By: R.D. Leyva, VP, Program Operations & Strategy

Latino Heritage Month is a time to reflect and celebrate the contributions of Latinos in our society, culture, government, and what I am most passionate about – the future of education. This year, I am reflecting on the themes of prosperity, power, and the progress we continue to see. 

I am a proud Latino of Mexican descent, and the importance of Latino representation has always been top of mind for me. Growing up in Texas, I was part of the growing Latino population, which now accounts for more than half of the K-12 student population (52%). I was fortunate I had a school experience with peers and educators who resembled me and shared similar life and cultural experiences as my own — a critical factor we know impacts academic performance, lowers suspension rates, and higher levels of academic achievement. 

This level of representation was and continues to be missing in schools across the country, which I witnessed firsthand in my first professional role. After graduating from college, I joined Teach for America and taught middle school for three years in South Philadelphia. Although I was an educator of color, the school (and larger population) in the neighborhood I taught was primarily Black. This new environment and opportunity to work with students of color and help them excel academically allowed me to more deeply understand the value of diversity work, which is still incredibly important to me.

I wanted to stay connected to the education sector in a meaningful way, while expanding my experience in the DEI space.  I made a pivot away from the classroom to look at how I could empower educators of color like myself in a new way. With a small team, we created Teach for America’s National Alumni of Color Association, dedicated to connecting other alumni passionate about educator diversity and advance work towards education equity. 

The creation of this network showed me the power of educators of color and the need for more representation of Latino leadership at the forefront of this work. I saw the need for more diversity within diversity. Education is often discussed in terms of black or white, but that ignores a large portion of our students. Latinos are the fastest-growing population in our country and are most often overlooked and not included in conversations about diversity and representation. 

It was in this role I met Amanda Fernandez, CEO of Latinos for Education, and quickly recognized the opportunity to work alongside and learn from a powerhouse Latina.  I wanted to continue my mission of expanding diversity, equity, and inclusion but with a focus on the Latino community. I agreed to help her with a three-month short-term project, which turned into a year, and I have now been with the organization for almost seven years. 

National Hispanic Heritage Month is a time to reflect on progress made — not only through my professional journey, but also the progress made by Latinos across the country who are doing the work to instill real change.

Latinos like our current (and former) Fellows, now more than 500 strong since the Fellowship’s inception, who are developing the advocacy skills to advance in district or campus leadership roles, or undergoing training to serve on education nonprofit boards, or learning new ways to engage and retain Latino teachers in schools across the country, more than half of which plan to leave the profession earlier than planned. 

These fellowships have not only continued to grow in capacity every year but our alumni are making bold moves. Our fellows are running for office, and winning. They have completed the programs and assumed leadership positions at every level – from Parent Teacher Councils to Superintendents. This is what it takes to build Latino Leadership — programs and pathways designed to empower and persevere. This is progress.

Over the last few years, I have experienced and witnessed rapid growth with our team, the expansion of our various programs, the increase in fellowships, and also through community and parental involvement. Together, we are working to build power and representation for Latinos at every level of our education system. Progress is what I am celebrating this Latino Heritage Month, and I encourage you to celebrate with me.

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R.D. Leyva serves as the Vice President, Program Operations & Strategy at Latinos for Education. He joined the team in 2016 and served as the Director of National Engagement, where he connected a national network of Latinos to professional development opportunities, resources, and one another. Previously, he was the Director of Diversity and Leadership at Teach For America, where he supported the organization’s corps members and alumni of color across the country. R.D. is a former middle school teacher. He earned his certification at The University of Pennsylvania and holds a B.S. from The University of Texas at Austin. R.D. graduated from the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Leaders Program and is an inaugural Pahara-Aspen NextGen Fellow.