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As three in every five new entrants to Metro Chicago’s labor force was Latino over the last decade, improving their academic outcomes is critical to ensure the region’s future economic vitality.

Building on research that demonstrates the profound effect that parents’ involvement in a child’s preschool years has on future academic success, the Latino Policy Forum launches the second year of its Abriendo Puertas (“Opening Doors”) program in Chicago, with the ambitious goal of equipping a total of 540 local Latino parents with the tools to build solid academic foundations for their children. 

Abriendo Puertas is an evidence-based parent leadership program designed primarily for Spanish-speaking parents of newborns to children up to 5 years old. The interactive curriculum focuses on cultural values, key strengths, and experiences of Latino families. The “for-Latinos-by-Latinos” curriculum was developed in partnership with Latino parents, researchers, and program specialists.

With support from the Pritzker Children’s Initiative and the McCormick Foundation, Latino Policy Forum recently convened a “train-the-trainer” program, training representatives from 17 Latino-serving organizations to in turn deliver the program to Spanish-speaking parents at each of their sites.