Luis
Cantu

Expertise

K-12 Education
School Turnaround
Change Initiatives
Professional Development
Adult Learning Theory

Luis Cantu is a Program Manager with Ed Direction, Cicero Group’s K-12 Public Education practice. He supports underperforming K-12 schools in establishing effective collaborative practices focused on improving instruction and student achievement. Luis is the Program Manager for Assessment to Achievement, developing content and resources for schools and districts in Utah to create strong school cultures focused on data, collaboration, and evidence-based practices. Additionally, Luis is the Program Manager for Assessment to Achievement Plus which focuses on positively impacting multilingual lingual learners. Luis has worked directly with over 200 teachers and approximately 50 school leaders over the course of his career as an Improvement Coach.

Before joining Ed Direction, Luis worked at IDEA Public Schools in Austin, where he led the professional development and coaching of their new Assistant Principals of Instruction. Luis designed and facilitated monthly professional development sessions that culminated in a performance assessment for the new Assistant Principals. 100% of the participants in his sessions and coaching portfolio received a proficient or better rating in on the performance task.  

Luis began his career in education as a 9th grade World Geography high school teacher in a border town in South Texas. He was immediately hooked because his students were full of promise. Luis has been a teacher leader, holding positions as Grade Team Lead, Content Lead, Department Chair, and District Specialist. 

Luis grew up in South Texas speaking Spanish as his first language and graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in History.

Luis grew up in South Texas speaking Spanish as his first language and graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in History.