Apena se puede creer, you can hardly believe it. Roberto Enrique Almanzán said this all the time. He was my grandfather, on my Mama’s side. He and my grandmother (and so many other family members) raised me and my sister. Well, me mostly. My Mama was busy caring for her daughter through Leukemia. That is a story for another day.
I share this, because this family saying is a deep root in my identity. When the grief of dealing with my sister’s cancer became too much, “apena se puede creer.” When the joy of remission came, “apena se puede creer.” More simply, when we were able to get to school on time, “apena se puede creer” or “Jamie is wearing clean underwear, apena se puede creer.” The words identify so much for us, the intonation so much more.
At its core, it is meant to highlight how fortunate we are to have a loving family and community around us. To have good health and an education. It is a reminder to recognize the blessings in our lives, our work, and the people around us.
I am a 30 year public educator. I started my career as a teacher. Elementary, then high school, then middle school. I can honestly say that I taught at every grade level. I went on to be an administrator at the middle school level, and then worked for multiple educational reform organizations doing my best to challenge the status quo of public schools so that the promise of public schools would be realized: SERVE EVERY STUDENT.
Over those years working towards educational reform I learned a lot about school leadership and civic engagement. I realized that my purpose was to bridge the gap between what students, parents and teachers are experiencing and leadership that was often making the decisions that impacted that experience. I used to think that the leadership at the top of an organization were the most important people to talk to in order to make change. What I discovered is that I think I have a better chance of creating change quickly for students in public schools by talking to teachers than I do talking to the superintendent. The problem with that approach is the change isn’t systemic. The true magic happens when we combine the vision and policy work of the district leadership with the love and instruction that those who work with students do every single day.
It is with that learning that The Equity Collaborative was created. We wanted to be the translator of sorts from leadership to those on the ground. We named our organization based on the ideas of Equity as in serve every student, and Collaborative as in partnership, not directives. Twelve years of partnering with educators and other leaders as The Equity Collaborative brought so much learning.
After those years as The Equity Collaborative, we evolved into APC Leadership Collaborative.Two forces drove the rebrand of our organization. One, most obviously, is the political pressure we had to navigate with the anti-DEI movement. Regardless of our ability to shift outcomes for districts and students, our name alone would prevent us from working with current partners. In some states, the very word “equity” is illegal to use in relation to educational contexts. You can read more about this in my partner Graig Meyer’s blog that accompanies this one. Two, in considering our evolution, we interviewed 15 different superintendents from around the country. Most gave us the advice to change our name without hesitation. They had experienced our work and felt that the outcomes we supported them to reach were more important than the name. One ed leader asked me a question instead of giving me advice. This approach hit my heart. This is how we do our work. We never give advice. Always ask questions in order to support people to solve their own problems. Reflection over direction. He asked me: “Are you the same organization you were when you started 13 years ago?” A bell went off in my head. This isn’t simply a name change. It is a rebrand because we aren’t the same organization at all.
Our initial approach to supporting schools at The Equity Collaborative wasn’t particularly innovative. I did what I knew how to do from my previous jobs: workshops to shift teacher mindsets about students, particularly meeting the needs of struggling students. Our first learning and growth moment came when we partnered those awareness workshops with developing the protocols for more honest and productive collaboration between educators. We started to share the leadership and teaching tools and frameworks that encourage innovative change in the system. Though helpful, the approach often missed the crucial step of LISTENING to the people we served to find out what THEY thought would be helpful. This truly is the learning that my colleagues and I needed to do. We learned how to listen to others in order to help them solve their own problems. We became a true coaching organization.
So now, our organization moves forward — with deep roots and new growth.
APC Leadership Collaborative is not just a new name. It is a reflection of who we have become. In some ways, the “A” honors my family name and lineage — the foundation of everything I know about love, resilience, and possibility. “P” represents partnership, the way we walk alongside leaders, educators, and communities rather than directing them. And “C” stands for change — not the performative kind that comes and goes with a political cycle, but the kind that transforms how people see themselves and one another.
This rebrand also includes some changes to how we describe our work after listening to our clients about what they found to be most helpful. When asked to describe the impact of our work, everyone (literally everyone) we talked to included “Leadership” in their description, and so now it’s part of our name. We have really had to think through who we are as an organization and the outcomes we are looking to achieve. We clarified with each other that we believe schools can be a place where students and staff experience education with clear purpose, joy and connection. We worked hard to narrow what we think should be the key elements of student experience to “joy and success” and we want to bring those feelings to the adults we work with as well. We support courageous education leaders to build systems where students and staff thrive to create just that. And we believe that leadership is a heavy responsibility. No leader needs to do it alone. We help leaders navigate the politics, scrutiny, and competing demands – so that they can act on what matters most.
We are also broadening our scope to support not only schools, but all systems that touch the lives of young people — from community organizations to local governments and beyond (even a city zoo!). Our focus remains the same: creating environments where every individual is seen, valued, and supported to thrive. What hasn’t changed is our approach to supporting leaders: listening, coaching, and supporting leadership moves that have lasting impact. And we will continue to evolve. We will keep listening deeply, coaching, and building the kind of leadership that lasts.
For our partners and educational community, you can expect consistency in what has always defined us — integrity, curiosity, and collaboration — paired with renewed energy for what’s ahead. Our learning experiences will continue to challenge, affirm, and inspire. We’ll be creating new spaces for collective reflection and expanding our partnerships to include voices we haven’t yet heard but deeply need.
And finally, I offer gratitude to everyone who has walked with us — from our first school partners to the colleagues who joined in the work when it was just a vision — thank you. Your trust and your stories have shaped who we are today. To our future partners, we can only say, apena se puede creer — you can hardly believe what’s possible when people come together in the spirit of growth and shared purpose.
Here’s to the next chapter — APC Leadership.