Over the last two decades, Jesse Espinosa instructed generations of Houston ISD student musicians.
Throughout that time, Espinosa said he “scraped and scrapped” to keep the band competitive. Students wore tattered uniforms and some played instruments held together with duct tape and rubber bands. The band always needed more funding and resources, Espinosa said. It relied on fundraising and others’ donations — includingNew portal lets you see how Houston ISD is using $1.
“It’s not about making me happy,” Espinosa said. “It’s about giving the kids what they need to be successful and putting a teacher in a position where they don’t feel like it’s them against the world just to make something happen for their classroom.” It was not until he got to Waltrip, where he met longtime band director Charlie Stevens, the man who would become his mentor, that Espinosa realized he wanted to teach music, ideally at HISD.
He served as Stevens’ assistant for nearly a decade before taking over the program, he said. By then, Espinosa said, he already thought the fine arts were not well-supported at HISD. Everybody, it seemed, did just that, Espinosa said. After the story ran, he received envelopes from all over with donations. U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee found donors for the rest of the money.“I had only heard of something like that before,” Espinosa said, likening it to a film. “That was year one. From there, it was like what do you next?”Interest in the band grew, but support did not keep up, according to Espinosa and some members at the time.
HISD has ordered uniforms and instruments for students across the district, officials said at a Thursday night board meeting.