The Canizales Group

What The Canizales Group does

The Canizales Group is a women-founded professional services and consulting firm headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area and founded in 2021. The company delivers dual language consulting, leadership development, and facilitated learning experiences for Latino/x educators across U.S. K-12 school systems. Its customers include public school districts (DC Public Schools, Boston Public Schools, Oakland Unified School District, Hemet Unified School District) and bilingual schools such as Oyster-Adams Bilingual School. The firm's offerings are organized around two flagship suites: the LEAD-Eres Principal Fellowship and Principal Collective for school leader development, and the ¡Adelante! Fellowship and Summit for educator pipeline development, with Dual Language Consultation and Equipos Facilitation services as complementary lines.

The business operates on a professional services revenue model, monetizing through cohort-based fellowships, district consulting engagements, and convenings rather than software subscriptions or licensing. Revenue is sustained by a mix of direct district contracts and philanthropic grant funding from partners including BSF, Heising-Simons, Sobrato, and Partnership for Los Angeles Schools. The company is bootstrapped and privately held, operating with a small team of 1-10 employees.

Co-founders Mayra Canizales Cruz and Yanira Canizales Wandera lead the firm, with Dr. Claudia Canizales Aguilar serving as Founding Advisor. Mayra Canizales Cruz's recognition as the 2020 National Blue Ribbon Principal of the Year anchors the firm's founder-led brand in the bilingual education space. The addressable market is sized at roughly 4.95 million Emergent Bilingual students in the U.S., with 75% Spanish-speaking, only 8% currently enrolled in Dual Language programs, and 78% of families without access indicating they would enroll if available.

Name

The Canizales Group

Legal name

The Canizales Group

Website

https://canizalesgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Canizales Group is a Bay Area-based consulting firm delivering dual language leadership development and facilitated learning experiences for Latino/x K-12 educators through fellowships, district consultations, and summits.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Consulting Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Family-School Collaboration & Inclusion Planning Support (EDAKABAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Immigrant/Integration Language Programs (ESL/ESOL, Civics-Integrated) (EDAMAFAK)

Keywords

• Dual language consulting
• Educational leadership development
• Bilingual program support
• Principal fellowship programs
• Facilitated professional learning

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Services & Consulting: Revenue generated through consultation services, fellowships, summits, and facilitation services provided to school districts and educational organizations. Programs include LEAD-Eres Principal Fellowship (year-long hybrid), LEAD-Eres Principal Collective (cohort-based virtual), Adelante! Fellowship (8-month virtual), Adelante! Educator Summit, and Equipos Facilitation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Canizales Group is an education consulting firm that provides dual language consultation, leadership fellowships, principal collectives, and facilitated learning experiences tailored for Latino/x educators and bilingual school communities. Its offerings center on developing Latino/x educational leaders and supporting school districts in building and sustaining dual language programs through cohort-based fellowships, summits, and bespoke consultation engagements.

Product overview

The Canizales Group is an education consulting firm offering a portfolio of professional development programs and consultation services focused on training equity-focused Latino/x principals to lead high-quality Dual Language schools. The core offerings include the LEAD-Eres Principal Fellowship and Principal Collective (cohort-based leadership development programs), Dual Language Consultation services, the ¡Adelante! Fellowship and Educator Summit for Latino/x educator empowerment, and Equipos Facilitation for team facilitation. These programs collectively aim to expand Dual Language education access and advance linguistic and educational equity for bilingual learners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LEAD-Eres Principal Fellowship: A year-long hybrid cohort learning experience for principals of Dual Language schools with monthly virtual sessions and three 2-day learning institutes.
• LEAD-Eres Principal Collective
• Dual Language Consultation Services
• ¡Adelante! Fellowship
• ¡Adelante! Educator Summit
• Equipos Facilitation

Products and services

• LEAD-Eres Principal Fellowship A cohort-based fellowship for Latino/x principals and school leaders, providing sustained leadership development, coaching, and peer learning to strengthen bilingual instructional leadership. Targeted at district-nominated principals and aspiring leaders.
• LEAD-Eres Principal Collective An ongoing peer community of practice for LEAD-Eres Principal Fellowship alumni, sustaining leadership growth, cross-district collaboration, and continued coaching for Latino/x principals.
• Dual Language Consultation Bespoke consulting engagements with school districts to design, strengthen, and sustain dual language programs, including program review, instructional coaching, and leader advisory work. Targeted at district leaders responsible for bilingual education.
• ¡Adelante! Fellowship A fellowship program for Latino/x educators focused on leadership advancement, cultural identity, and career progression within K-12 education systems. Targeted at teacher-leaders and aspiring administrators.
• ¡Adelante! Summit An annual convening bringing together Latino/x educators, leaders, and partners for keynote sessions, workshops, and networking centered on bilingual leadership and dual language education.
• Equipos Facilitation A facilitated team-learning service for educator and leadership teams, supporting collaborative practice, shared leadership, and equitable decision-making within schools and districts.

Quantifiable outcome

• Mayra Canizales Cruz led Oyster-Adams Bilingual School to win a 2nd National Blue Ribbon during her 7-year principalship.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DC Public Schools (DCPS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDC Public Schools is a key partner district for The Canizales Group, with ongoing collaboration on cultivating Latino/x leadership. The company has posted multiple social media updates celebrating the partnership and investing in district leadership development.
• Boston Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoston Public Schools has partnered with The Canizales Group for Dual Language principal coaching and consultation services. Multiple testimonial quotes from Boston-based principals and instructional coaches appear on the company's website.
• Hemet Unified School District (HUSD)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHUSD is listed as a partner district on the company's website homepage.
• Oakland Unified School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYanira Canizales Wandera serves as an educational advocate in Oakland, working with districts across Oakland schools to build coalitions for multiple stakeholders including families, students, teachers, and system leaders.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL): A research and consulting organization providing professional development, assessments, and policy guidance on dual language and English language education. Directly comparable as a bilingual education consultancy serving districts and educator cohorts.
• SEAL (Sobrato Early Academic Language): A nonprofit providing teacher professional development and language and literacy frameworks for English Learners and Dual Language programs across California and beyond. Directly comparable as an EL/DL-focused PD and consulting organization targeting districts and educators.
• Californians Together: A statewide coalition focused on English Learner policy, bilingual education, and biliteracy advocacy across California school districts. Comparable to Canizales' Latino/x family engagement and Dual Language expansion work, with shared emphasis on serving Spanish-speaking emergent bilinguals.
• Dual Language Education of New Mexico: A statewide nonprofit dedicated to advancing Two-Way / Dual Language education for emergent bilinguals through principal and teacher professional development. Highly comparable to Canizales' LEAD-Eres programs and district-level Dual Language consultation, though focused on New Mexico.

Broad incumbents

• National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE): A national membership organization that supports bilingual educators and advocates for language-minority students through professional development, conferences, and policy work. Adjacent incumbent sharing Canizales' bilingual education focus, though operating more as an association.
• The Education Trust: A national education equity advocacy and consulting organization that works with districts to close opportunity gaps for students of color and low-income students. Broad incumbent sharing Canizales' equity-driven, family-and-community-engaged district partnership approach.
• TNTP (formerly The New Teacher Project): A large national education organization that builds teacher and school leader pipelines and partners with districts on educator development. Broader incumbent that overlaps with Canizales' principal leadership and educator development offerings but operates at much larger scale.
• The Leadership Academy (formerly New Leaders): A national organization developing school leaders through fellowships and coaching programs targeting equity-focused principals. Larger incumbent with adjacent offerings to Canizales' LEAD-Eres Principal Fellowship, though broader and non-ELD-specific.

Others

• Colorín Colorado: A bilingual educational resource site serving educators and families of English Language Learners with strategy guides, classroom resources, and PD content. Adjacent ecosystem participant — not a direct competitor — that supports the same ELL teacher and family audience Canizales targets.
• WIDA Consortium (at UW-Madison): A university-based consortium that sets EL standards and provides professional development resources for educators of multilingual learners across member states. Indirect peer — shares the same EL/DL ecosystem and educator PD demand as Canizales but operates as a standards/research body rather than a district consultant.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-canizales-group
• Instagraminstagram.com/canizalesgroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Canizales Group