aguilar, israel from house to house nfeasj si v34 n4 2016

NATIONAL FORUM OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION AND SUPERVISION JOURNAL
VOLUME 34, NUMBER 4, 2016
SPECIAL ISSUE
16
From House to House: The Leadership Trajectory of Three
Latina/os in Texas
Israel Aguilar
Assistant Professor
Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi
Jesse Olivarez
Graduate Student
Jose A. Lopez
Assistant Principal
Dallas ISD
Liliana Bravo
Graduate Student
Mark Cantu
School Improvement Specialist
Education Service Center 20
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to help understand the work and lived experiences of three
Latina/os in various levels of leadership so that one’s individual contribution as a Latina/o leader
is acknowledged in school improvement. Each leader in this article reflects and documents
aspects of their story in three separate vignettes. These individual perspectives capture a
combination of each’s leadership style, challenges, and success. By having the space to reflect on
one’s home along the US-Mexico border (i.e. schooling, relationships, and geography), these
leaders articulate their academic home, ontological reality, and epistemological stance, which
helps them help others.
Keywords: leadership, self-analysis, identity, home
Latina/o education leaders have often faced social inequality in their formative years. As
students of color, they often experienced barriers that made the journey to academic and
professional success more difficult rendering them capable of empathizing with today’s youth. In

ISRAEL AGUILAR, JESSE OLIVAREZ, JOSE A. LOPEZ, LILIANA BRAVO, AND MARK CANTU
___________________________________________________________________________________________17
this work, the stories of three individuals who overcame tremendous obstacles in the course of
their early years of life will illustrate how their struggles have informed and shaped their
leadership. Moreover, race is not the only aspect of the leaders’ identity that informs their
perspectives. Other markers of their identity (gender, class, sexual orientation, language,
religion, national origin and socio-economic status) have implications, too, for their work. As
such, these three voices add new perspectives to the ongoing discussion about the contribution of
Latina/o leaders in America’s schools thus suggesting that Latina/o leadership matters.
Thus, the purpose of this article is to make sense of the Latina/o experience in leadership
positions along the P-16 continuum. To do so, the participating leaders reflected and documented
their leadership trajectory. By reflecting on their home along the US-Mexico border, the leaders
know where their academic home rests. It is through this reflection that they realize that there is
more work that needs to be done in order to close the opportunity gap between students. Also,
through the participating leaders’ self-analysis, each is able to articulate their ontology and
epistemological stance. Furthermore, in documenting these various experiences, the authors as a
collective group, aspire to provide a unique narrative that informs leadership preparation for
educators. Like all qualitative research that provides a voice for those from disenfranchised
groups, the use of autobiography and reflection are appropriate tools of inquiry to use here
because these methods aid in the “storying” and sense-making of one’s experiences in order to
better understand a culture born into (St. Pierre, 2008).
Three School Leaders
Vignette One
Mark Cantu, through an uncommon approach toward the study of history, gained insight
into the Mexican-American experience of generations passed which prompted him to reevaluate
his own identify. It provided him with a new understanding that now informs his work as a
school leader.
On the first day of our dual credit American History class, which was in collaboration
with Llano Grande, a non-profit for youth leadership, the professor challenged us to find
Mexican-Americans in our textbook. “Open your textbook and find yourself in the textbook,” he
said. My classmates and I started flipping through the 300 page textbook and searched in vain to
find information that told the historical accounts of the Rio Grande Valley and the resilient
people who lived there. I remember we found less than 20 pages of text that talked about us, the
Mexican-American families who had lived in south Texas for generations. After a few minutes,
the teacher proposed we develop a course that would allow us to learn about the real history of
Mexican-Americans. After a brief conversation, the class decided to write their own syllabus.
“Let’s tell our story,” one of my classmates said. That day, I consciously began to construct my
own narrative.
Not only did that experience with the textbook help me understand my historical self, but
it helped me slowly uncover who I was becoming. It allowed me to think beyond what society
had told me was acceptable behavior. The freedom I experienced taught me to examine my
current cultural understanding and made me realize that I had to define my own culture and
create my own reality. My experience at Llano Grande also taught me that I could not forget who
I was and the work of those who came before me. As a result, I gained a sense of pride in my

18___________________________________________________________________________________________
Latina/o heritage and used it to help ground who I was.
For example, I also realized that there was something I had been suppressing and not
celebrating: my sexuality. I had grown up listening to those who said that homosexuality was
wrong and was something to be ashamed. However, I too love and celebrate myself as I did my
heritage. While I did not fully embrace my sexuality then, it was a starting place that needed to
be developed in order for me to grow more.
My new sense of pride was seeded in my mind during my undergraduate coursework.
When I began teaching, I allowed my students to write their own stories and capture their
histories so they too could better self-identify. I did this because I did not want to perpetuate
traditional, passive teaching and learning cycles. We wrote about the struggles of our families
and learning community. We created supportive structures for each other and dealt with issues of
immigration, bullying, and learning to deal with differences. Similarly, as a school principal, I
worked to ensure that I honored every teacher, student and community member. I created space
to celebrate the differences in the learning community. I would leverage the power of my
leadership position to create conversations about standards, curriculum, and instruction to push
beyond state expectations. I chose not to separate what I had learned, and made it a point to
include local culture into the classroom. To do so, I had to remember to focus on the uniqueness
of every stakeholder of our small, rural school.
Today, in my position as school improvement specialist, I continue to create spaces for
conversations rather than dictate state minimums. By learning in safe, planned spaces I
encourage school leaders to think beyond what others have called best instructional practices. I
ask them to be critical of the systems in their schools and root out issues that might
disenfranchise and exclude any learners. I highlight the differences between individuals and use
those differences to help them discover new strengths. The process of self-discovery is a method
that creates vast learning opportunities especially for those who do not see themselves in the
textbooks or histories commonly taught.
Vignette Two
While Cantu’s sense of identity was transformed through study and research, Bravo’s
identity was shaped by her experiences in her formative years. Her parents had received little
education but their push to have their children succeed academically and professionally thrust
her into situations that forced her to grow. In vignette two, we see that growth has changed the
trajectory of her life.
In the winter of 1988, my family moved to an impoverished neighborhood and
community in Rio Grande City, Texas. The move itself required a majority of the financial
resources available to my family and very quickly my parents realized it would not be possible to
sustain a home in the city. To save money, they decided to construct our home with their own
hands. Their labor looked fun to me as a child, but now I realize the tremendous effort it took.
Although untrained to do so, my father carefully laid rows of cement blocks straight while
mother carried the bricks to him and together they built our home piece by piece. But our home
was not the only thing they carefully crafted. They also built me piece by piece and laid the
foundation for my future success.
Obtaining a college education has been my parents’ goal since I was a little girl.
Providing me the education they were not afforded was of paramount importance to them
because they wanted their child to have the opportunity to succeed in life. Though neither of my

___________________________________________________________________________________________19
parents received schooling past the sixth grade, they recognized my future lay in school. Their
words of affirmation and encouragement served as a cornerstone in my educational development.
Just as they had to acquire and develop the skills needed to physically build our home, I, too, had
to learn to be resilient and sustain high academic achievement. Yet, this was not easy.
As early as elementary school, I sensed discrimination towards students with my same
ethnic and financial background. I witnessed counselors who only made time to visit certain
classrooms to speak to the students about college and scholarship opportunities but did not go to
all. Because of this, I began to think college was beyond my reach. I could not turn to my parents
for advice given their unfamiliarity with the many aspects of college such as tuition, grants and
grade requirements. Despite this, my secondary and post-secondary education flourished because
of the perseverance and self-efficacy my parents instilled in me.
Still, the transition to college was a difficult and confusing experience. Being a first
generation college student, I had no guide. Fortunately, friends and neighbors, bearing my same
social standing, assisted me. Sharing each other’s burdens and endeavors, we pulled together in
support of one another. My college initiation was one of those endeavors.
In college, science became a substantial part of my life. My interest became science
lectures, labs, and science club activities. For me, this was fun and easy to comprehend. This
passion led a Bachelor of Science in Biology and an Associate of Science in Chemistry. After
graduating, I taught eighth grade science for a local school district. While I did not know it then,
my students helped me realize a deep desire to become a mentor and leader for students with
backgrounds like mine.
For example, as the city of Pharr children’s librarian, I developed and helped promote
literacy programs to better meet the needs of children whose primary language was not English.
While obtaining my Master’s degree I tutored migrant and at-risk students at the secondary level.
These varied environments enabled me to develop a wide range of experience and practical skills
that continue to help me see where I need to be in order to help my community. Today, I am
enrolled in a doctoral program in Education Leadership so that I can make lasting contributions
to not only the Hispanic community, but to education. Despite the fact that I look forward to my
doctoral studies every day, it is difficult at times to continue. Perhaps it’s the financial
constraints of not having the salary I had before or the fact that I would like to have a family one
day? Regardless of the challenges and sacrifice, I realize my potential to pay it forward like my
parents did for me. Moreover, as a Latina with a background in a discipline where there are not
too many of us (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), I hope to serve as an
example and create more opportunities for students and foster more understanding about students
of color through my leadership. Thus, I anticipate creating opportunities where students of color
can succeed at the same rate of their counterparts in whatever discipline.
Having faced such adversity in my own educational endeavors, I have developed a
sensitivity and understanding towards the needs of the marginalized and disenfranchised. I am
convinced that the students in the Lower Rio Grande Valley are no different than those in other
more affluent areas of the country, especially because I was one of those students. Today, I strive
to give back to those who struggle as a living testament of the house that built me.
Vignette Three
As with Bravo, Lopez also encountered many challenges early in life that later impacted
his views on leadership and education. As the child of a teacher in Mexico, his vivid memories

20___________________________________________________________________________________________
of the poverty he lived through and witnessed became seared into his psyche and remain an
integral part of his worldview. Yet, through those challenges and others he encountered as an
adult, he has found the means by which to transform the negative experiences into positive ones.
My mom’s first assignment as a new teacher was in rural town in Veracruz, Poza Rica.
Unpaved roads carved through the steep hills of deep Mexico to the one-room school house
where my mother taught. The classroom had a tin roof, two windows, a door, a teacher desk, a
chalkboard and a few rows of benches. The floor was a dirt floor and on rainy days it
transformed into a muddy mess. I knew I did not want to be a teacher.
Our life changed when we left Mexico and came to the United States. I remember setting
foot in an American classroom at the age of nine. I was the only Mexican student in the entire
fourth grade and one of three in the entire school, so I naturally felt overwhelmed.
My teacher, Mr. Rouse was a tall, blond, and friendly man. He stood out for being the
only male faculty member at that school. The next memorable teacher in my life was my ESL
teacher, Mrs. Teague. I remember she came to the school one day and presented herself to me.
She told me she would be my English language teacher, and I would have class with her every
day during reading lessons. She personalized my learning experiences and differentiated
instruction. She taught me to always persevere, to be inquisitive about learning and to never be a
conformist. Soon, I acquired mastery of English and became an unofficial advocate for the
Hispanic community in my new hometown. People began to ask me to translate anything from
buying a car to negotiating terms with their landlords. I hated to go, but my mom told me,
Mi hijo (my son), they are your people and you were given the good fortune and bright
ability to speak a language they do not know. It is an honor and a duty to help those that
need our help the most.
To continue helping my people, I knew college was not negotiable for me. I went on to
major in global affairs and international development and studied French and Japanese. While I
was gone, my parents became very religious in our new home, the U.S., so when they found out
my sexual orientation they thought it was shameful. They threw me out. I graduated but was
forced to return to Mexico.
In Mexico, I lived with different relatives until I found a job that changed the course of
my professional career. I became an English language instructor for major corporations and
relocated to Poza Rica, Veracruz, which is where I was born. I saw coming back to my origin as
a sign. Shortly thereafter a colleague informed me of an open English teacher position at a local
private school. I taught there for a while, too. Back in the U.S., my parents grew apart and my
mother moved to Dallas, Texas. She learned of the need for bilingual teachers so she reached out
to me and asked if I wanted to try my luck here. I reluctantly applied to an alternative
certification program in order to make the move to the U.S. It was a bit of a shock for I was
accustomed to rural schools and not prepared for the urban public school setting, especially not
an alternative/behavioral elementary.
On my first day, a child attacked me and was handcuffed. I left school that day in tears
because I could not begin to understand the emotional state of the child. I realized I had more to
learn. I stayed in that same elementary for five years. The school principal at the time, Mrs.
Hunter, inspired me to become a school principal. She was very passionate and quite the mentor!
I went on to graduate school and earned a Masters in Educational Administration, and I
transitioned into a traditional elementary. After two years of being in a traditional setting, I

___________________________________________________________________________________________21
joined a new program in our district that was to serve as a pipeline to the principalship, the
Principal Fellows Academy. As a result of this program, I accepted the position of assistant
principal at my current school.
It has been three wonderful years of invaluable experience. Every day, the principal and
I promote high quality instruction, student academic achievement and a positive school climate
for the students of east Dallas, which is comprised mostly of students of color. My mother’s
words resonate each and every day, “It is an honor and a duty to help those that need our help the
most.”
Discussion
As seen in the three vignettes of Cantu, Bravo, and Lopez, Latina/o leadership matters
because the promise each leader here has to facilitate change and improve teaching and learning
for all students. Moreover, these leaders are unique in that their racial identity, in addition to
other differences in identity, informs their school improvement efforts. While each experienced
challenges and success along the way, it’s important to note that each individual’s personal
reflection about their past yielded insight into their academic home and helps each articulate their
epistemological frame and ontology. As St. Pierre (2008) reminds us, home is a site of theory.
Like feminist theorists who do not believe in the absence of home, we too acknowledge the
presence of home in one’s life. We all see home as a place that is always already present
wherever we may be because we cannot detach from it.
For Cantu, learning about his historical-self paved the way for him to ultimately accept
and celebrate his sexual orientation. His ability to develop a critical consciousness early on gave
him the skills necessary to be a school leader who encourages rhizomatic thinking and an
epistemology of multiplicity or many perspectives (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987) so that students
and educators can learn about themselves and not blindly accept information from a given
textbook as Truth. While the Llano Grande and south Texas area is his original home, his
academic home in K-12 and in a state-level governance position is always informed by his desire
to educate and lead others to be proud, open, and informed, which makes up his ontological
stance.
For Bravo, home is a place that was built by the hard work and sweat from two parents
who instilled into her the belief that she was a holder of knowledge, too. While her parents did
not get educated past the sixth grade, they literally built their home through resilience and
determination. Thus, a childhood home served as a concrete testament for Bravo that success is
measured by sacrifice and that a constructivist lens is all she needed. As a Latina in science, a
discipline that is often male dominated, Bravo hopes to engage others by creating more
opportunities in her community to access higher education. Also, by earning a doctorate in
educational leadership she hopes to lead by example for communities of color that education is
empowerment. As such, her ontological reality rests in being an agent of change who gives back
to those who struggle.
For Lopez, home was a site of both pride and pain. Having seen his mother struggle in
Mexico as a classroom teacher, he knew he did not want to follow in the same footsteps. Yet, it
was his mother’s teaching that provided him the courage to serve as an advocate for the Latina/o
community. After Lopez realized the responsibility he had to help others communicate with
each other as a bilingual individual, he reached out farther and learned two other languages. By
having more perspective, Lopez became a better educator despite the fact that he was not yet a

22___________________________________________________________________________________________
classroom teacher. While his original home served as the cradle for his social justice orientation
and epistemology, that same home eventually became a site of heartache because he was exiled
there for his sexual orientation. After spending some time in Mexico, he became a language
teacher for major companies. When his mother reached out to him to return to the US albeit
reluctantly this move would help him realize education was truly his calling. After some time in
the classroom, he became an assistant principal and through his sense of duty continues today to
serve communities of color. Moreover, he clearly defines his ontological reality day by
promoting quality instruction, student academic achievement, and climate.
Conclusion
As demographics shifts occur across the country, it is imperative that school leaders have
social justice orientations and understand the experiences of students of color. Moreover, the
break in the school to college pipeline for students of color is exasperated by the tension between
one’s root knowledge and schooling (Moll, Amanti, Neff, & Gonzalez, 1992). As such, the need
to highlight the life and work of in-service and pre-service Latina/o leaders, who understand this
break, but foster equitable environments and cultivate root knowledge, is urgent. When stories
such as these are documented and shared among other educators in leadership preparation
programs, educators will learn to self-reflect in the name of becoming stronger agents of change
as has been demonstrated by all three of the stories told above.

___________________________________________________________________________________________23
References
Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (1987). A thousand plateaus: Capitalism and schizophrenia (B.
Massumi, Trans.) Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Moll, L., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using
Qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory into Practice, 31(2), 132-
141.
St. Pierre, E. A. (2008). Home as a site of theory. International Review of Qualitative Research,
1(2), 119-124.
Authors
Israel Aguilar, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of educational administration at Texas A&M
University-Corpus Christi.
Jesse Olivarez is currently enrolled at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi where he is
pursuing a Master’s of Education Administration.
Jose A. Lopez is currently an assistant principal in Dallas, TX. He also teaches curriculum and
instruction courses for a local university.
Liliana Bravo is currently enrolled at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi where she is
pursuing a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership.
Mark Cantu is currently a School Improvement Specialist at a local education agency. He is
currently pursuing a doctorate degree at Texas State University-San Marcos.

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