Fathers of young children and other male role models from Head Start programs across L.A. County gathered in Santa Fe Springs on May 21, 2026, for the revival of LACOE’s annual Father and Male Engagement Conference. 

LACOE Chief Academic Officer Ruben Valles welcomed participants to the event. Recognizing them for taking time out of their busy schedules to enhance their parenting skills, he noted that children with actively involved fathers are 43% more likely to earn A’s in school and 33% less likely to repeat a grade than those without engaged dads, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Education.

This year’s conference, titled “Bringing Fathers Together for the Future of Their Children” revived an important annual tradition that had been paused during the pandemic. While 2024’s ECEvolution: Shaping the Future of Early Education Conference featured a male engagement track, including a wildly popular Men in Early Childhood Education panel, this was the first standalone male engagement conference held since 2019.

A dozen workshop options spread across three breakout sessions provided a variety of opportunities for fathers to gain new tools, strategies and encouragement. Topics included breaking generational parenting cycles, turning everyday moments into learning, boosting success in school, forming healthy habits and promoting mental and physical wellbeing as a dad.

Speakers included recognized fatherhood experts, current and former Head Start parents, an experienced Head Start teacher, several LACOE staff and a panel of fathers engaged in setting program direction on their agencies’ Policy Committees. One workshop was delivered in Spanish, while several others offered simultaneous interpretation.

“Children benefit immensely when they have engaged adults actively involved in their lives,” explained Luis Bautista, executive director of LACOE’s Head Start and Early Learning Division. “Engaging with father figures—whether their own dad or a committed stepfather, uncle, older brother or any man in that child’s life—can have lifelong benefits on their emotional security, behavior and academic achievement.”

Reminded of the insightful words of Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs, “anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad,” participants emerged with new strategies and renewed passion to navigate the joys and challenges of their daily parenting journey.

For more about LACOE’s Head Start program, including resources for families, please visit prekkid.org.