Item 6. Presentation on Academia Cuauhtli's Fall Rubic and Plans — original pdf

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Summer 2025 Accomplishments and Fall 2025 Plans Summer 2025: Biliteracy Curriculum Development with La Colaborativa Cuauhtli and Manor ISD ● Patricia Nuñez, La Colaborativa Cuauhtli Project Director, Academia Cuauhtli, Tānko Circle Educator ICI, UT Austin College of Education Doctoral Student ● Julia Hernandez, La Colaborativa Cuauhtli facilitator and Dual Language Coordinator at Manor ISD ● Maribel Robles, STREAM Bilingual Museum Education Harvard University and Blanton Museum of Art) ● La Colaborativa Cuauhtli Teachers ● Total of 20 public school educators Design and showcase of standards based bilingual/ biliteracy units to implement across K-5th grade. Nepohualtzintzin A Mesoamerican mathematical tool Summer 2025 Collaboration of La corriente, a collaboration effort between various organizations including La Colaborativa Cuauhtli, Academia Cuauhtli, Indigenous Culture Institute of San Marcos, The DREAM UT STEM Education and MAS UT San Antonio, and the LILLAS Benson Center Intergenerational workshop for parents, teachers, and youth July 23–25, 2025, Cepeda Austin Public Library 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. In attendance 20 adults and 15 children in attendance. Capacity 20 due to funding). La Colaborativa SY 25-26 Tentative Programming ● Four Nepo workshops to be facilitated by La Colaborativa teachers and DREAM team members. Public library- open to the public ○ K'iche in Schools ○ Local school campus- open to the public ● Nahuatl in the Classroom workshop by Maestro Carlos Aveces from Raíces del Saber (in collaboration with ICI) ● Exhibits of student work in local venues ● Publishing student writing through Bookspring ● Teaching Community Languages in Public Schools- partnership with the Universidad Autonoma Benito Juarez de Oaxaca (Feb. 2026) ● End-of-Year showcase of all the work in the classrooms Research Martinez, A. (2025). The Effect of Academia, A Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, on English Language Learner Achievement [Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Texas at Austin]. Abstract: The public school system in the United States continues to witness a rise in English Language Learners (ELLs). An ELL student is defined as one whose native language differs from English. Best practices identify Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) as an effective approach for working with ELLs, potentially contributing to the academic achievement of students from diverse backgrounds. While researchers have explored the implementation of CRP programs, few studies have concentrated on elementary-age students, and even fewer on ELLs within elementary education. This emphasizes the idea that early interventions can lead to higher success rates among students. This ex-post facto independent measures research study represents the first quantitative approach to assessing the effect of a CRP program, such as Academia Cuauhtli, on the academic outcomes of elementary ELL students. The central purpose was to compare standardized exam scores in three subjects and the attendance rates of fourth- and fifth-grade ELL students who participated in CRP programming through Academia Cuauhtli against similar counterparts who did not. The overall pattern of results illustrates that high-fidelity implementation of CRP programming can enhance students’ academic outcomes. In this study, across all subject and rate analyses, students who received CRP programming consistently outperformed those who did not receive it. Results offer empirical evidence on how best practices can improve student success, particularly for ELLs. They also highlight the importance of academic freedom, ensuring that all students have access to a curriculum that best supports their learning and development, especially as student demographics keep evolving. Research The Power of Authentic Cariño, Political Care, and Community: Eagle Academy Teacher Agency During the COVID-19 Pandemic. In Peer Review at the Association of Mexican American Educators Journal. By: Dr. Maria Del Carmen Unda, Dr. Lauren Mena Shook, and Lizeth Lizarraga Duenas Abstract: This qualitative ethnographic study examines the complexities of the Eagle Academy Latina/o Maestra/os (teachers) during COVID-19 in public schools, illustrating how authentic cariño is both an embodied and political reality. Using the Political Theory of Care (Woodley, 2015; 2021) and Authentic Cariño (Curry, 2021; Valenzuela, 1999) frameworks, we qualitatively and analyze pláticas with 13 Latino/a teachers from the 2020-2021 academic year and ethnographic data. These pláticas were conducted within the context of Eagle Academy, a cultural and language revitalization program for Title I Spanish-speaking students and families. While political institutions overtly failed Black, Brown Indigenous communities across all systems by perpetuating colonial logics of care, on the other hand, the Central Texas local community COVID-19 underscored the necessity of care as a political act, as demonstrated by the Eagle Academy Maestra/os, who safeguarded the physical and mental well-being of their students and themselves. The pandemic revealed that the problem was not a lack of cariño among educators, parents, or students, but rather the deficit perspectives and structural ignorance embedded in U.S. public school systems. This chapter emphasizes the need for systemic change in public education while highlighting culturally sustaining programs like Eagle Academy, which model care as a political and transformative practice amidst political chaos. Research The socialization and language practices of Latinx students in a culturally centered Saturday school program in Austin’s East Side. In progress dissertation by Alma Ixchel Flores-Pérez, doctoral student at the Department of Linguistic Anthropology at UT Austin Abstract: In the 10 years since its founding, Academia Cuauhtli has established itself as an organization for, and for Latinx families. One of the key pillars of Academia Cuauhtli curriculum is language. The Saturday school explicitly markets itself as a “language revitalization” project with the goal of combating Spanish language loss that many students within the district are experiencing (Bell, 2020). Namely, the program provides instruction and ideological prioritization of Spanish for English-learning students. Based on initial literature obtained from the program’s website, it is not entirely clear what the linguistic programmatic breakdown is – meaning that it is not clear whether the program utilizes Spanish-immersion, 90/10, or 50/50 dual language, all common models adopted in other private and public schools within Austin. What is clear is that the program and its educators place a large value on the ability to ensure that Latinx students are not only learning Spanish but seeing value in their full range of linguistic abilities (Bell, 2020). This pedagogy falls in line with translanguaging models which attempt to remove some of the named boundaries between linguistic codes, and instead take a speakers’ full range of language use as complete and valid (García, 2014; Martínez, 2017; España et al., 2022; Bale et al., 2023). Within programmatic models like immersion, or dual-language, there are often specified times in which students are expected or encouraged to speak in a particular language. In contrast, translanguaging spaces often prioritize hybridity and flexibility of communication. While it remains to be seen how language is being used both for instruction and interaction within the program, Academia’s prioritization of Spanish, multilingualism, linguistic, and cultural pride, likely have deep impacts on the language socialization and ideologies that students are being exposed to. Fall Grants in progress (5 total) 1. 2. Humanities Texas https://www.humanitiestexas.org/grants/major This grant will support programming costs. Letter of Intent due September 30, 2025 Final Application due October 3, 2025 Funding: $20,000 Texas Cultural Trust https://txculturaltrust.org/what-we-do/texas-women-for-the-arts/grants/?utm_source=chatgpt.com This grant will support programming costs. Funding: $20,000 - $25,000 Applications for the 2025–2026 cycle open October 1, 2025, and close December 1, 2025. 3. William T. Grant Foundation https://wtgrantfoundation.org/funding/research-grants-on-reducing-inequality This program supports research to build, test, or increase understanding of programs, policies, or practices to reduce inequality in the academic, social, behavioral, or economic outcomes of young people ages 5-25 in the United States. Application opens: November 2025 Funding: $100,000 to $600,000 over 2-3 years Fall Grants in progress (5 total) 4. Texas Commission of the Arts https://www.arts.texas.gov/gpa1/ This grant will support programing costs. Intent: To advance the creative economy of Texas by investing in arts organizations. This competitive grant program provides multi-year operational support. Applicants write their grant for a one-year period, and if funded, will provide an update for the second year. Depending on the availability of funds, the organization’s award amount will be the same for two fiscal years. Application deadline: March 1, 2026 Funding: $25,000 - $50,000 5. Moody Foundation https://moodyf.org/application-process/ This grant will support programming costs. Applications open year-round. Funding: $50,000 - $100,000