MassLive recently asked readers to identify people who are leaders from the LGBTQ+ community throughout the state, working to make a difference in their own area of interest, be it politics, education, business or the arts.
Profiles of these leaders will be published through the rest of February. These are people our readers have identified as inspirational, who may be doing good acts for their communities. They are being recognized for their accomplishments, leadership and commitment to inspire change.
Modesto Montero is an emerging LGBTQ leader in the state of Massachusetts.Modesto Montero
Modesto Montero
Age: 35
Community: Springfield
His story: Modesto Montero is the founder and executive director of Libertas Academy Charter School in Springfield.
The school is a college preparatory charter school committed to providing students with an excellent education. To help education be the remedy for reducing poverty, Montero has dedicated his professional career to the pursuit of educational equity, particularly to communities marginalized and under-resourced.
“I fundamentally believe that by improving educational outcomes, we will take significant steps towards creating a more fair and equal society. So, the work we do at Libertas comes from that deeply held belief,” he said.
Montero was born in the Dominican Republic to a “poor but proud family that preached the importance of obtaining a good education.” He moved to the United States when he was in middle school, and said he was fortunate enough to live in a school district with great schools. He continued his own education through high school and eventually enrolled at UMass Amherst. His journey educational journey throughout his time in the United States, he credits to the encouragement of incredible educators on his side.
It was during his time at UMass that Montero took perspective of how lucky he felt to have attended the schools he did. During his college years, he had an opportunity to work with students in Springfield and Holyoke, which introduced him to the education inequity. He dug deep right away, taking his educational experience and the work he was involved in, and hoping to make a real difference in his own community.
He started off after college teaching in Memphis, Tennessee, through Teach for America, which eventually led to starting his own school in Springfield.
“Although the work is incredibly hard, I’ve loved the journey and am grateful for the folks I get to do this work with,” he said.
In his words: “Our kids need people who look like them and share their most salient identity markers at all levels of the K-12 education ecosystem. Diversifying the teaching workforce is a priority for most school systems; thus, there are many ways to break into the field. If you want to be a teacher, there are alternative certification pathways like Teach for America, Teach Western Mass, or Elm’s Center for Equity in Urban Education.”
We’re always open to hearing about more inspiring people. If you’d like to suggest someone else who should be recognized, please fill out this form.
