The Lobo Language Acquisition Lab at The University of New Mexico will present Trisha Moquino of Keres Children's Learning Center (KCLC) describing her quest to create a school that would nurture children in the Keres-speaking community.

Her presentation is part of the #CelebrateBilingualismNM Speaker Series on Friday, Dec. 3, at the SUB in rooms Lobo A and B. The event starts at noon, with a reception to follow and will be live-streamed. The event is free, but participants should RSVP.

Moquino will present Indigenous Language Acquisition - KCLC's Journey. 

From the villages of Cochiti, Ohkay Owhingeh, and Santo Domingo, Moquino did her schooling in her villages’ local public schools, earned her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, her master’s degree in Bilingual Education from UNM, and completed her Montessori. Her master’s thesis laid out the vision for what would eventually become the Keres Children’s Learning Center at Cochiti Pueblo.

Moquino has taught in public, private, and BIA schools. As a public school teacher in 2006, Moquino realized she was perpetuating an educational system that didn’t work for many Indigenous children, that she wouldn’t put her own daughters in her classroom, and that she wanted a different education for her own and other Pueblo children. 

Moquino envisioned an education that would support Keres language and cultural learning as well as academic development. With those goals in mind and her background in bilingual and Montessori education, she co-founded KCLC, which opened in 2012 as a Keres-immersion early childhood classroom using Montessori pedagogy. It has since expanded to include a Montessori dual-language elementary classroom.

KCLC strives to reclaim our children’s education and honor our heritage by using a comprehensive cultural and academic curriculum to assist families in nurturing Keres-speaking, holistically healthy, community minded, and academically strong students.

ASL interpreters will be provided for both the in-person and virtual parts of the event. Venue is wheelchair accessible and located on the third floor of the SUB via elevator access. Event is seated. Accessible parking is available at the Cornell Parking Structure or at Mesa Vista Hall. 

To inquire about specific access needs, please email Aster Forrest.