Cristina Patricio

Community Schools Coach

Cristina Patricio’s foundation and commitment to education and social justice is rooted in her experience as the daughter of immigrants, a first-generation college graduate, and as a youth organizer.

She began organizing in her teen years for better educational opportunities at Garfield High School. Her passion for organizing led her to community schools’ work. She has fourteen years of experience in developing and implementing community schools in the San Fernando Valley, Inglewood, South Central Los Angeles, and in her own community, East Los Angeles. Additionally, Cristina has experience in policy and school accountability. She is also a part-time lecturer of Chicana/o Studies at California State University, Northridge.

She holds a B.A. in Chicanx Studies and History and an M.A. in Chicanx Studies from California State University, Northridge. Her culminating thesis, "Eastside Stories: Community Schools in East Los Angeles", focused on community schools, youth empowerment, and community cultural wealth. Her research captured the experience of six Latinx alumni students who transitioned from a comprehensive high school to a community school pilot high school. The alumni students connected their post-secondary academic success to the resiliency they developed through community cultural wealth that was cultivated at their community school.