Mountain View residents praise local academy for boosting civic engagement and language access

Residents at a Mountain View community session said a local "Chinese Academy" program helped people learn how city departments operate and increased participation among non-English speakers and longtime residents.

Resident (Speaker 1) said, "Growing up in Mountain View, I think this is what I was missing," adding that in high school the focus was national and not on city-level civic knowledge. The speaker said the academy taught participants "different departments, ways to be involved, and how we can be, volunteers or be more actively engaged in our community."

Resident (Speaker 2), who said they have lived in Mountain View for 24 years, described attending the Chinese Academy and said it "gives me a better view of what is going on" and that it taught them they can now ask questions of local staff and officials. Resident (Speaker 3) said the program fostered a peer network—"about 30 of us"—that made it "very easy to continue" participating because many attendees already had prior civic engagement experience.

Advocates for language access framed the academy as a vehicle for inclusion. Resident (Speaker 4) said, "A lot of the times, folks that are non English speakers are the ones that are most heavily impacted by, you know, injustice ... and yet they're not the ones in the rooms that are letting the decision makers ... know what's really going on." They urged offering sessions in Spanish and "just any possible language that makes up ... the fabric of Mountain View."

Speakers offered a personal example of the program's effect: Resident (Speaker 1) said their mother learned about departments through the program, became more involved with community meetings and their child's school, and began attending reunions and other activities. "It brings them access and makes them know that they belong and that their skills, talents and whatever language it is are valued," the resident said.

No motions or formal votes are recorded in the transcript. Participants described the program as educational and community-building rather than legislative or administrative action.

The session's participants emphasized that practical, language-accessible outreach and training make it easier for residents to volunteer, ask questions of city staff, and participate in local decision-making. They said the academy helped some residents move from being uninvolved to being active and connected members of the Mountain View community.