Informed by research studies that demonstrate a positive relationship between parent engagement and student academic attainment, state and national parent outreach initiatives have aimed to bridge the gap between Latina/o parents and schools. Such was the case with the Latina/o Family, School and Community "Avanzando" Project, which supported the development of parent and family outreach initiatives to strengthen the Latina/o pathways to college. This case study focuses on "Abriendo Caminos para la Educacion", a program that was supported by the "Avanzando" Project to promote parent engagement in the Central Coast of California. The program was based on the Parent School Partnership curriculum, which was designed to introduce parents to the U.S. educational system and promote their leadership development to advocate for their children's educational attainment. Using an embedded case study research design and employing ethnographic research methods as a participant observer (program coordinator and graduate student researcher), I investigated the three-year (2005-2008) implementation of the program at a dual language immersion elementary charter school. I made ethnographic observations, wrote fieldnotes, video recorded the meetings, and collected artifacts. In the analysis of the qualitative research data, I drew from cultural historical activity theory (Engestrom, 1987; Engestrom, 2001; Vygotsky, 1978; Wertsch, 1985) and critical pedagogy (Freire, 1970 & 1993; Wink, 2000) to examine how the parent participants used their community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005) as meditational tools to name, reflect, and act upon their goals and objectives. In this study, I found that parents drew from their aspirational capital (Yosso, 2005) as the primary source of motivation to participate in the program and increase their involvement in the education and schooling of their children. In addition, they shared and developed social and navigational capital (Yosso, 2005) to explore their role in the education and schooling of their children and to address some of the challenges and barriers to Latina/o college access. Through their participation in the program, parents developed a greater sense of place in the U.S. educational system and the responsibility to develop into a parent-led organization and continue supporting their children and other parents in the school and the community. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]