By R.D. Leyva, Vice President, Network Activation, Latinos for Education 

I have spent nearly a decade with Latinos for Education and watched how both the organization and education have evolved during that time. I’ve seen the systems built to educate our students fail to keep up and the incremental reforms meant to fix them fail right alongside them. This experience has taught me that we need to stop making incremental fixes and start reimagining education outright.  

That is why, this fall, Latinos for Education is launching Foundations, our newest leadership program, built for leaders who are ready to do exactly that. 

Launching October 2026, Foundations is a six-week virtual leadership program built for the leaders closest to the work, whose daily decisions shape whether Latino students feel like they belong, get access to rigorous learning, and have real pathways to prosperity. It also welcomes leaders across education who share that same commitment. Throughout the program participants will gain clarity on their strengths, work through a real challenge they’re facing right now, and leave with a plan for what comes next. All of this work is grounded in a five-part framework that names the specific qualities and skills that make someone an effective leader. 

The reasons for this moment are not abstract. Latino students now represent nearly one in three public school students in this country. Classroom needs are shifting. AI is reshaping how students learn and how educators lead, often faster than our systems can respond. Too often, the educators doing this work are expected to build the future for their students without the structured support, tools, or community it actually takes to do that work well. Foundations has been developed to close that gap. 

Want to Learn More About Foundations?

As readers are likely aware, Latinos for Education has run several leadership programs for nearly a decade. Each one taught us something about what educators need to grow. While we have now concluded those programs and are embarking on a new direction, we brought what we learned from them into Foundations. This has resulted in one strong, unified model built to grow with our community, rather than several separate efforts running in parallel. We didn’t build Foundations to keep pace with change. We built it so they get ahead of it. Foundations reflects what we believe effective leadership actually requires including the skills, judgment, and self-awareness needed to lead as new challenges and opportunities arise. Educators from our earlier programs will remain a valued and active part of this community and are invited to step into Foundations now as their own next step forward. 

What makes Foundations distinct is how it brings three things together: 

1. Seeing yourself clearly as a leader. 
2. Applying what you learn to a real challenge you’re already facing, and  
3. Building relationships with educators across the country doing similar work.  

Clarity, application, community. Leadership doesn’t grow from one of these alone. It grows from all three, together.  

Participants will leave with a certificate documenting their professional learning hours, but what I hope most of them will take away is the community of Latino leaders who will become part of their network. That connection won’t end when the program does. Educators who complete Foundations will stay connected to our national network, with continued opportunities to grow, connect with peers, and take on bigger leadership roles over time, as we build out the partnerships and tools that keep this community shaping the system long after this first cohort. 

Applications for our inaugural cohort are open now and we are looking for leaders who are ready to shape education. Apply if that’s you, or nominate an educator you know who’s ready to do the same. Priority deadline is August 23; the final deadline is September 13. 

At Latinos for Education, we are no longer satisfied with helping educators adapt to the education system we have. We are building the leaders ready to shape the one Latino students deserve. Con ganas we can.  

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R.D. Leyva is the Vice President of Network Activation at Latinos for Education, where he leads the organization’s Future Shaping Educators and Movement Building pillars, sets network strategy, and supports partnerships to advance the organization’s national goals. Previously, he served as Vice President of Programs, Chief of Staff, and Director of National Engagement during his ten years with the organization. Before that, he led alumni diversity initiatives at Teach For America and served as a middle school teacher in Philadelphia. R.D. is a native Texan and first-generation college graduate. He holds a B.S. from The University of Texas at Austin, his teaching certification from the University of Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Leaders Program. He is also a Pahara-Aspen Fellow.