Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Elena Dominguez.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Maria E. Dominguez
Biography
Maria was born in Guanajuato, Mexico until her family decided to migrate to Texas when she was just nine years old. She attended Texas State University where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, majoring in Bilingual Education in 2007. Maria received her EC-4 Bilingual Certification from the state of Texas in December 2007. In 2008, Maria began her career as a Kindergarten teacher and became school director three years later. While working at the preschool she joined the graduate program at Texas State University and on May 2012 she graduated with a Master’s degree in Bilingual Bicultural Education and a minor in Educational Leadership. Receiving DACA gave her the opportunity to begin working at Rodriguez Elementary as a Pre-K Bilingual Teacher and and a few years later she became a First Grade Bilingual Teacher. A few years later Maria became a Certified School Counselor in May 2018 and had the opportunity to work as a school counselor at Elgin Elementary school.
Due to her contribution in her classroom and in her community. Maria was honored at the White House in the summer of 2016, as a DACAmented Teacher Champion of Change. She was also awarded Bilingual Teacher of the Year by the Austin Area Association for Bilingual Education in May 2017. She was also awarded Campus Teacher of the Year at Rodriguez Elementary School in 2016.
Maria founded Cielito Lindo Spanish Immersion Preschool in December 2019 to be able to offer high quality early childhood education for her own daughter, Zoe who was eighteen months at the time. She expanded to a second location in November of 2021 to be able to offer infant care since she had her second child, Gael who was nine months old. She recently opened two locations in 2024. Since then, Maria has been the managing all three locations. She believes that we must foster children’s social-emotional development because these skills will help children become successful individuals socially, emotionally, and academically. She plans to continue providing a multilingual education for young children and enhancing her program to provide a high quality early childhood education.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it hasn’t. Unfortunately, three months after we open our home base center in December of 2019, we had to close in April 2020 because of the pandemic. We reopened the following month but the future of my dream was uncertain as I didn’t know if families were going to enroll due to the uncertainty of the pandemic. However by August we were at capacity with a waitlist.
At first I struggled to get any kind of loans, I struggled finding resources, organization that supported businesses like mine. But I found my way by learning a lot, connecting with people, organization that would help me understand all the aspects of a business.
People telling me know when I asked for loans because I had only been in business for a year. I used to do it all, teacher, assistant, marketing person, accountant, bookkeeper, janitor, etc.
But the hardest part came when I had to make the difficult decision to close my home base center. I felt like I had failed.
As you know, we’re big fans of Cielito Lindo Spanish Immersion Preschool . For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Cielito Lindo Spanish Immersion Preschool is a unique early childhood education center where children are fully immersed in the Spanish language while receiving a strong foundation in academics, social-emotional development, and cultural appreciation. We provide a warm, nurturing, and engaging environment where children learn through play, exploration, and meaningful connections, helping them grow into confident, curious, and compassionate learners.
What sets Cielito Lindo apart is our commitment to combining high-quality preschool education with authentic Spanish immersion in everyday learning. Our dedicated educators create enriching experiences that go beyond language by celebrating Hispanic culture, fostering strong family partnerships, and emphasizing personalized care for each child’s developmental journey. We believe that early bilingual education opens doors to greater cognitive growth, cultural understanding, and future opportunities.
Our mission is to inspire and empower young children through exceptional bilingual education that nurtures the whole child—mind, heart, and voice—while building a lifelong love for learning, confidence, and connection to the world around them. At Cielito Lindo, we are not just teaching Spanish; we are shaping globally minded learners in a loving community that feels like family.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
United Way
AISD PreK partnership
EGBI
Workforce Capital area solutions
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