A Day With Stephanie Parra, Ed.D.

CEO of ALL In Education

6 A.M. >> SETTING THE TONE

I have a consistent morning routine that includes daily movement or exercise. I go to the gym to train and lift weights. I’m a yogi and teach yoga on Tuesday mornings. I also have a daily meditation and prayer practice that I incorporate after my movement. That really sets the tone for my day, taking care of mind, body and spirit first thing in the morning.

9 A.M. >> EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL FOCUS

My workday includes many meetings. I meet with external stakeholders who support our work or partner with our organization — local and national philanthropy partners and those leading schools and systems that are engaged in partnerships with ALL In Education, a Phoenix-based nonprofit focused on education equity. I also meet with my team to make sure we’re executing our work and implementing our plans.

11:30 A.M. >> PURPOSEFUL REFLECTION

ALL In Education ensures that individuals impacted by educational inequities have a voice and a seat in decision-making. Our work is centered on supporting families, parents and caregivers in understanding the education system, how it’s structured and governed, and their role in supporting their kids’ learning journeys.

The organization is six years old, and we just held our annual MAPA, our internal “Measure of Annual Progress in Arizona” summit, which serves as our organizational roadmap. We took time this year to reflect on the first five years of our work and set up what the next five years will look like.

1:15 P.M. >> LISTENING TO UNDERSTAND

During the pandemic, I was the executive director at ALL In Education and served as president of the Phoenix Union High School District governing board. Because of these roles, I received phone calls asking what Latino families needed and how people could help. Rather than making assumptions about the community, it was important to listen and report back. Over four and a half weeks, we spoke to nearly 200 Latino parents and educators across Maricopa, Pima and Yuma counties to learn what the community was navigating.

I realized the communication divide between schools and families was a bigger challenge than the digital divide. In spring 2021, we set out to address this by piloting our flagship program called the Parent Educator Academy.

The 10-week virtual training for parents helps them understand how the education system works, their role within it, and how to advocate for their kids, while providing practical tools to build stronger relationships with their kids’ teachers and school leaders.

We have scaled this effort, which has trained more than 800 parents across Arizona. We’re now in our 11th cohort, with the program running twice a year. We want to see parents activated, informed and involved in their kids’ learning. It’s inspiring to see what parents do beyond their Academy experience.

2:30 P.M. >> THE NORTH STAR

Our programs are guided by a clear North Star: improving educational outcomes for students. Whether it’s a parent or an emerging or established leader, we want our alumni to be staunch advocates for a focused effort to improve student outcomes in our state.

We’re increasingly focused on literacy outcomes. Roughly three in 10 Arizona third graders are reading at grade level — a benchmark widely considered a key predictor of eighth-grade math, high school graduation, and eventual career readiness. Our goal is to get this work into the hands of more parents and caregivers early, helping move the needle for students across the state.

3:15 P.M. >> HONORING A LEGACY

For me, leadership is about service and being of service to the community. My draw to public service has a lot to do with my family’s story and my dad’s experience in the American education system.

My dad was one of 11 children who migrated with his family to Yuma when he was 12 years old. He experienced discrimination as an immigrant student, both by his peers and his educators, and eventually left public school to work the fields because of discrimination and the pressures of poverty.

My parents instilled the incredible value of education in me from a young age. I lost my dad one year ago, and my parents have always been — and continue to be — my inspiration for this work. I am getting my doctorate in educational leadership and innovation this semester; everything I’ve done to this point is in honor of their legacy and experience.

I am a lifelong learner, and pursuing my doctorate was one of those things I always wanted to do. I wanted to learn how to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of my work. I also want to make my parents proud.

8 P.M. >> A PERFECT BOOKEND

After a day fueled by students’ needs, coming home allows me to recharge. I’m a mom to two fur babies, a 13-year-old Yorkie terrier mix and a Basenji–German shepherd puppy. They take up my evenings, especially the puppy. I try to disconnect from technology as part of my wind-down routine. I start my days with personal time to set the tone, and then bookend it with nightly reading and journaling. My morning and evening routines have helped me get to a place where I move through a busy day in a much calmer state.

To learn more, go to allineducation.org.