Miguel Angel Astu­rias Aca­demy is a pri­vate, non-profit Pre K-12 school in Que­tzal­te­nango, Gua­te­mala, foun­ded in 1994 to eli­mi­nate edu­ca­tion dis­pa­ri­ties through sub­si­di­zed tui­tion, and create infor­med, critically-thinking, socially cons­cious citi­zens through its curriculum. 

Astu­rias Aca­demy currently ser­ves appro­xi­ma­tely 300 stu­dents from var­ying back­grounds: indi­ge­nous, non-indigenous, poor, wor­king class and middle class. The Academy’s curri­cu­lum is based on the popu­lar edu­ca­tion theory of  Bra­zi­lian edu­ca­tor Paulo Freire, in which sys­tems of injus­tice are con­fron­ted and trans­for­med on the basis of all as teachers and lear­ners. The Aca­demy has two main mis­sions: get ALL Gua­te­ma­lan chil­dren in school, and break cyc­les of poverty through education.