Grantee Feature: Education
Centro Tyrone Guzman has been a cornerstone for Latine* families in Minneapolis for decades, offering culturally rooted, multi-generational wellness and educational programming. Centro offers a variety of programs, from early education (Mi Pequeño Mundo home visiting and Siembra Montessori school) to youth (Be@school attendance support and Raíces youth development) to seniors (Wise Elders) and a unique Manos Montessori intergenerational social enterprise.
Culture, compassion, and community are central to Centro’s model. In the past year, Centro shared its services with more than 2,800 people in the Twin Cities, 97% of whom were experiencing poverty. The majority of families participating in Centro’s programming are also led by first or second-generation immigrants whose primary language is Spanish or an indigenous language of South or Central America. Centro weaves together education, health, and cultural identity, all while ensuring cost is never a barrier to participation and that community is at the center.
* Centro Tyrone Guzman has chosen to use “e” in place of the Spanish-language masculine “o” to include people of all genders.
“I’m so grateful for the Constellation Fund, for the ways you show up with corazón, connect with intention, and open doors for Centro and for our comunidad. It really means so much to us.”
–Ena (Gaya) Castilla, Development Director
Why Constellation Invests
While Minnesota’s overall poverty rate is one of the lowest in the nation at 9.3%, the rate for Latine Minnesotans remains far higher—around 14%. This disparity reflects persistent gaps in access to education, health care, and economic opportunity. Research shows that access to quality early education, like Siembra Montessori and home visiting programs like Mi Pequeño Mundo, services where an educator comes to a family’s home to offer personalized education for parents or guardians and children, can shift those long-term education outcomes. Holistic education programs, with intentional, culturally sophisticated approaches like Centro’s, are improving school readiness, strengthening family bonds, and laying the groundwork for higher lifetime earnings for families and young people in our community.
A Child’s Transformation: Raquel & Santiago
For Raquel, finding Centro’s Siembra Montessori was nothing short of life-changing for her son Santiago. “When Santiago started at Siembra at just three years old, he was very shy, withdrawn, and almost never spoke to anyone. He was afraid of everything,” Raquel recalls.
“Today he is completely different—joyful, confident, and able to communicate with everyone. His behavior changed from night to day,” she says with pride just a year and a half later.
“I am grateful to Centro and especially to his teacher… because with her love, patience, and guidance, she has made my son a happy, empathetic, and sociable child. That has no price.”
For Constellation, Centro represents a model where measurable outcomes and cultural relevance work hand-in-hand, driving both economic and social gains.
Strategic investment in community solutions like Centro’s, those rooted in community, culture, and evidence-based practice, are key to closing education attainment gaps for people experiencing poverty in the Twin Cities. By uniting Montessori methodology, youth identity development, intergenerational and communal care, and comprehensive family support, Centro is building pathways to stability and success that extend across generations and into the future.
