Friends,
We are gathering signatures to show broad community support for continued funding—and future expansion—of Academia Cuauhtli, our beloved Saturday school in Austin, Texas. The signed letter will go to Mayor Kirk Watson.
With Phase B of the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (our physical home) scheduled for completion this November, we’re thrilled to return—and to grow.
Thanks to our successful advocacy several years ago, we secured four classrooms with the intention of expanding our program to serve even more students as we enter our 12th year as a community-based initiative. However, in order for us to realize that vision, we need your support.
Please add your name to this community letter affirming your support: https://forms.gle/zBNACL1TJw5sahHN9
Your voice helps uplift our students, families, and educators. The letter with signatures will go to Austin Mayor Kirk Watson.
Thanks to Dr. Maria del Carmen Unda for taking the lead on this support letter.
Mil gracias for standing with us.
In community,
Angela Valenzuela
A Community Letter of Support for Academia Cuauhtli
Link to view signatures on this public better: https://tinyurl.com/SupportAcademiaCuauhtli
webpage: https://academiacuauhtli.com/
research: https://academiacuauhtli.com/publications/
For reference: EMMA S. BARRIENTOS MEXICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER ADVISORY BOARD RECOMMENDATION 20250305-6 https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=447154
Dear Mayor Kirk Watson and Austin City Council Members:
We write to you as parents, teachers, alumni, and community members who have directly and indirectly benefited from and deeply believe in the mission of Academia Cuauhtli (pronounced KWOWT-lee, meaning Eagle Academy). For more than a decade, this community-rooted program has transformed the educational experiences of hundreds of emergent bilingual students across Austin. We thank you for your past support and endorsement of our work. Today, we respectfully urge you to fully fund Academia Cuauhtli’s FY 2025–2026 $106,000 request put forward by the ESB-MACC for operations, alongside additional funding support for the establishment of a full-time Culture and Arts Education Supervisor position.
Located at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC), Academia Cuauhtli is more than a Saturday school—it is a lifeline. It provides free, high-quality, culturally sustaining education to our children in Spanish, English, and Nahuatl. It connects us as families, uplifts our heritage, and helps our children develop pride in who they are. The program has shown us that culturally relevant teaching is not only possible but powerful. Our children come home speaking about Tejano history, environmental justice, and ancestral knowledge—and they are excited to learn.
The program has supported over 800 AISD students, trained over 250 teachers, and generated more than 18 original curricular units. It has also helped parents access resources during the pandemic and created leadership opportunities for our youth. It has also become a pathway to master’s and doctoral degrees in educational careers at the University of Texas at Austin with whom we also partnered. Though we are also partnered with the Austin Independent School District, we lament that not a single dollar will go toward Academia Cuauhtli this coming school year.
Our community-driven, volunteer-based model ensures that every dollar goes directly into instruction, mentorship, and support for our families. However, we cannot sustain neither this impact nor our anticipated growth as we move back into our home at the ESB-MACC this November without your support. A full-time coordinator is urgently needed to manage and grow the program. For years, this work has been carried on the shoulders of volunteers and part-time staff. As the needs of our community grow, so must our ability to meet them. The funding request—part of the overall ESB-MACC budget—is modest compared to the transformational impact that Academia Cuauhtli has in our lives.
We ask you to stand with our teachers, children, families, and our community per the undersigned individuals and organizations. Please vote to approve both the ESB-MACC operations request as part of their budget request to the City of Austin for the $106,000 alongside additional funding support for the establishment of a full-time supervisor position. Investing in Academia Cuauhtli is an investment in equity, education, and community thriving which is so needed in these difficult times.
Sincerely,
Dr. Maria del Carmen Unda
Please Share widely !
View signatures on public letter: https://tinyurl.com/SupportAcademiaCuauhtli
Link to sign: https://forms.gle/zBNACL1TJw5sahHN9
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