Yesterday, Rep. Pete Aguilar led the K-12 education panel on the academic success of Latino students at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s annual national conference. The panel, moderated by Rep. Aguilar, also featured U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr., San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools Ted Alejandre, Vice President to College Board’s Access to Opportunity program Steve Colon, Senior Fellow at UC Berkeley Center for Latin American Studies Maria Echaveste, Board Member of the California Teachers Association Marty G. Meeden, and Joaquin Nuño-Whelan, who serves as a Chief Engineer at General Motors Global Product Development.

“This was a great opportunity to hear from voices across the spectrum on what we can do to help Latino students thrive in the classroom,” said Rep. Aguilar. He added, “We need to make sure we’re investing in our kids at every step, from pre-k through college. I have two sons in public school—this is personal to me.”

San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools Ted Alejandre said, “I was honored to be among the speakers on yesterday’s Education Summit panel chaired by Congressman Pete Aguilar to discuss current challenges and promising initiatives that address the needs of Latino students. The more we inform leaders and policy makers, and build community and family awareness of both the needs and also the best practices to spur the educational achievement of underserved students, the greater the opportunities for success for students and the stronger our workforce.”

Rep. Aguilar is an avid supporter of early childhood education. He’s also backed a number of initiatives to invest in education at every level, including the All-Year ACCESS Act and the America’s College Promise Act, which expand access to Pell Grants and make two years of community college free. Later in the afternoon, Rep. Aguilar participated in a panel with fellow freshmen members Reps. Norma Torres (CA-35) and Ruben Gallego (AZ-07), where he highlighted education and comprehensive immigration reform as important issues for the Latino community today.