2022 Annual Report

2022 ANNUAL REPORT

GROWING IMPACT, ROOTED IN COMUNIDAD

LETTER FROM OUR CEO

Dear Friends and Partners,

When we launched Latinos for Education (L4E) in 2016, we dedicated ourselves to creating an organization that would be both a catalyst for change and also an amplifier for the voice of America’s Latino community within the education sector. We made a commitment that this organization would always remain deeply rooted in our community.

Six years later, this commitment is unwavering. Our leadership development programming and advocacy work has grown and expanded, and our Latino community has shown up at every turn to inform that growth and evolution.

When alumni told us that they wanted to make a difference beyond the classroom, we invited them, along with other Latino teachers, families, and school leaders, to shape our Latino Action Agenda policy work. When families in Houston, Texas, told us about the many ways their local schools and school district leaders were not listening to them, we launched our Familias Latinas Por La Educación Fellowship.

In 2022, we demonstrated growing capacity as a convener, moving forward critical policy conversations. In Massachusetts, we continued to build and activate our Educator Diversity Act coalition and as a result secured a $15M investment from the Massachusetts legislature to support diverse educators in the state. At the same time, our coalition was able to garner support for the Educator Diversity Act from over 70 legislators, and we successfully advanced the bill in both chambers of the legislature.

In Houston, we brought together diverse communities to ensure our voices were heard on issues that will significantly shape local education, including the redistricting process of Houston Independent School District (ISD) and investment in educators of color.

Nationally, we hosted a Capitol Hill briefing in Washington, DC, with congressional leaders and their staff to discuss the importance of increasing

the number of educators of color in this country, and outline concrete policy recommendations to increase diversity and representation in our education system. Of course, growth comes with challenges, especially for a Latino startup like ours. We work hard to prove our value and impact and have a seat at tables with decision-makers. Our commitment to the comunidad we work for, and are a part of, motivates us to continue our efforts on behalf of Latino students, educators, and families all over this country. We celebrate our Fellows, who inspire us to continue to strive for placing Latinos in the room where decisions are made for our children:

“The fellowship changed my life.”

“My definition of success changed, and now I’m thinking bigger about the impact I want to make.”

“I was able to tap into my superpower, which is my Latino identity.”

“I decided to go after that promotion. I decided to serve on a new nonprofit board. I decided to run for office.”

We hear reflections like these over and over again from our network of alumni, affirming for me that our comunidad is growing and that their voices are being elevated in schools and classrooms. We are deeply honored that Latinos for Education is part of their journey.

I’m excited for what the next chapter will bring for all of us. We will grow and expand our footprint in California. We will strengthen our programs and find new ways to elevate and place Latinos into critical roles within the education sector. We will ensure Latino students have access to an education that prepares them for success in life.

Thank you for being part of our comunidad and for helping shape our journey thus far.

Adelante!

Mil gracias,

• Tina Fernández Executive Director, Achieve Atlanta

• Margarita Florez Vasconcelos Managing Director, Crankstart

• Dr. Karen Maldonado Director of Education Reform, Financial Oversight & Management Board for Puerto Rico

• Dr. Landon Mascareñaz Vice President of Community Partnerships, The Colorado Education Initiative

• Frances Messano President and CEO, New Schools Venture Fund

• Maria Orozco Partner, The Bridgespan Group

• Manny Rivera Principal, Rally

• Susan Valverde Chief of Operations, Sylvan Learning

We work hard to prove our value and impact and have a seat at tables with decision-makers. Our commitment to the comunidad we work for, and are a part of, motivates us to continue our efforts on behalf of Latino students, educators, and families all over this country.

MISSION

To develop, place, and connect essential Latino leadership in the education sector, while mobilizing Latino voices to promote practices and policies that remove barriers to equitable educational opportunity.

CORE VALUES

• Lead From Our Identity

• Work Con Ganas

• Agitate When Necessary

• Bridge Across Cultures

• Rise As A Collective

ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT

Alexandrea Martinez

Alexandrea Martinez brings her love of social justice to teaching 4th grade in East San Jose. After completing the Latinx Teachers Fellowship remotely in 2020, she wanted more. She asked if she could apply to L4E’s inaugural Bay Area Aspiring Latino Leaders Fellowship as a classroom teacher to continue growing as a Latina leader and educational justice advocate while remaining in the classroom. L4E welcomed her, and she became our first teacher/ leader to matriculate into both LTF and ALLF in California.

THEORY OF CHANGE

As Latino leaders, including parents and families, become more effective advocates, community-driven innovation in policy and practice will spread throughout the educational ecosystem, Latino representation will grow, and barriers for students of color will significantly decrease.

“It was really affirming to feel like I do have something to offer, especially because everybody else in the Fellowship with me was in some type of leadership role,” Alexandrea says. “There’s really a sense of belonging and community that comes through this Fellowship. You feel so affirmed when you leave... Embracing my identity has helped me be a better teacher.”

WE KEEP EXPANDING OUR REACH WITH PROGRAM SITES

NOW IN MASSACHUSETTS, HOUSTON, AND THE BAY AREA

EDCENTRO GIVES US A NATIONAL PRESENCE WITH REGIONAL HUBS THAT ENGAGE AND ACTIVATE MEMBERS IN LARGE CITIES NATIONWIDE

GROWING LEADERSHIP: PROGRAMS

Latinos for Education expanded our flagship leadership development programs to the CA Bay Area in 2022. We added 13 new nonprofit and educational organization partners in the Boston region. We also secured funding to double the size of our parent advocacy program in Houston and launch it in Massachusetts.

THE ASPIRING LATINO LEADERS FELLOWSHIP (ALLF)

Aspiring Latino Leaders Fellowship (ALLF) is a mid-career capacitybuilding fellowship spanning eight months of leadership development sessions for Latino education leaders in K-12 organizations in campus or district leadership roles.

ALLF FELLOWS IN 2022

24 33 15

BOSTON HOUSTON BAY AREA

THE LATINX TEACHERS FELLOWSHIP (LTF)

The Latinx Teachers Fellowship (LTF) is an early-career capacity-building fellowship created to develop and retain Latino teachers, 43% of whom typically leave the teaching profession by year four.

LTF FELLOWS IN 2022

FAMILIAS LATINAS POR LA EDUCACIÓN (FLE)

Familias Latinas Por La Educación (FLE) is a community power-building program for adult relatives of schoolaged children who want to positively impact their education. In the course of six facilitated, highly interactive sessions, participants gain access to resources, tools, and frameworks they can immediately employ to advocate for their children.

THE LATINO BOARD FELLOWSHIP (LBF)

Latino Board Fellowship (LBF) is a capacity-building fellowship for mid-career professionals from various fields spanning six monthly training sessions, after which Fellows are matched with education nonprofits and charter schools that want to diversify their boards.

ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT

Shirley Verónica Cardona

Shirley Verónica Cardona has had an accomplished corporate career and earned an MBA from Harvard, but she had limited nonprofit board experience before participating in the Latino Board Fellowship in 2022.

A former English Learner from a low-income background, Shirley is Vice President of Marketing at Ellevation Education, the nation’s leading K-12 software solution for multilingual learners and the educators who serve them. Since last June, she’s been serving on Excel Academy’s new Friends Board, where she is the first member of color.

Before LBF, she says, she would have been hesitant to speak up because she’s not a teacher and doesn’t have a degree in education. “One of the things the fellowship did for me was it made me realize that my lived experience is sufficient to help me make a difference within the organization. If not me, then who else? If I’m not at the table asking particular questions, no one else is going to think of them because their experience is different.”

GROWING ENGAGEMENT: ALUMNI

20%

of alumni are engaged in policy/advocacy efforts such as: attending State of Latino Education events, meeting with superintendents and trustees at the school district level, HISD hearings, petitioning, participating in educator assessment focus groups.

82%

NET PROMOTER SCORE

46%

ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT

Mitzi Ordoñez

34,424 STUDENTS COLLECTIVELY IMPACTED BY OUR ALLF AND LTF ALUMNI

43% HAVE COMPLETED OR ARE PURSUING GRADUATE DEGREE

OF ALUMNI HAVE RECEIVED AT LEAST ONE PROMOTION

Mitzi Ordoñez is a Mexican immigrant, a single mom, and a Latina. Her identity as an immigrant is very important to highlight, she says. It has led to her becoming a passionate advocate for justice in housing and education for low-income people of color.

As a working single mom, she never had a chance to be part of school functions like the parent teacher organization. The Houston school board seemed even more inaccessible. With support from L4E, Mitzi and a group of other parents (all moms) put pressure on the district to introduce live interpretation during the board meetings–a change they finally enacted in fall, 2022.

“Now when I’m in the community with other moms and I hear stories of injustices in the schools, I feel better equipped to share resources and information about what they can do. As immigrants, we’re made to feel it’s our fault that the schools that our kids go to are not as good as they could be, but it’s not our fault, it’s the conditions that the school systems created. I want to continue to make sure that awareness grows.”

ALL-TIME TOTAL FELLOWS SERVED (2017–2022)

LATINOS FOR EDUCATION ALUMNI COUNCIL

The Latinos for Education Alumni Council is a body of former Fellows who meet to foster the professional community of L4E alumni, advise the L4E staff on building and sustaining the fellowship, and help to increase the impact of Latinx leaders on the education sector.

ALUMNI COUNCIL MEMBERS:

Sofia Gonzalez

Carlos Guerrero

Sandra Nuñez

Yvette Meza-Vega

German Torres

Carlos Quintanilla

Luz Mederos-Dorleans

Karina Baum

THIS ELECTION CYCLE, OUR ALUMNI WERE ON THE BALLOT! CONGRATULATIONS TO:

Dolores Lozano (ALLF ‘20) Harris County, TX Justice of the Peace

Amy Hinojosa (LBF ‘19)

Trustee, Harris County, TX Department of Education

GROWING COMMUNITY:

EdCentro builds the capacity of Latino educational leaders, providing support in their development as effective and competent professionals and role models for Latino children and families. Our network provides professional development opportunities, communities of practice, mentorship and network-building, and lifelong learning resources. In 2022, we expanded our offerings to 51 interactive live virtual sessions on the platform. Some of the more popular sessions included Amplifying Latinx Leadership, Defining Your Vision for Equity as a Latinx Leader, and Learning the History of Latina Advocacy & Activism.

Many of our free learning opportunities are designed and facilitated by Fellowship alumni. These include workforce development programming to advance skill sets and competencies in areas such as brand & marketing development, artificial intelligence, and design thinking.

186

3,284 JOBS POSTED MEMBERS NATIONWIDE

22

AND INTEREST-SPECIFIC DISCUSSION BOARDS

REGIONAL

Jacqueline Moreno (ALLF ‘21) Representative At-Large for the Texas Science Education Leadership Association

GROWING REACH:

EARNED MEDIA, DIGITAL PRESENCE AND CONVENINGS

Latinos for Education was mentioned in 266 articles in outlets including The Boston Globe, Houston Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Univision, and more.

We were also mentioned in 53 broadcast segments on radio and television.

266

CONVENINGS:

• MA State of Latino Education: over 200 attendees

• Capitol Hill briefing: 50

• Houston State of Latino Education: 60

TOTAL NUMBER OF ATTENDEES 310

FOLLOWERS:

20,800

7,280

5,900

WEBSITE:

4,200

100,000

OVER OVER

REACHED USERS

200,000

PAGEVIEWS

GROWING MOMENTUM: ADVOCACY AND POLICY

L4E’S LATINO ACTION AGENDA INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING PRIORITIES:

1. Increasing representation of Latino teachers and leaders;

2. Ensuring access to highquality early childhood education and

3. Equitable K-12 educational opportunities;

4. Improving college access and retention.

We engaged in close to 100 meetings with bipartisan decision-makers on Capitol Hill as well as prominent advocacy/education organizations to introduce our work and engage in policy discussions. We held our first legislative briefing on Capitol Hill focused on the importance of educator diversity.

LEARNING AND DISSEMINATING:

In 2022, L4E commissioned a national poll to learn more about the perspectives, attitudes, and concerns of Latino parents, guardians and educators on the role of assessments in education. Our data analysis revealed that all assessments (standardized, diagnostic, summative, formative, and performance based) received high levels of approval among educators and parents/guardians, but the design of assessments as well as their relevance and use were vigorously debated during the focus groups. We found that the group most in need of support related to assessments and accountability is Latino parents and families, especially those who are monolingual. The report we authored, Latinos Speak: A Candid Reflection on Assessment and Accountability, serves as a reminder that we cannot discuss critical topics in education without including Latino perspectives.

We also released a report with learnings from our work on the Massachusetts Educator Diversity Act Coalition, Laying the Groundwork for Policy Change

COALITION WORK:

L4E is one of eighty members on the steering committee for the 1 Million Teachers of Color campaign and a co-lead for the California Steering Committee. L4E is also represented in DC on the Hispanic Education Coalition, the Committee on Education Funding, and the Higher Education Equity Network.

DIGITAL ORGANIZING:

1,838 ACTIVISTS

including L4E partners, stakeholders, and alumni - took 556 total actions in support of L4E’s Action Network campaigns.

7 LETTER AND PETITION CAMPAIGNS

MASSACHUSETTS:

The Educator Diversity Act received a unanimous vote in the MA House of Representatives through the Economic Development Bill. Although the Educator Diversity Act was not included in the final package, we received tremendous support from the legislature, including over 60 legislative co-sponsors. Through the advocacy of the Educator Diversity Act Coalition, the MA Legislature also funded a new $15M scholarship program for prospective educators of color, called the Tomorrow’s Educators Scholarship Program. The Legislature also included $10M for programs aimed at recruiting and retaining diverse educators in the American Rescue Plan Budget enacted in December 2021.

ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT

Dr. Alejandra Ortiz

Dr. Alejandra Ortiz participated in the Latinx Teacher Fellowship in 2020 and is a member of L4E’s Alumni Council under the area of visibility and recruitment. In 2022, with L4E’s sponsorship, she attended a conference hosted by Ed Trust that brought together teachers from multiple states to discuss state-specific strategies for building and supporting a more diverse educator workforce.

A longtime teacher in the Houston Independent School District, Alejandra is currently the 7th Grade Dual Language Academy Cluster Leader at Burbank Middle School. She was elected 2021-2022 Burbank Middle School’s Teacher of the Year.

HOUSTON:

Over 50% of Familias Latinas Por La Educación (FLE) alumni attended at least one event at their children’s schools in 2022, many for the first time. Helping families address and overcome barriers to participation in their children’s education is a key goal of the Fellowship.

Our FLE Fellows named teacher effectiveness as their top advocacy priority for 2022. We have been working with L4E partner EdTrust in Houston to support our families as they advocate for effective and diverse teachers.

Despite her many accomplishments, Alejandra never thought of herself as an advocate before. She came away from LTF ready to use her voice to bring attention to issues that are important to her as a Latina. “No one speaks up for us. We’ve been quiet for a really long time, and we’re getting left behind.”

THROUGH THE EDA COALITION, THE MA LEGISLATURE FUNDED A NEW

WE THANK OUR PARTNERS FOR INVESTING IN OUR WORK!

PROGRAMMATIC PARTNERS

• Aldine Indepenent School District

• 826 Boston

• Boston Collegiate Charter School

• Boston Public Schools

• Catalyst:Ed

• Coaching 4 Change

• Ed Pioneers

• Everett Public Schools

• Excel Academy Charter High School

• Felton Institute

• Galena Park Independent School District

• Haverhill Public Schools

• Houston Independent School District

• Latino Stem Alliance

• Lawrence Public Schools

• Lynn Public Schools

• Match

• Oakland Unified School District

• Pasadena ISD

• Pheonix Charter Academy

• Prospect Hill Academy School

• Providence Public Schools

• Raising a Reader

• Rocketship Public Schools

• San Mateo Union High School District

• Santa Clara University

• Teach for AmericaMassachusetts

• The New Teacher Project

• The Resolution Center

• Thompson Island

• UnidosUS

• Worcester Public Schools

• YES Prep Public Schools

PHILANTHROPIC FUNDERS

$1,000,000+

• Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

• MacKenzie Scott

$250,000 – $999,999

• Barr Foundation

• Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies

• Houston Endowment

• Michael & Susan Dell Foundation

• W.K. Kellogg Foundation

$100,000 – $249,999

• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

• Carnegie Corporation of New York

• M&T Bank

• Nellie Mae Education Foundation

• Silicon Schools Fund

• Sullivan Family Charitable Foundation

• The Joyce Foundation

$50,000 – $99,999

• CenterPoint Energy

• Chavez Family Foundation

• Margulf Foundation

• Powell Foundation

• Shell

• Wayfarer Foundation

$25,000 – $49,999

• Anonymous

• Bank of America, Houston

• McNulty Foundation

• The Brown Foundation

• UnidosUS

• Wellington Management Foundation

$10,000 – $24,999

• Comcast

• The Boeing Company

$5,000 – $9,999

• Greater Boston Latino Network

• Joseph Greenberg

• Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy

• Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation

• Lubin Family Foundation

$1,000 – $4,999

• Arizona State University

• Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation

• New Ventures

• Tyra Mariani Household

$1 – $999

• Samantha Ader

• Janet Albert

• Karina Baum

• The BlackBaud Giving Fund

• Juana Bordas

• Joseph Bywater

• The Castellano Family Foundation

• Erin Colford

• Jesus De La Cerda Jr.

• Amanda Fernandez

• Margarita Florez Vasconcelos

• Network for Good

• Maria Garcia Orozco

• Sebastian Gomez

• David Henry

• Aloysia Jean

• Mary Kay Ader

• Jeremy LeFevre

• Karen Maldonado

• Divya Mani

• Philanthropy Massachusetts Inc.

• Ingrid McKinney

• Nishanth Mitte

• Mayola Muniz

• David and Maria Perez Charitable Fund

• Liliana Polo-McKenna

• Ana Ponce

• Manny Rivera

• Erica Romero

• Catherine Seeds

• Adriana Solis-Lopez

2022 FINANCIALS

EXPENSES REVENUE

61.3% PROGRAM EXPENSES

GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FUNDRAISING

22.9% 15.7%

GRANTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS

1.2% 98.8%

PROGRAM SERVICES

OTHER INCOME 0.003%

Latinos for Education (National and MA)

177 Huntington Ave Ste 1703 PMB 91135 Boston, MA 02115-3153

Latinos for Education (Texas) PO Box 3109 PMB 91135 Houston, TX 77253-3109

LatinosforEducation.org