In September, Tuba reached a major milestone by becoming a full-time Special Education Classroom Assistant at DeWitt Clinton Elementary School.

Hanan AlAqool learned about the Parent Mentor Program at an Arab American Family Services booth during open house night at her daughter’s school in Oak Lawn. In March 2026, she joined Ladders.

From mid-August to early September, more than 330 organizers and coordinators from 46 community organizations whose mission is to select and support Parent Mentors got some support of their own from Parent Engagement Institute. 

Join us + 2k Parent Mentors, community coordinators and organizers, school staff, friends and partners Friday, April 10 for the annual Parent Mentor Program annual convention!

The Ladders of Opportunity program has more than lived up to its name for Betzabé. “It has been a fabulous experience,” she says. “For me, it was more like a trampoline than a ladder.”