Ernesto Saldivar Jr.
How did you decide to go into the education field?
As a first-generation, biliterate, bicultural, Latino, I saw firsthand how educational policies, practices, and procedures can both empower and disempower youth as they journey through our schools. It is these experiences that have directly influenced my desire to become an educator - an educator who is dedicated to eradicating artificial barriers that exist in educational systems so that nuestras comunidades and their descendants are empowered to joyfully evolve.
How has school funding made a difference in your classroom?
I have witnessed the direct impact that COVID-era ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) Funds have had in classrooms, schools, communities, and, most importantly, on student achievement. As a district-level administrator, it has allowed us opportunities to expand our resources - human, financial, and technical - for all, however, had a greater impact on traditionally marginalized student groups (students of color, economically disadvantaged, multilingual, and diverse learners). However, school districts across the nation are now seeking ways to sustain such resources with ESSR Funding coming to an end.
What resources and supports can further benefit your classroom/school/community?
Funding. Classrooms, schools, and communities are funded by local, state, and federal sources. "All of these funds come primarily from taxes, both state (sales and income) and property. Because property tax rates differ by neighborhood, schools in wealthier areas with higher property tax bases receive more funding than those in poorer areas. The inequitable amount of spending per school directly leads to the disparity in academic achievement," according to the Center for American Progress. To ensure that the basic needs of students, families, and communities are met, policy ensuring equitable funding for such resources is key.
Who/What inspires you? Why?
My ancestors, their descendants, and future generations fill me with strength, fortitude, and hope to cultivate a more equitable and responsive world that is centered on humanity.
What accomplishment fills you with pride so far this year?
Being a part of the EAC. EAC provides an opportunity for coalition building, bringing people together that work across various sectors in servant leadership to actively participate in authentic collaborative opportunities where individual perspectives and insights are indispensable to influence policy for community advancement.
If you could pass on any wisdom to your students, what would you share?
To joyfully evolve in mind, heart, and, surround yourself with gente that allow you to reclaim and reignite your cultural core. And remember that this WORK is more than taking charge and speaking out against inequity, it is about levering your positionality to share our truth so that it is heard, understood and transformations the spaces you are in.
What is your favorite movie/book?
“Borderlands” - Gloria Anzaldua (book)
“The U.S.-Mexican border es una herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages against the lifeblood of two worlds merging to form a third country—a border culture.”
“Stand and Deliver” (movie)
"We are all concerned about the future of American education. But as I tell my students, you do not enter the future—you create the future." Jaime Escalante