Expect More Arizona — MAPA: The State of Arizona Latino Education, Power and Influence

Our friends at ALL In Education recently released their MAPA report and hosted an informative and eye-opening summit last week.

MAPA evaluates, measures and reports on the state of Latino education, power and influence. It is intended to be a transparent tool that reflects on the organization’s own efforts as well as those in the ecosystem that have an active role to play in moving the needle forward for Latino youth in our state. The virtual summit unveiled the results of the report and connects the dots between all the issues and policies that have been stacked up against Latino students for decades.

Latinos make up the majority of Arizona’s K-12 student population, representing 46% of the population. Yet Latinos make up only 13% of school board members, and 16% of the teaching workforce in Arizona, meaning critical decisions are not being made with the valuable perspective and wisdom that the Latino community brings to the table.

If we are to close the opportunity gap for Latino youth, we need to simultaneously close the representation gap in school boards, administration, charter school boards, state level education boards, and in the classrooms. We appreciate ALL In Education’s leadership on elevating equity issues and raising awareness of opportunity gaps in Arizona and congratulate their team on such an impactful report and courageous conversation! We look forward to working together to tackle these important issues.

Download the full report and watch the summit on-demand: allineducation.org/mapa.