LatinxEd introduced its first-ever policy priorities list Friday at its annual Latine Education Summit in Greensboro.
The nonprofit supports Latino students and families through leadership development, education advocacy and community-building programs across North Carolina.
LatinxEd calls its new framework REAP: Representation, Engagement, Adequate Funding and Post-Secondary Pathways.
The policy priorities outline the most pressing needs Latino students face, from language access in schools to the lack of Latino representation among teachers. Latino children make up one in five students in North Carolina’s public schools.
Yahel Flores, LatinxEd’s Director of Community Impact, says the organization created the policy priorities after listening sessions across the state.
“These priorities didn’t come from anywhere, they came from the community itself,” Flores said. “Once you start shifting narratives, you start shifting the culture around the narrative, you start sharing stories of personally impacted people.”
Flores says LatinxEd hopes local lawmakers and education leaders will use the framework as a guide for more inclusive policies in public schools.
