Latinos comprise 48 percent of California's student population, and that number is on the rise. In sharp contrast, the number of Latino superintendents and administrators serving as role models to those students is alarmingly low. Statewide, just 7 percent of superintendents and 13 percent of administrators are Latinos. 

"In California, as is the case nationally, there is a tremendous underrepresentation of Latino educational leaders when you consider the student population of the communities we serve," said Dr. Fernando Elizondo, executive director, California Latino Superintendents Association (CALSA). "It's important for Latino students to have ethnic leaders they can look up to and identify with. For many, the presence of a Latino superintendent or administrator may serve to contend against a history of low expectations."

About CALSA Mentoring Program
Established in 2003, the CALSA Mentoring Program was designed to increase the number of Latino superintendents and administrators, help them sustain their positions, and ensure enduring support for Latino educational leaders. Program executives pair promising protégés with seasoned mentors for a two-year term. 

"We identify protégés—up-and-coming, exceptionally bright educators with leadership aspirations—through an extensive application, interview, and recommendation process, and match them up with a mentor who has held their goal position," explained Elizondo. "For example, a protégé could be a principal seeking an assistant superintendent position. We would identify a mentor who is an assistant superintendent or superintendent to help groom the protégé for success."

Mentors are also screened thoroughly. CALSA invites active members of its organization with demonstrated leadership skills and success in their school districts to submit their resumés for review. During the interview process, CALSA Mentoring Program staff hone in on the time commitment required to ensure protégés’ development and achievement. "Time management is always a challenge for superintendents and administrators because their high-level jobs pull them in many different directions," said Elizondo. "But they must be available to translate their experiences to their protégés, and give them sound information and support when the calls come in."

Year One: Establishing the Relationship

• Protégés and mentors schedule a formal, face-to-face meeting with CALSA staff to map out goals for the year. Protégés must pinpoint professional development opportunities that exist in their current positions during the goal-setting session. For example, if a protégé is overseeing a budget or organizing a staff meeting agenda for the first time, his or her mentor can teach him or her how to address those tasks from a leadership perspective to facilitate growth and avoid mistakes. "The mentor helps the protégé address potential issues before they become real issues, and that in itself is extremely powerful," said Elizondo. "It's leadership development, not crisis management. It's all about developing the skills that will catapult protégés to the next level."
• Protégés and mentors schedule weekly conversations to discuss goals and current issues. They're required to submit weekly reports to CALSA staff to ensure close communication.
• CALSA protégés attend four seminars the first year, including a summer institute. Sample workshops include networking, mock interviews, one-on-one résume review, and "life as a central office administrator."

Year Two: Future Planning

• Most protégés continue forwarding weekly reports to CALSA staff, but it's no longer required. At this point, the protégé-mentor relationship is solidified, and they're focusing on the next steps in career development. For many, it's applying for a new position that's in alignment with their career goals; for some, it's pursuing educational opportunities.
• Mentors are encouraged to invite their protégés to their districts for hands-on learning. "One mentor, a superintendent of a large urban district, invited his protégé, a principal, to attend a cabinet meeting—an exceptionally rare experience for someone at his level," said Elizondo. "Another protégé was asked by his mentor to represent him and his district at a superintendents' meeting."
• Protégés must participate in CALSA seminars and share their experiences with the program's new cohorts.

Elizabeth Blanco: CALSA Mentoring Program Success Story
Elizabeth Blanco, director of special education for the Rowland Unified School District, is diligently working toward becoming superintendent of a large urban school district. During her goal-setting session as a CALSA Mentoring Program protégée, she consulted with her mentor, Dr. Elisa Sanchez, about furthering her education.

"One of my goals was getting a doctoral degree, but I had never applied to a program," said Blanco. "Dr. Sanchez gave me the courage and direction I needed to apply. And Dr. Maria Ott, southern California regional representative for CALSA, informed me about the Association of Latino Superintendents (ALAS)/Houghton Mifflin scholarship for aspiring Latino leaders."

Blanco was not only accepted into the prestigious Doctor of Education program at the University of Southern California, but she was also selected among a pool of accomplished applicants as the recipient of the 2006 ALAS/Houghton Mifflin $10,000 scholarship.

"Because of Dr. Sanchez's leadership, I have benefited in and out of the classroom," said Blanco. "She has organized site visits to several districts, and I take the invaluable lessons I have learned—methods to improve instruction, data collection and interpretation, and staff evaluation—and apply them to my current position. My experience will last a lifetime."

Conclusion
The CALSA Mentoring Program is grooming confident, credible, and competent Latino leaders of tomorrow. The overwhelming majority of protégés quickly advance to the next level of career achievement, boosting the number of Latinos in influential superintendent and administrator positions throughout the state of California.

"Although our program is young, principals are indeed becoming directors or assistant superintendents, and assistant superintendents are becoming superintendents," said Elizondo. "We're committed to developing a new generation of Latino role models to meet the needs of our burgeoning student population, one protégé at a time."