Creating Pathways: ALL In Education’s Parent Educator Academy – August 2025
There are moments in philanthropy that remind us why we invest our hearts, minds, and resources. Partnering with ALL In Education is one of those moments. Their work to bring Latino parents into the education system – first as advocates for their own children and then as professionals in the classroom – is creating lasting change in Phoenix schools and in the lives of countless families.
ALL In Education’s Parent Educator Academy (PEA) is a first-of-its-kind program that equips Latino parents with the leadership skills and intellectual capital to engage in their children’s education and have agency over decisions that affect their own families and, ultimately, their communities. Through culturally rooted training, PEA transforms parents into community leaders with the potential to enter the education workforce.
Over the summer, this potential was harnessed at ALL In Education’s inaugural Parent Educator Summer Institute – a workforce development strategy within their Sustainable Leadership Initiative – where graduates of PEA came together to demonstrate just how transformative the program can be and to further develop their skills as emerging educators, with a focus on foundational literacy. Throughout the two-week institute, participants displayed the qualities every great teacher should have: leadership rooted in compassion and community, a deep commitment to growth, and a collaborative spirit that elevated everyone around them.
The results were nothing short of inspiring. All eight participants interviewed with the Roosevelt School District for open paraprofessional positions, and all eight received offers. Seven accepted immediately, while the eighth is waiting for a position to open at her children’s school. Even more powerful, several expressed interest in continuing their education to become full-time teachers – proof that this program is sparking not just opportunity but long-term career pathways.
This program matters because representation matters. Latino students make up a growing majority in Arizona schools, yet Latino educators remain underrepresented. ALL In Education is addressing that gap in a creative, sustainable way – by equipping parents with the skills, confidence, and pathways to become education leaders. At the same time, this initiative breaks cycles of poverty by creating stable jobs and new career opportunities for families who once felt shut out of the system.
The Parent Educator Academy shows us what’s possible when we trust and invest in the people closest to our students. It’s a model rooted in lived experience, cultural insight, and an unwavering commitment to the next generation. This is just the beginning, and I couldn’t be more honored to support ALL In Education as they continue to reimagine what’s possible for our schools, our families, and our future.
With admiration,
