The Escuelita
A literature and arts enrichment program, the Saturday Escuelita (little school) revives a community tradition dating back to the 1880s.
This project is driven by community. It is a direct response to community needs prioritized in a 2021 survey funded by the Hogg Foundation’s Communities of Care Initiative. Residents identified arts & cultural expression, and education among their top priorities.
The Saturday Escuelita increases equity. It aims to inspire Magnolia Park residents to see themselves as agents in civic and economic development, allaying feelings of powerlessness amid fears of gentrification.
Historical and cultural content in the Saturday school was developed by local professors and will emerge from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and Raza Schools by Dr. Jesse Esparza.
Dr. Jesse Esparza - professor of Mexican American history and author of Raza Schools: The Fight for Latino Educational Autonomy in West Texas;
Dr. Desi Rios - social psychologist specializing in culturally relevant pedagogy; and
Mayra Valle - college readiness expert.
Dr. Stalina Villarreal - assistant professor of English at University of Houston Downtown, Xicanx poet, writer, author of Watcha.
Art content was developed by Magnolia Park Arts & Community founder and working artist Jesse E. Rodriguez, Jr.
To help ensure youth voices are centered in the Escuelita, we have partnered with Communities in Schools and La Raza at Milby High School.
