From Denver’s mile-high elevation, Latino education leaders gathered for the “Elevating Excellence” conference to continue to lift their schools and districts. Current and aspiring administrators, principals, superintendents and other leaders from across the US attended the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents National Summit on Education in October for four days of connection and learning.
Sessions and panel discussions covered topics including mentorship and sponsorship, and preparation for cabinet-level roles. They provided leadership development for educators in schools and districts that serve primarily Latino and other historically marginalized youth.
Enlisting Mentors and Sponsors
“A mentor helps you find your voice, but a sponsor makes sure your voice is heard,” said Ruth Pérez, ALAS board member and deputy superintendent of the Los Angeles County Office of Education.
Pérez remembered a colleague from her time in the classroom who suggested they both should try for administrator roles. Her fellow teacher pointed out that they were the only Latina staff members at the school, which had a student population made predominantly of English-language learners, many of Puerto Rican descent. It resonated with Pérez when her friend said, “Look at all the Latinos we have on this campus. And yet there's no one in administration that could speak their language and help their families. They don't even have bilingual translators.”
“She saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself,” Pérez said. “I probably never would have left the classroom if she hadn’t tapped me on the shoulder.”
In the same session, Maria Ott, ALAS board member and University of Southern California educational administration chair, said it’s important to pay attention to who your sponsors are and to thank them. Who is offering a chance to run a professional development session or instructional program?
“You don't automatically get to do all these things. Somebody put your name out there,” Ott said.
Ott also suggested thinking about who could be a potential sponsor. People who know you and know your work are the ones who can connect you to opportunities.
“You need to have your current supervisors singing your praises,” said Carmella Franco, who works with an executive search firm.
Franco also noted that candidates’ track records come first. Candidates need to demonstrate excellence throughout their careers, which a search firm will verify through conversations with references.
“You want to be cultivating those individuals who can give you strong recommendations,” Franco said. “Keep in touch with them as you move through positions.”
Strong, credible references for superintendent applications include school board presidents, executives of community organizations, officials from teachers’ unions or classified employees’ unions, and city officials, Franco said. Don’t use lateral colleagues or subordinates, unless there’s a specific reason to do so.
Franco said required attendance at board meetings early in her teaching career inspired her to expand her impact beyond the classroom. She was strategic about her path to the superintendency, observing leaders to see what worked and what failed. She also invited a superintendent and a school board president to her classroom for a student performance. She presented at board meetings and accompanied board members to district events.
“I began with the end in mind, but at the same time, I never rushed,” Franco said.
Ott agreed that aspiring superintendents should be strategic and intentional to find a good match. “You want to be in the right district, and you want to be there long enough to make a difference,” she said.
How Latino Leaders Earn Cabinet-Level Roles
Four Latino leaders shared insights on how they prepared for cabinet roles and how they made a difference in those jobs.
Moderator Jesus Rodriguez, deputy superintendent in Aurora Public Schools in Colorado, said the session would provide practical steps for educators aspiring to cabinet positions.
“We know that leadership journeys don't always follow a straight line," Rodriguez said. "And we also know that preparation matters, relationships matter and access to opportunity isn't always equal. Our goal is to make some of those unwritten expectations a little bit more visible for folks who maybe haven't stepped into a cabinet role yet."
Moving from leadership within a school to a districtwide position requires expanding your thinking, the panelists suggested.
People can be fantastic principals and understand how to work with people, but they need to translate that to the executive level by broadening their scope of influence, said Monica Mesa, chief of schools for Mesa Public Schools in Mesa, Ariz.
“It's thinking about the whole district organizational system, and how it's intertwined, and how departments are interconnected,” said Mesa, who is also co-director of the ALAS National Principal Leadership Academy. “How if I make this decision over here in my school, that's a little impact, then I may pull this lever in the large district, and there's a ripple effect across the district.”
Karla Estrada, deputy superintendent of instruction for the Los Angeles Unified School District, said superintendents need to be ready to hear criticism at board meetings and from union leaders.
“When you see yourself as someone who has the courage and will to do what is right, and navigate that complexity, and that means take hits, because cabinet leadership means your job is to take the hit, make the tough decision, and then own that decision,” Estrada said.
That’s why it’s important to remember why you’re willing to take the hits.
“You know you can execute something from beginning to end that actually has results for children,” Estrada said.
Preparation for a superintendency in the Pacific Northwest began for Lora de la Cruz when she was a principal supervisor. She attended board meetings when she didn’t have to and joined leadership teams across the district, pushing beyond the confines of her title.
“Being a part of cabinet, in whatever ways that I could in that role. And being part of lots of hard conversations and making hard decisions, and just continuing to put myself out there, because I knew I wanted to be ready for the next thing,” said de la Cruz, now the interim deputy superintendent in Denver Public Schools and the ALAS 2026–27 Central Office Administrator of the Year.
In addition, she said, she proved herself. As a principal supervisor, she inherited seven schools in turnaround; six were no longer in turnaround when she left.
“I was always building my data set, my track record, with an eye on, ‘How are we serving the students who need us the most?’ Being of service and looking for the place where I could use my skills, talents and experiences to support a community and an organization, and then readying myself all along the way,” de la Cruz said.
Michael Ramirez, chief of staff in Duval County Public Schools in Jacksonville, Florida, reached a turning point when district leadership asked him to apply for a principal supervisor role. They told him that he represented more than himself and that they wanted a leadership team that reflected the student population. That opportunity also led Ramirez to the ALAS Superintendents Leadership Academy and the familia and the network that’s part of it, he said.
Estrada agreed that networking helps illuminate the next opportunity. It also enables the most important part of the journey: taking the risk. She urged aspiring superintendents not to let job descriptions and experience requirements intimidate them.
“We talk ourselves out of these jobs sometimes. You actually may be the person. It's not always just about knowledge. It's about skill sets. It is the skills that you bring as a leader that a system may need, and you are that person who can bring it,” Estrada said.
Another important element of preparing for a superintendency is looking for shared goals, said Ramirez, who is also on the ALAS board of directors.
“Are you the right person for that moment in time for that school district?” he asked.
In cabinet positions, educators have opportunities to learn from superintendents in ways that can shape their own leadership. Estrada said Superintendent Alberto Carvalho of the Los Angeles Unified School District taught her to dream and hope bigger.
“He is a big fan of stretch,” she said. “Everything should be stretch — everything. And at first you think, oh, that might overwhelm a system. Actually, what I realized is that people want to be on a winning team. They want to see things change and get better.”
Panelists ended the sessions with parting words about what to do in the next 30 days to prepare for a cabinet opportunity. De la Cruz advised immediately starting to map your power, passion, and parameters.
“When I say parameters, it's what are you interested in, willing to do, and not willing to do in terms of location, district, position? And where do you want to stretch?” de la Cruz said.
She also recommended building what she calls a data set.
“Know your successes, and build on your successes and be ready to speak about them in any environment,” she said.
Personal goals should also be part of the plan, Estrada said, noting that things such as family and retirement plans will influence your career but don’t have to limit it.
Similarly, Ramirez recommended “the kitchen table conversation,” involving spouses or partners in deciding what you want.
