Tuesday, April 27, 2021

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  wenabove 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'Departmenof Multilingual Education, especially to Executive DirectoDr. 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 Centerthrough 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, Oct2). Historical Momenof 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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