2025 Latino Summit
2025 Latino Summit
Unlock the Future: Embrace, Educate & Empower Latino Families in Catholic Schools
"Latinos are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. Catholic Church - yet they remain the most underserved by Catholic schools. Together can we change that!" - Seattle Archdiocese
Join us for the 2025 Latino Summit on Friday, March 28th from 8am-3pm and Saturday, March 29th from 10am-5pm. Child care is available.
To register, please visit:
https://archseattle.org/events/latino-summit/
Reflecting on the 2024 Latino Summit
In April of 2024, the Archdiocese of Seattle's Office of Catholic Schools, Office of Hispanic Ministry, and St. Vincent de Paul of Seattle | King County (through Centro Rendu) - in partnership with the Catholic School Advantage and the Latino Enrollment Institute of the University of Notre Dame - helped to elevate Latino voices in Catholic education.
Data on English language learners and stories shared by the Notre Dame University team helped to highlight the important contributions of our cultural communities, especially the growing Latino families participation in Catholic education.
Conducted in Spanish by trained facilitators, the 2-day summit included sessions centered on the hopes, challenges, and aspirations of Latino families in Catholic education.
Participants shared heartfelt reflections, identifying key challenges facing the community, such as the high cost of tuition, and language barriers, and expressed a desire for schools to more fully embody Catholic values in daily life.
The Latino Summit underscored the urgency of supporting Latino enrollment and leadership in Catholic schools.
Sustained action from schools, parishes, and communities is necessary to address financial challenges, cultural inclusion, and the holistic well-being of Latino families. By prioritizing authentic listening, the Latino Summit sought to build confidence among Latino families and encourage their co-responsibility in shaping Catholic education.
Key Themes of the 2024 Latino Summit:
- Empowering Latino Families: Summit participants left the event energized, communicating a recognition of their collective strength and the power of unity within the Hispanic community. Catholic educators were encouraged to approach families with openness, curiosity, and gratitude, recognizing the gifts they bring to the school community.
- Culturally-responsive strategies: Strengthening literacy and parenting skills, promoting enrollment initiatives, and supporting leadership development for Hispanic parents not only fulfills the mission of Catholic education but brings the dreams of our children—and our Church—closer to reality.
- Parent Ambassador Model (PAM): In partnership with Centro Rendu, a special program of St. Vincent de Paul, the PAM program supports Latino parent leadership, community building, and school engagement. This model demonstrates how schools can grow vibrant Latino communities in Catholic schools through leadership development, skill-building, peer support, and shared learning.
“Authentic engagement is not only about recruiting Latinos. It’s about empowering Latinos to welcome, listen, and lead as ambassadors who reach out to others inside and outside of their own culture.” - Mirya Muñoz-Roach
A culture of encounter is a graced experience that says:
“I have something good to give you; you have something good to give me. We accompany others not to increase the number of people in the Church, but because it is a matter of faith and love” - Bishop Elizondo
By fostering spaces for dialogue and resource-sharing, Catholic schools can become true communities of encounter where all families are empowered to lead, serve, and thrive.
Message to Educators - Truly being heard leads to Empowerment:
“Have a really open heart and see those families that come to you. Who are they, who are we called to serve, and what gifts are they bringing? It is not so much how we can help them, but how they can really enrich our community. Be thankful to families and they will support you with anything.” – Kristin Moore
Beyond Welcoming – A Sense of Belonging:
There is a difference between being welcome and feeling at home, as you belong…
“Welcome - you've got a time limit, and then you've got to go home. When you feel like you belong, you can go to the fridge and make yourself a sandwich.” – School Parent
Parish Support – Where to Begin
“If you're at a parish where there's a Hispanic ministry coordinator, invite that person to a happy hour every now and then. That should be your best friend. Because through that person, everyone in the Hispanic community goes through that person, from baptisms to death.” - Edwin Ferrera
To read the complete report please visit: https://www.archseattle.org/