Before the first family arrived for our Visión 2050 community listening session in Houston on Saturday morning, Gavino, now a counselor with YES Prep Public Schools, recognized his former teacher, Natalia, across the room. The former student had grown up to serve students, and now they were volunteering side by side for the community that shaped them both.
That reunion set the tone for the day. Houston was our first listening session, and as we prepared to welcome families, educators, and community leaders, we didn’t quite know what to expect. But as former classmates, colleagues, and neighbors who had not seen each other in years kept finding one another, the room became a community before we asked a single question.
The session brought together the people closest to our schools: parents and their young children, teachers, education leaders, and community leaders and local officials from across the city. Their presence mattered because the future of education should be shaped by the people who live it every day. It should not be decided for them, without them. With everyone gathered, we asked one question at the heart of Visión 2050, our national vision for an education system shaped by and for Latinos: How do you want schools to feel by 2050?
The most honest answer came from a father, who told us the community he represents is living in isolation and fear, which is exactly why spaces like this matter. Some families came anyway, and that courage tells me how much they want a hand in shaping what comes next.
Sandra, our Executive Director in Texas, showed us why having that hand in the future matters so much. She took us back to her childhood in Gulfton, to her mom’s arroz y frijoles, warm sun through the window, and music playing while a little girl dreamed. Then she asked herself, “Dreaming of what?”
Her parents had only a third-grade education, and none of her teachers looked like her, so she could not picture herself as a teacher. Everything changed when she met a Latina program manager. Years later, Sandra became the Human Service Program Manager for the City of Houston’s Health Department.
Her story is why I believe children cannot dream toward something they have never seen, and why representation is part of the solution.
That same belief ran through what families and educators told us. They described schools that are relevant, equitable, engaged with families, and focused on fostering learning. Many answered in Spanish, naming cultura, crecimiento, diversidad, and humanidad. They asked for soft skills alongside strong analytical skills instead of memorization. Nobody named a device or a test score. What they named was belonging.
When families said they want schools engaged with families, I thought of my own mom. She worked at a Mexican restaurant, putting in shifts of 10 to 12 hours, seven days a week, so she could never make teacher conferences when they were scheduled. One of my teachers made the effort to come to the restaurant and hold our conference there. That teacher met my family where we were, and that is what parents are still asking for today: individualized efforts built around the needs of each student.
What they gave us is a blueprint. It calls for more Latino educators in front of our children, learning built around the skills students will need, and families brought into decisions before those decisions are made.
That blueprint is why I left the listening session inspired by community power becoming something real. The future of education for Latino students cannot be designed in rooms our families never enter, and what we heard in Houston will shape what we build next. Houston was one conversation in a much larger effort to reimagine education. Through Visión 2050, we’re inviting Latino families, educators, and students across the country to help shape that future. I hope you’ll add your voice and share your vision for the education our communities deserve. Con ganas, we can, and together we will.
Watch below the recap of the Houston Community Session.
Miguel Angel Duncan-Galvez Bravo is the Managing Director of Development at Latinos for Education, where he leads fundraising strategies and builds relationships with philanthropic partners to advance the organization’s mission. Born in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Miguel has dedicated his career to education, advocacy, and philanthropy, helping secure millions of dollars for nonprofits and underserved communities. He holds degrees from California State University Northridge and Hawaii Pacific University and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education in Organizational Change and Leadership at the University of Southern California.
