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Julie Esparza Brown sets an example as PPS’s first Latina Board member
10/9/2018When Julie Esparza Brown was growing up, she never envisioned a future in academia serving generations of future teachers. Esparza Brown is a third-generation Chicana who grew up in Encinitas, a beach community in San Diego County, where her blue collar parents fought to break the mold of what was expected of their children.
“My mom loved reading and that helped set the stage for my future,” says Esparza Brown, who serves as Vice Chair of the PPS Board of Education. “Reading and education open doors.”
Esparza Brown’s experience shaped her approach to her work as a Board member and her job as an assistant professor in Portland State University’s Department of Special Education. Her own college education was made possible by scholarships and grants, and inspired by the doors that opened for her, she has written grants totaling more than $5 million to provide tuition for bilingual/bicultural students who want to be teachers.
Esparza Brown faced cultural struggles along the way. Her father was sent to an “Americanization school” as a child living in San Diego County, where he received inferior instruction. As a student at Willamette University in the late 1970s, Esparza Brown was one of five Latinx students on the campus in Salem. She remembers being harassed and stopped by police while driving through Southern Oregon.
Because of these and other experiences, Esparza Brown is passionate about providing all students with equitable opportunities, something she believes is especially important in the current political and social climate.
“The climate is frightening for families and children of color now,” she says. “The political and legal reality causes uncertainty and stress in many students, so it is more important than ever for us to understand the needs of all of our students and communities.”
The celebration of Hispanic Heritage month, Sept. 15-Oct. 15, brings renewed hope for Esparza Brown. She ran for a spot on the PPS Board in 2015 to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable students. Martin Gonzalez was PPS’s first Latino Board member, serving from 2009-2013. Esparza Brown is the first Latina elected.
“I didn’t see anyone that looked like me in a position of leadership when I was growing up,” she says. “I want to model the importance of being involved in your community, particularly for students of color. Figure out your strengths and contribute, share your unique perspective.”
When she was a high school senior, a teacher helped Esparza Brown envision the possibilities that lay ahead. She got a full-ride scholarship to attend Willamette, where she studied Music Therapy. She went on to earn a doctorate from Portland State University, where she is an associate professor who teaches, does research and writes for national publications with a focus on special education for bilingual students. Her current research is focused on supporting the literacy needs of students, particularly those who are English learners.
In 2019 she will release a book she co-authored, “Supporting English Learners in the Classroom – Best Practices for Distinguishing Language Acquisition from Learning Disabilities.”
Family is also important to Esparza Brown. She has three children and two grandchildren who live in the Pacific Northwest and California. In her free time she enjoys traveling, reading, cooking, listening to music, the theatre, playing the piano and hiking.
As Esparza Brown enters her fourth year on the Board, she shows no signs of slowing down.
“We are in a new era with new leadership with endless possibilities,” she says. “We are making PPS more effective and have strategies to close achievements gaps. We have a history of committed teachers, staff and parents. Look at the passage of the latest bond. And we need to remember that we are building on the backs of predecessors.”
-Rosie Fiallo
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