Ana Alvarez doesn't just educate kids. She educates their parents, too.

As a middle school science teacher at low-income schools in Chicago and Delaware, Alvarez visited students' homes, invited moms and dads to join lab experiments and organized breakfasts where she told parents they had plenty to offer in educating their own kids.

Now, as an outreach director for two low-income schools in affluent Thousand Oaks, Alvarez doesn't hesitate to involve herself in families' lives, providing whatever it is they need so they and their children can succeed — whether it's food, eyeglasses or tutoring.

"She's so kind and so quiet, but she has such a powerful way of doing things," said Fiona Kilner, director of services for Many Mansions, which provides low-income housing. "She's a quiet powerhouse."

It's that all-inclusive approach to educating kids that earned Alvarez recognition this month from California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

The Community Counseling Center at CLU presented Alvarez its first Friends of the Community Counseling Services Award, recognizing her work with families who need counseling but can't afford it.

"She's a rock for these families," said Christopher Christian, director of the center. "They see her as an ally."

Alvarez, who grew up in Costa Rica, was named an outreach education director for the Conejo Valley Unified School District four years ago. At first, she said, she felt lost without a classroom.

Gradually, she established a weekly tutoring program at Conejo and Park Oaks schools. While the children are tutored by volunteers, their parents learn English or attend parenting workshops.

Alvarez also launched On the Way to College, which gets families involved in preparing their kids for university. And she's started a program called Parents Making A Difference, which trains parents to become leaders in the campaign against domestic violence. The first class graduated this month.

Slowly, she's earned parents' trust.

That means she's able to reach parents in ways administrators often can't, said Bob Iezza, principal at Conejo Elementary, where nearly two-thirds of students come from low-income families and almost half don't speak English as their first language.

"She has a wonderful sense of who our families are and what their needs are," Iezza said. "There's a level of trust there that allows her to speak candidly. A school official doesn't have that same level of connection. We're hoping that, as a district, we can multiply her in some way."