Mixteco community leader Francisco Lozano has been honored with the first Santa Maria-Bonita School District (SMBSD) Board’s Key to the District for the 2025-26 school year.

SMBSD Board trustee John Hollinshead selected Lozano as his Key to the District recipient, and Lozano was recognized at the Sept. 24 board meeting.

Lozano is a founding member and current president of the Mixteco parent advisory committee. The committee works with Mixteco-speaking families from both SMBSD and the Santa Maria High School District to support student success, and advocate for policies and practices that support students and their families.

The Key to the District is the highest recognition awarded by the SMBSD Board to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the district’s mission and values.

Initiated in 2022, the award recognizes teachers, staff, volunteers, and community members for their dedication and positive impact on students and families. Honorees are selected by an SMBSD board member or trustee.

At the board meeting, Hollinshead praised Lozano as a “unifier, a team builder and a leader.”

Hollinshead noted that Lozano, whose native language is Mixteco, taught himself Spanish as a second language to better communicate with others in the community.

“In creating his pathway to a community, he learned valuable lessons and he shared his knowledge and his experiences as a Mixtec person in order to facilitate communication, provide services and promote pride in his Mixtec community,” Hollinshead said.

Speaking in Spanish that was translated to English by a district interpreter, Lozano expressed gratitude for the honor.

“Together, we can create change,” he said. “My vision is that all parents are to engage, because the possibilities of success are higher.

“I thought in 2016 when certain things happened, there was an end to our community and our culture. But there is no end. There is only the beginning. The beginning of support to our community,” Lozano said.