on the ground in our communities would do much good. What is important is for us to not be blind to the need to reach out to boys beyond our own nuclear families, put an arm around a shoulder and say,"Andale Mijo! You can do it! Let me show you how!"

Introducing our 2021 Academia Cuauhtli Summer Camp — Aztech Kidz Code team!

So proud of our students, teachers, and volunteers organizing for organizing our first annual AzTECH Kids Code Summer Coding Camp at Academia Cuauhtli (meaning "Eagle Academy" in Nahuatl) that combines teaching kids how to code, gaming, and Aztec dance/ danza Mexica at the City of Austin's Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC).

Our students, families, and community-based organization, "Nuestro Grupo," are very appreciative of support we have received for this initiative from the Austin Independent School District, as well as from Grantmakers for Girls of Color. AISD has been a faithful long-term partner and we cannot be more pleased of their willingness to take our work to new places. Thanks, Dr. David Kauffman, for your unflagging support of Academia Cuauhtli.

 

The Academia Cuauhtli-AzTECH Kids Code camp is a project-based, culturally sustaining STEM program for second to sixth grade students attending Academia Cuauhtli and AISD schools. Through this program that runs for the entire week, our students are learning the following: coding, video game design, digital monetization via application store, Danza Mexica, (Aztec ceremony or dance) and Nahuatl mathematical systems. 

 

Comprised of 16 Latina girls and four Latino boys, all of our students are immigrant or first generation, immigrant bilingual learner students. Due to COVID-19 regulations set in place by the City of Austin, we had to cap our class size to 20 students this summer, taking all the precautions and abiding by all the protocols laid out, of course. One class of 10 is taught in Spanish. The other class of 10 in English. Next year, we hope to double our students and make it a two-week summer program. 

A special shout out to AzTECH Kids founder, Azteca Sirias and head organizer, Maria Unda, for their hard work, initiative, and vision. Thanks to all the teachers pictured below, as well. 

It's no small thing to think big like this in the throes of a pandemic and bring much happiness to young students whose lives we touch—and whose lives touch ours.

Thanks, as well, to Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center Director Michelle Rojas, Olivia Tamzarian, Lori Navarrete, Ulises Garcia and all the staff at the ESB-MACC where the camp is happening and where our Saturday school, Academia Cuauhtli, is located.  

Our AzTECH Kids are a joy and this work, a labor of love. 💗

-Angela Valenzuela

#AcademiaCuauhtli  | #AztechKidzCode

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A Special Word of Thanks to our Academia Cuauhtli Friends and Partners, by Angela Valenzuela

 

April 27, 2021

To Our Wonderful Friends and Partners,

I want  to  take  the  time  to  thank  those  individuals  and  organizations  that  went above and beyond to make this already exceptional year, possible. Due to remote instruction, our cohort was larger than all previous years such that our collective efforts focused on serving forty families with fourth-grade children throughout this school year of the pandemic. It truly takes a village!

Gracias mil to  the Austin Independent  School District's Department of Multilingual Education, especially to Executive Director Dr. David Kauffman, Ana Rojas, and Assistant Director of Humanities Jessica Jolliffe. Your hard work has not gone unnoticed. To the staff at the  ESB-MACC,  Michelle Rojas, Ulises Gave, Lori Navarrette, Olivia Tamzarian, and Cassie Smith, muchísimas gracias! We cannot  imagine a better home for our escuelita, Academia Cuauhtli. 

We are also very grateful to the University of Texas at Austin’s College of Education, especially Dean Charles Martinez, Dr. Victor Saenz, Zhandra Andrade, Andrea Kehoe, Anthony Martinez, and Ezra Rebollar. It’s so important to have the resources of the university behind us. Gracias mil!

We are indebted to the Austin Area Association for Bilingual Education (AAABE) President Carolyn Slavin, and AAABE, as a whole, for their continued support to our Academia Cuauhtli students and community. Muchas  gracias,  as  well,  to  maestro Manuel Martinez and maestras Patricia Nuñez, Julia Hernandez, Liliana Batista- Rodriguez, and Luz Alvarez-Sims for their many contributions. The Austin History Center—through Marina Islas and its many treasures—has also been a constant source of  support  and  inspiration  for  us  throughout.

 

We are also in appreciation of our  partners, Dr.  Mario  Garza,  Maria  Rocha,  and  UT Fine Arts Professor Dr. Roxanne Schroeder-Arce of the Indigenous Cultures Institute (ICI). We look forward to our students  attending this year’s  ICI Powwow—in  addition to danza Mexica. Though we couldn’t teach danza this year because of the pandemic, the sacred space that maestra Rosa Tupina Yaotonalcuauhtli’s teachings nevertheless  made   for  a  culturally-rich,  identity-affirming  experience. 

The Mexican Consulate has been a steadfast supporter, too, helping us in the early days of the pandemic with resources to help us address parents’ computer literacy skills. What at first seemed insurmountable with all the challenges of technology, now feels like a path that we broke through with everybody, especially our teachers and volunteers, helping out.

Were it not for Lourdes Zuñiga with the Financial Literacy Coalition  of  Central Texas and other donors, Christmas would not have been as nice. Our elder, Martha Cotera, was genuinely happy about meeting the parents in her home and gifting them all with  $50.00  gift  cards.

We  cultivated  a  brand  new  friendship  with  “Su  Teatro”  out  of  Denver,  Colorado. They, along with so many other individuals, heard our pleas for help in the aftermath of the epic winter storm and its impact on our families, some of whom needed rental assistance, resources to evade eviction, and  food,  together  with ongoing vaccine information that involved numerous evening phone calls to homes to help them navigate the city’s Central Health websites. Su Teatro raised funds for us with one of their plays serving as a fundraiser for our families. Dr. Blandina “Bambi” Cardenas was equally generous as part of this same drive to support our families.

 

Last, but not least, is our  appreciation for  LILLAS,  particularly, Tiffany  Guridy, for your ongoing support to our Saturday school. It’s beyond cool when they reach out to you before you reach out to them. Gracias, Tiffany and LILLAS!

 

We invite you to read the following three reflections published on my blog that reflect the ethos of doing this work while capturing some of the more gripping moments of the pandemic. Reading these still puts a lump in my throat.

Garcia, Itzel Guadalupe(2020, Oct. 2). A Historical Moment of Dream Remembering: Returning Education to Rootedness [Inaugural essay]

Lara, Aracely  (2021, March 21). “Home y  La Esperanza Que Siempre Alcanza”  ("Home and Ever-Present Hope")

Garcia, Itzel Guadalupe (2021, March 5)."Winter Storm Reflections  on the Notion of 'Collapse' for our Academia Cuauhtli Mothers"

In sum, we faced numerous  and significant  challenges  this  year  with the pandemic, the time-consuming process of going digital, and surviving the winter storm, with several among us, sadly, experiencing serious personal tragedies. It’s all the more touching and humbling to know and feel in a deep way the power of love that we have for our escuelita to not solely provide quality, culturally rich, asset-based curriculum and pedagogy, but  to also be a loving force for good in the world.

 

May  all have a wonderful Summer  break!

Sinceramente,

Dra. Angela Valenzuela, Convener

Nuestro Grupo / Academia Cuauhtli

academiacuauhtli.com

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