The Power of Authentic Cariño, Political Care, and Community: Eagle Academy Teacher Agency During the Texas COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This qualitative ethnographic study examines how Latina/o maestra/os (teachers) participating in Eagle Academy navigated the COVID-19 pandemic in public schools, illustrating how authentic cariño (care) functioned as both an embodied practice and a political act. Using Political Theory of Care and Authentic Cariño frameworks, we qualitatively analyze pláticas with 13 Latino/a teachers from the 2020-2021 academic year which includes 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. Findings reveal that, 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 during 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 structural ignorance embedded in U.S. public school systems. This paper 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 during times of crisis.