By: Jose Magaña, Executive Director, Bay Area

One of the most profound and life-changing experiences in my career was teaching kindergarten after graduating from college. It was a humbling experience because I had to constantly challenge myself to make the class enjoyable while being accountable for the success of students who were stepping into the classroom for the first time ever. Keeping the attention of kindergarteners requires patience, stepping out of your comfort zone, and –quite frankly– being silly and having fun. There is much power and responsibility that comes with teaching this age group because you are helping children unlock the world around them as they learn to read, count, learn colors and patterns, and gain confidence in themselves. So of course, it was important for me to do the best job possible especially because my role as a Latino male kindergarten teacher is needed and rare.

I’ll never forget the connections I made with Latino families who entrusted me with their children’s education. I would have honest conversations with them, both in Spanish and English, about the progress I was seeing in their kids and how we needed to work together to help them in their academic journey. Oftentimes, these families would invite me over for dinner or coffee because they saw me as an extension of their family. It speaks to the power representation plays in building a strong education system, especially for Latinos.

The truth is teaching can be a difficult job, and teaching is more than just instruction. Teachers are also counselors, mentors, medics –you name it. Additionally, there are so many external circumstances that affect students outside of the classroom –poverty, food insecurity, increasing housing costs, and that was one of the reasons I made a pivot from working in the classroom to doing more systems-level work. I wanted to expand my impact beyond the 30 students and families I would work with on a yearly basis.

Nobody was more heartbroken with my decision to leave the classroom than my mother, who came to see the impact that teaching has on families during my time as a teacher. She reminded me that I made a promise to help Latino students succeed.

And that’s what I have been doing for the past five years as a school board member within the San Jose Unified School District.

I was 27 when I first ran for school board, and while I wasn’t sure I was ready to step into office, I saw two things critically missing from the school board race. The first was that there were no current educators on the school board at that time. I knew that without the perspective of someone who has spent time in the classroom, huge gaps in policy would remain. The second was that there was only one other Latina on a school board that serves a large Latino population.I knew that these students and families needed someone from within to advocate for them.

When I was door knocking while canvassing, families were shocked that I spoke Spanish and would invite me in to have deep conversations about their aspirations and dreams for their children’s education. It affirmed for me that choosing to run on the idea that representation is life changing and matters was worth it.

As I step into my new role as the Founding Executive Director of Latinos for Education in the Bay Area, I’ll be applying all my life lessons to inspire more Latinos to step into critical leadership roles in education and to use their voices to advocate for change.

I’ve been in the classroom, and know firsthand the challenges that either keep Latinos from exploring careers in teaching or that eventually push them out of the profession –and I’m ready to tackle these challenges head on. I’ve run for office and know the barriers that keep Latinos from stepping into leadership roles, and I’m committed to working with Latino leaders as they carve out their own leadership path to create sustainable change for Latino families in education. But most importantly, I’ve spearheaded change from within, and I know we can build an education system that prioritizes Latino students because our future depends on it.

The Bay Area is home to some of the largest cities in the nation with growing Latino student populations, so the impact we make can reverberate across the country.

Everything in my career has led me to this point, and I would not be able to do it without a strong foundation of parents and grandparents who instilled in me the notion of hard work and perseverance. I saw firsthand what it was like to work con ganas, a value that is both core to who I am and core to Latinos for Education. I’m excited to continue working con ganas on behalf of Latino students, teachers and families in the Bay Area and beyond.

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José Magaña is the Executive Director, Bay Area for Latinos for Education. In this role, he is overseeing the expansion of programs into the Bay Area. José has championed several equity-focused policies in the Bay Area through his role as Board President on the San José Unified Board of Education. His career began as a kindergarten teacher through Teach for America, and he has served in various roles for City Year San José/Silicon Valley, BookNook, and the Library and Education Commission for the City of San José. He has an undergraduate degree from University of California – Santa Barbara, a master’s in governance from the California School Boards Association, and a certificate of education finance from Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.