Centro Infantil de la Raza y la Escuelita

What is their story?

Centro Infantil de la Raza Children’s Center opened its doors in early 1973 as the first public bilingual and bicultural child development center in Oakland. Centro Infantil grew out of the dedicated and coordinated organizing efforts by a group of Mexican, Latino, and Chicano families in Oakland. The Comité Popular Educativo de la Raza demanded changes in an education system that had historically punished many Raza parents and children for speaking Spanish and denied or ignored their heritage and history.

Centro Infantil was established as a bilingual bicultural center that reflected the cultural and historical experiences of students and their families. Children were educated with an emphasis on self-awareness, pride, community service, intercultural knowledge and cooperation. As the children completed the early childhood education program at Centro Infantil, parents wanted to continue that bilingual, bicultural education. And so, La Escuelita grew out of Centro Infantil.

In 1975, La Escuelita started as a small alternative school with a kindergarten and a first grade class, and added a grade each year. Parents and the community weighed in on curriculum and could approve or disapprove of new teachers. The Oakland school district initially secured federal funding for La Escuelita, and parents later pressured the school board to commit more of its own money to hiring more bilingual teachers and staff, and to create an office for bilingual education. 

In 2014, the school began adding middle school grades and in 2016, enrollment was more than 400 for the first time in more than 20 years. After the 2022 school year, however, and in spite of protests by parents, La Escuelita lost its middle school grades due to low enrollment and a Oakland Unified School District plan to save money.

As the District struggles with funding issues, Centro Infantil and La Escuelita continue to provide culturally relevant education to families of the Fruitvale community.