Springfield educators will be celebrated Saturday at an event highlighting local, "unsung" heroes by community nonprofit, Parent Villages. The 7th annual event called the Education Matters Brunch, aims to highlight the importance of community engagement, academic achievement, and service.
One of the honorees, Amneris Narvaez, said growing up without seeing teachers who reflected her cultural identity has helped her understand the importance of representation in the classroom. She said the absence of cultural equality sparked a passion to build pathways that make education accessible, visible, and empowering for all.
Parent Villages CEO LaTonia Naylor said there will also be an $11,000 scholarship given to a student going to college and a $2,500 scholarship for a parent that’s in college.
Naylor said it's important to continue funding educational programs outside the classroom.
"Education in the classroom is not the only education that kids benefit from, so providing alternatives and additional resources and programming for students enhances their experience in the schools. It enhances their ability to advocate for themselves," Naylor said.
Naylor said advocacy is especially needed now that there are threats from the Trump administration to significantly scale back on federal funding for education. She said spotlighting community efforts to combat this administration's priorities will help refocus on what students need in order to have better learning experiences.
