We are excited to welcome Linda Cantu, Ph.D., back to IDRA! Dr. Cantu directs the IDRA Valued Youth Partnership program, a groundbreaking dropout prevention and student leadership program. Her 14 years of leading the program brought international recognition and awards as it keeps 98% of its tutors in school impacting thousands of children, families and educators.
She coordinates the training, technical assistance activities, materials development and evaluation for each school that implements this innovative cross-age tutoring program that successfully stems dropout rates and builds social-emotional skills at the secondary school level.
Dr. Cantu earned her doctorate in educational administration from Texas A&M College Station. Her master’s degree is in public administration from Trinity University, and her bachelor’s degree is in education from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Dr. Cantu managed and administered IDRA’s three Transitions to Teaching projects (Transitions, T-TExAS, MASS), funded by the U.S. Department of Education to recruit and prepare elementary school teachers. She also directed IDRA’s TECNO (Technology-Enhanced Community Neighborhood Organizations) project, funded through the U.S. Department of Education and later by TG Public Benefit Program and JP Morgan Chase. TECNO established computer centers in a high-poverty, high minority area of San Antonio to provide community-based college access and computer support to high school students and their families.
Dr. Cantu previously taught fourth grade for six years and served as the assistant director of training for the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). She directed pre-college programs, including Upward Bound and Talent Search, for Communities in Schools (CIS).
