María is the proud daughter of Mexican Immigrants who started their family in Los Angeles. The eldest of four children, María lived in LA until the age of nine, when her father, the sole breadwinner of the family, suffered an accident that made his job as a gardener challenging. Remaining in LA became economically difficult, and María’s family moved to the border town of Tecate in Baja California, Mexico. To support their family, María’s father became a border commuter worker and María and her siblings crossed with him to attend public schools in East San Diego County. Her parents’ sole dream was for their children to go to college.   

Today, María is the very proud mother of two children enrolled in the Los Angeles Unified School District and a leader who serves families and youth on the Eastside of Los Angeles. She launched her campaign for LA School Board by writing a letter to the students and families she has passionately served for over two decades.

From an early age, María experienced firsthand the inequities in public education. She and her younger brothers crossed the border in the hopes of being prepared for higher education, but not without struggle. In 1993, at the eve of the state ballot measure Proposition 187, María and her peers became the target of anti-immigrant sentiment and harassment that was brewing in California. María refused to stand by. 

At age 17, María organized hundreds of families to speak out against the racism and injustice Latinx students were enduring. Together, María and a groundswell of families urged the media and elected officials to listen to their cry – that regardless of skin color or ethnicity, Education is a Civil Right! 

After graduating from UC Berkeley, María continued her work as a community organizer working to build greater unity and empowerment with Black and Brown students at an Oakland public high school. She then went on to earn her Master’s in education at Harvard University, where she became the first-ever Latina elected student body president of the graduate school of education.

In 2002, María returned to Los Angeles and began working as a Youth Organizing Director, advocating for educational and housing justice in the Eastside of Los Angeles. Today, under María’s leadership, there is a powerful voice for students and families on the Eastside, ensuring those most affected by the decisions of elected officials – parents and students – can advocate for the education, housing justice and resources they deserve.

María’s leadership has helped youth and families secure historic wins for Eastside communities, including:

• In 2004, successfully advocating for and winning for the first time in over 80 years new LAUSD public schools for the Eastside, including a new elementary school, adult school, and three high schools
• In 2005, winning the historic “A-G Life Prep,” a landmark policy that ensured all LAUSD high school students had access to college-preparatory courses, ensuring all students would be college-ready
• In 2014, 2018 and 2021, winning the “Equity is Justice” LAUSD resolutions, which allocated millions in new funding to schools that have historically been under-funded and under-resourced, including schools in the Eastside
• In 2020, in response to the pandemic and housing crisis, winning policies at the County level that ensured greater tenant protections including eviction moratoriums for unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, and waging a winning campaign to secure a new affordable housing development in East Los Angeles

María’s impressive work ethic and civil rights track record have inspired many early endorsers and supporters of her School Board campaign, including the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, representing 800,000 union members, SEIU Local 99, which represents over 50,000 education workers in K-12 schools and community colleges, IBEW Local 11, a progressive voice of the Electrical Construction Industry in Los Angeles, SEIU Local 721, which represents Southern CA Public Service Workers, Teamsters 572, the LA/OC Building Trades Council, Congressman Jimmy Gomez (34th Congressional District), Los Angeles County Supervisor, Hilda L. Solis (First District), State Senator María Elena Durazo (24th State Senate District), State Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (53rd Assembly District) State Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo (51st State Assembly District), State Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (54th State Assembly District), Civil Rights icon and labor leader Dolores Huerta and many other local leaders and unions. Maria recently secured the endorsements of SEIU 121RN, Southwest Carpenters, LA Area Chamber of Commerce and the Central City Association. 

An experienced leader firmly rooted in a commitment to her family and community, María  has been recognized by La Opinion, Liberty Hill Foundation, UC Berkeley’s Chicano/Latino Alumni Association of Southern California, and the Latina Lawyers Association. In 2015, she was appointed to The Commission for Children and Families by Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis. María was recognized with the 2018 Woman of the Year Award by the LA County Commission for Women. She was recently elected as a Community Trustee for the Board of Directors of the Hill-Snowdon Foundation, a national social justice fund.

María works in Boyle Heights and lives in El Sereno with her family. Her two children attend an LAUSD elementary school, where she has been an active parent volunteer.

Funding students and schools equitably

Children and schools with the greatest unmet needs should receive the most resources and funding. María worked with a coalition of students, families, advocates, and educators to improve and pass the Student Equity Needs Index, a 2021 landmark policy that allocated $700 million to our highest-needs schools. The American Institute for Research studied the implementation of this policy and found these funds were used to reduce class size and increase student support by hiring additional teachers, instructional coaches, psychiatric social workers, counselors, special education instructors, college advisors, and assistant principals. If elected, María would continue pushing LAUSD to fund the greatest needs in our communities.

Offering college opportunity for all students

Before 2005, LAUSD schools in the Eastside of Los Angeles were less likely to offer college-preparatory coursework than schools in more affluent parts of the district. With María’s support, students, families, and advocates in the Eastside demanded college access for all, moving the school board and district to adopt the landmark A-G Life Prep policy, which requires access to college-preparatory courses for all LAUSD high school students. María will continue working with schools to deploy greater resources, professional development for teachers, and intervention and enrichment support to prepare students for higher education, particularly first-generation college students.

Creating safer, more welcoming campuses

Historically, Black and Brown students in LAUSD have been more likely to be suspended and expelled than their peers. This problem was so severe that the U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Division investigated and intervened in 2014. María worked with students, families, and justice advocates to pass the School Climate Bill of Rights. The bill ushered in a new era of restorative justice and ended harsh push-out practices that widened the achievement and opportunity gap for Black and Brown students. Since implementation, LAUSD has seen a 75% decrease in all suspensions. On the school board, María would use her voice and vote to challenge ineffective policies and encourage greater safety, inclusion, and justice for students.

Reaching kids early

Our district must invest in expanding early childhood education programs for high-need families. As a school board member, María would advocate for expanded programs and services for our youngest learners.

Meeting special needs of students

If elected to LA Unified’s School Board, María would partner with educators, classified school employees, and district leaders to invest resources and train staff to better serve students with special education needs.

Uplifting English learners

Almost 20% of LAUSD students identify as English Language Learners. Once an English learner attending an LAUSD elementary school herself, María understands the challenges of learning in a new language, as well as the power of being bilingual. She would ensure educators are compensated and supported for helping students build English language skills. Given that District 2 has one of LAUSD’s largest English Language Learner populations, María would prioritize an asset-based approach to help District 2 tap into students’ potential.

Helping Black students thrive

LAUSD has not done enough to remedy longstanding gaps in access, opportunity, and achievement for Black students, who are more likely to receive remediation and suspension than enrichment and college counseling. María would continue her commitment to Black and Brown unity by ensuring our district implements the Black Student Achievement Plan, which she helped pass in 2021. The plan directs $36.5 million toward closing the resource and opportunity gap for Black students in LAUSD.

Supporting the whole child

Recognizing that our students need to feel safe, healthy, secure, and nourished to learn, María helped students and families secure funding for 24 mental health and wellness centers on LAUSD campuses and initiate nutritious breakfast programs in every LAUSD classroom. In partnership with local communities and families, María worked with LA County to secure a rent stabilization ordinance protecting over 400,000 residents from evictions without “just cause” and 43,000 from rent increases that exceed 8% in unincorporated Los Angeles County. As part of this effort, María effectively advocated for expanded affordable housing in East LA for high-need families. If elected, María will continue advocating for the holistic needs of children.

Supporting students who are unhoused

The housing crisis in Los Angeles County has created dire consequences for LAUSD’s students. Over 17,000 students in our district are unhoused. María recognizes that addressing this problem requires cross-sector partnerships, as well as increased and coordinated services. She would focus on aligning health and wellness, housing, and academic supports to ensure students have access to compassionate and coordinated outreach and services. Acknowledging that we must address the root causes of homelessness, María would use her bully pulpit to advocate for increased access to affordable housing for students and families in district two, including creative housing solutions that support foster youth experiencing homelessness.

Supporting foster youth

In response to Prop 30, LAUSD developed the Foster Youth Achievement Program to improve enrollment, attendance, stability, graduation rates, and equitable access to resources for foster youth. Achieving these goals requires strong partnerships with students, caregivers, schools, communities, and public agencies. With decades of coalition-building experience, María would pursue cross-sector partnerships and strategies to improve coordination between district, county, and community agencies serving LAUSD students in foster care.

Welcoming all identities on campus

María recognizes that our students have diverse identities that are not always respected and embraced in schools. With a lifelong commitment to social justice, María would ensure our district is inclusive for Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian students, as well as our LGBTQ+ community.

Ensuring safe, healthy, and open schools

During the pandemic, LAUSD led the nation in ensuring safe and healthy protocols for schools. If elected, María would prioritize the health and safety of students and families hardest hit by the pandemic. Over the past two years, María has partnered with students, families, philanthropists, community-based organizations, and local schools to improve resources and raise awareness around food insecurity, rent stabilization, and the digital and technological divides that have disproportionately affected Eastside students and families.

I have a BA from UC Berkeley in Political Science and Development Studies with a minor in African-American Studies. I also have a Masters from Teachers College, Columbia University and a PhD from Columbia University in Comparative and International Education.

I currently work for School Board Member Jackie Goldberg for 2.5 years as Research and Policy Deputy and liaison to over 60 schools and oversee all charter school issues within the BD5.  I have previously served for LAUSD in the capacity of researcher and program evaluator in the early 2000’s.  I also served as Community Representative for an elementary school in Highland Park where I served as liaison between parents and community with the school; assisted teachers in their classrooms and conducted over 22 parent workshops.  I understand LAUSD and public schools from various perspectives as a grassroots activist, educational researcher, parent educator, policy analyst and most importantly as a parent.  I have a rich understanding and knowledge of the major issues facing LAUSD and have the research and background to tackle the hardest issues.  

Before that I worked in many roles in and around education:  As an International Researcher for the Earth Institute, Columbia University; a Project Researcher at Teachers College and Annenberg Foundation; Editor, Technology Editor, Co-Editor-in-Chief, & External Reviewer at Current Issues In Comparative Education (CICE); a Program Evaluator at the Soros Foundation and Teachers College; an Assistant Director of Financial Aid at Teachers College, Columbia University; a Senior Financial Aid Counselor at Pace University; and teacher assistant at Centro VIDA Children’s Center.

My priority is to strengthen and nurture our LAUSD public schools to become true community schools and provide the wrap-around services students need, which requires a range of legislation and full funding.

I strongly believe in the community schools model because it is a holistic approach to address the needs of students, involves shared governance structures, parent and community involvement, culturally relevant curriculum and addresses the deep impact of poverty within many vulnerable communities of color.  

The community schools  model is a perfect school-site methodology that brings in much needed resources from the immediate community by establishing partnerships with local agencies that provide access to healthcare, mental health services and other necessary holistic services.  LAUSD must make sure that all schools have the information and resources to provide for their students, staff and families.