Esta Montano is best known for her commitment to social justice and equity for all students, their families, and communities. She retired from the Boston Public Schools in 2018, where she was Director of Instruction at Boston Latin Academy for four years, preceded by a year as Senior Director of Program Design, Instructional Delivery and Assessment for BPS’s Office of Alternative Education, and a year as Director of Special Programs for English Language Learners. 

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Prior to her tenure in the Boston Public Schools, Esta served as the Director of the Office of English Language Acquisition and Academic Achievement for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Director of Equity and Achievement for Framingham Public Schools, where she first began her educational trajectory as an ESL/Bilingual and Dual Language teacher.

Esta is an adjunct professor at Framingham State University, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in their school of education. She is also an adjunct professor at Boston University, teaching in the Prison Education Program at MCI Framingham.

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Esta's interests and expertise focus on the areas of race, culture, language, gender, sexuality and identity and the intersection of these constructs with K-16 students’ socioemotional well-being and academic achievement. 

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Aside from her commitment to students and educators, she is also focused on community and the need for improved communication and understanding around the areas that people find challenging to discuss, namely diversity and inclusion 

Esta has presented widely at both state and national conferences on circumstances faced by marginalized students including racial identity development, sociocultural issues, immigrant students and trauma, culturally proficient family engagement and English Language Learners with limited and interrupted formal education. 

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She holds a Masters’ degree in Applied Linguistics and a Doctorate in Education with a concentration in Leadership in Urban Schools, both from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.