In 1973, Dr. Gloria Rodriguez, a local San Antonian, recognized the need for Spanish-speaking parents to have access to programs that supported the growth and development of their young children while also supporting parents to build their economic mobility. Dr. Rodriguez founded AVANCE on the belief that parents are their child’s first and most important teacher and that their home is the first classroom. A constant over the past 50 years, this belief has been a guiding star as AVANCE has walked alongside hundreds of thousands of families on their educational and economic mobility journeys. Since 1973, AVANCE has grown from serving 35 families in a housing project on San Antonio’s west side to a national organization with operations across Texas and California.