Fortalecer Raíces y Formar Alas: Empowerment, Advancement, and Retention of Latinx Educators and Leaders in Catholic Schools

While Latinx children are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. school population, the majority of Latinx Catholic school children may never be instructed or led by a Latinx teacher, principal, or administrator. This is a lamentable gap given that a shared student and teacher identity (i.e., home language, ethnicity, background knowledge, lived experiences) can lead to improved academic outcomes (Dixon, 2017) and non-academic outcomes (Carver-Thomas, 2018), that Latinx educators have conveyed a more profound sense of dedication and belonging when their identity is recognized and valued (Flores et al., 2018), and that there are persistent challenges in the retention of Latinx educators (Ocasio, 2019). To address these gaps, a year-long formation program was developed for Latinx educators and leaders in Catholic schools. Through surveys and interviews from participants in the first cohort, insights and evidence in this pilot study are shared in regard to the impact of the affinity group experience upon empowerment, advancement, and retention of Latinx leadership in Catholic education. Implications discuss how educator and leadership formation programs can support the needs of Latinx educators and leaders in Catholic education