Written by Maria Del Amo, NCEA Director of Hispanic and Latino Engagement, maria@ncea.org
June brings a well-deserved pause in the life of a Catholic school. Classrooms go quiet. Routines shift. Educators finally have a break to breathe after a full academic year.
But for many Hispanic and Latino families, the search for a new school is just beginning.
Summer is when websites get visited, calls get made, and first impressions get formed. And in many cases, those early interactions determine whether a family takes the next step—or looks elsewhere. In Catholic education, we are called not only to educate but to evangelize: to build places where families encounter Christ through authentic relationship, trust, and community. For Hispanic and Latino families, that encounter often begins long before the first day of school.
It begins with how we welcome.
Make a Strong First Impression
Most families begin their school search online. For Hispanic and Latino families, that experience carries additional weight—it is often the first signal of whether a school is truly ready to receive them. This summer, take an honest look at what families find when they come looking for you.
- Assess your website with fresh eyes. Does it clearly communicate your mission, values, and feeling of community? Do your images reflect the diversity of the families you hope to serve? Is essential information available in both English and Spanish?
- Make it easy to take the next step. Is it clear who to contact—and how quickly families can expect a response? A welcoming digital presence does not need to be perfect. But it must be intentional.
- Plan your communication for the first 100 days. What will new families hear from you—and when? Clear, consistent outreach in the early weeks signals that you meant what you said about welcome.
Build Relationships, Not Just Responses
Providing bilingual communication is essential—but true hospitality goes beyond translation. Families are not only looking for information. They are looking for a personal connection.
- Send a simple survey to current Hispanic and Latino families. This type of data can inform your outreach, not just internal feedback. Ask what is working, what could be improved, and what they wish the school understood about their hopes for their children. Keep it short, offer it in Spanish, and make it easy to complete on a phone.
- Respond quickly and warmly. Are calls and emails returned within 24 hours? Is your tone pastoral—not transactional? Small gestures, such as greeting a parent in Spanish or following up with authentic care, build trust in ways that no brochure can.
- Invite families into a conversation. Do families feel welcomed into a relationship, or simply given answers? The difference matters more than most schools realize.
Extend the Welcome Beyond Your Office
Summer additionally invites us to think imaginatively about how families experience our communities before they ever set foot on campus.
- Offer a virtual open house. Working families often cannot visit during school hours. A short online session—warm, personal, and available in Spanish—may open doors that would otherwise stay closed.
- Create a Comité de Bienvenida. A welcome committee made up of current Hispanic and Latino parents can serve as a powerful bridge for families exploring Catholic education for the first time. Lived experience speaks in ways that administrators cannot.
- Have informal conversations through your parish. Many Hispanic and Latino families are deeply connected to parish life even when their school connection is newer. Summer is a natural time to show up at parish events, gatherings, or ministry programs and simply listen.
Lay the Foundation for Belonging
The work of summer does not stop with enrollment—it builds the foundation for what comes after. Families who feel seen, heard, and welcomed early are far more likely to be engaged throughout the school year.
- Integrate faith and culture from the beginning. New Hispanic and Latino families should encounter a school that sees their cultural traditions not as a footnote, but as a gift. Start small: Could a prayer service include a Spanish reading? Could the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe be observed more meaningfully? Could a unit on Catholic saints include figures from Latin American tradition?
- Create early opportunities for connection. Before the first day of school, can families meet one another? Can a current family contact a new one? Belonging is built in small moments, not just big ones.
- Hire with diversity in mind. If you have open teaching or staff positions this summer, be intentional about recruiting candidates who reflect your student and family community. Representation matters—when Hispanic and Latino students see themselves in the adults around them, it shapes how they experience belonging.
A Final Thought
This work is not simply about increasing enrollment. It is about living out the mission of Catholic education—to be a place in which every family is welcomed, accompanied, and formed in faith.
Summer is not a pause. It’s an invitation.
Don’t wait until August.
Join us on June 9 at 2 PM for a webinar exploring these ideas in depth and offering practical strategies you can put into action right away. Don’t miss “Don’t Wait until August: How Summer Can Become Your Strongest Season for Welcoming Hispanic and Latino Families” as we continue the conversation on how Catholic schools can lead with hospitality, connection, and care.
Connect with Maria Del Amo
If you’d like to learn more about how we can support and engage Hispanic and Latino families in Catholic education, I’d love to connect! Feel free to reach out to me at maria@ncea.org.
