Challenge 

In the US, Latinx students currently represent 26% of all K-12 students and are projected to represent nearly one-third of these students by 2025. As reported by the United States Census Bureau, from 1996 to 2016, the number of Hispanic students enrolled in schools, colleges, and universities in the country doubled from 8.8 million to 17.9 million, showing that as the Latinx and Hispanic student population grows, so do their needs.

Latinos for Education is the first Latinx-founded national nonprofit dedicated to uplifting communities by placing Latinx leaders into positions of influence throughout the education sector, increasing Latinx representation on the boards of nonprofit educational entities, and creating leadership pathways for emerging Latinx individuals.

Latinos for Education believes that students benefit from having leaders with a shared experience and  more needs to be done to empower Latinx leaders to enter places of influence in the education sector. Educational equity will be achieved through a shared vision and deliberate collaboration. In doing so, the organization is intentionally cultivating Latinx leadership and purposely creating programs that will develop a pipeline of Latinx leaders that already exist but are currently untapped.

Overview 

Latinos for Education works to develop, place, and connect essential Latinx leaders in the education sector in order to better serve some of the communities most impacted by education inequity. The mission of this partner is unique in that it is the only national organization focused specifically on strengthening Latinx leadership in the education sector. 

Over the past three years, Latinos for Education has grown exponentially, both in terms of fundraising and staff members.  Since its initial founding, the organization has generated significant learning, developed an array of relationships, and seen shifts in the education sector it is operating in. After this initial phase of learning and growth, Latinos for Education arrived at a critical inflection in its evolution.

Root Cause’s role was to help contextualize the needs of Latinos for Education and assist them in designing a three-year strategic growth plan as well as solidifying their program model through this process. This work included assisting the organization in examining its work and impact to date, assessing the current state of Latinx education, examining the landscape of relevant efforts and identifying key gaps, taking a fresh look at and refining its Theory of Change model that connects to the organization’s work and its intended outcomes, and defining its unique focus and strategic approach for the years 2020-2022.

The 2020-2022 strategic plan phase was created to build on Latinos for Education’s initial phase of expanding the nonprofit’s program model and operational infrastructure, solidifying the organization’s presence in fields that overlap with Latinx education, and initiating the approach to geographic expansion through launching pipeline programs. 

As Latino students approach ⅓ of all public school students nationally in 2025, the next phase set Latinos for Education up for their next era of significant growth. Conducted over the course of 6 months, it consisted of a comprehensive set of methods. This included analyzing local, state and national education outcomes and leadership data, conducting a literature review of research and best practices in Latinx education, interviewing education justice and Latinx education experts and leaders, and reviewing feedback from participants in Latinos for Education’s own leadership programs. The evaluation also set to identify frameworks and models to outline elements of the program model and growth strategy. 

Phase I set to conduct an internal review and set a  hypothesis for the program model. A crucial step in this process was defining what “equitable education” looks like in terms of reducing barriers that most impact Latinx students. These obstacles are based on race, ethnicity, income, language, citizenship/immigration status, and neighborhood segregation. 

Goals within the program model include more equitable education in terms of reduced barriers, expanded support and opportunities, which serve to help students with higher academic achievement, college attainment, retention, and prosperity. 

Phase II of the growth strategy defined the most effective strategies to ensure and expand impact over the next three years and beyond. In addition to this, it outlined complementary growth avenues with ideal prioritization, balance, and how they work together.