This study investigates how a group of Mexican immigrant children in the United States made sense of engaging in school and school mathematics. The research focused on a population of Latino/a middle school students who were a distinct minority, building a model that shows how a complex set of cognitive, sociocultural, and institutional factors mediated these students' engagement and success in school. The results of this research will help educators understand the complex social environment that faces immigrant children and impacts their performance and engagement in school and school mathematics.