This study investigates the role of a family literacy program in facilitating critical literacy among Maya immigrant parents as evident in their ability to navigate inhospitable institutional structures, re-writing their role as advocates for their children in school decision making. The study highlights the conscientization that emerged among participants and researchers through a critical approach to literacy education. The analysis of interviews with six Maya immigrants reveals the manner in which the program has supported participants' advocacy for their school-age children and awareness of their sense of agency, while also raising researchers' consciousness of the institutional barriers encountered by marginalized communities. By viewing school decision making through the perspectives of immigrant parents, educators are urged to critically examine how their policies and practices, including university-community partnerships, perpetuate or interrupt the oppressive v. emancipatory potentiality of education among marginalized communities.