Planting Seeds that are Rooted in History
Written by Angel Chang
Having just crossed working 30 years as a milestone achievement, Izzi Early Education’s Developmental Services Manager Lupe Ibarra opens up about her career journey serving the community that she grew up in.
Lupe with Chilco* Head Start staff in 1991.
Lupe Ibarra is a woman of many hats, but not in the literal sense. In her 30 years serving the Izzi Early Education (formerly known as IHSD) community, Lupe has fulfilled a variety of different roles for the organization and always with a sense of giving back to the community. I had a chance to talk with her in between her very busy schedule as she starts her 31st school year in two roles–both Interim Site Manager for Izzi at Ravenswood and Developmental Services Manager.
Born in Baja California, Mexico, Guadalupe (Lupe for short) Ibarra and her family moved to Burlingame when she was about 2 years old. She has distinct memories of being in preschool with her older sister at the time. “I remember vividly that my sister was also a crier,” Lupe shared. “My older brothers would hide behind these big eucalyptus trees before the pick-up time, and back then you didn’t need to be over 18 to pick up kids. I would laugh because I see them, but my older sister would be crying and say no one’s coming to get us.” She also remembers playing parachute games at that game.
From there, she attended Spruce School in South San Francisco before her family moved south to the Belle Haven community in Menlo Park. While attending Belle Haven Elementary as a fifth-grader, Lupe would read books and do activities with the kindergarten classes. “Even back then,” she recalled, “I was thinking I kind of like working with kids.”
Thanksgiving celebration with staff at Chilco* Head Start.
Fast forward a few years, Lupe’s older brother Jose had just graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara, started to work at then-IHSD and told Lupe that the organization was hiring. Despite some initial hesitation, Lupe agreed to join her brother as a teacher at the Chilco* Head Start site in the Menlo Park/Belle Haven community. She shortly moved over to the Runnymede* site in East Palo Alto and then the Woodland* site, which became Izzi’s first full day and NAEYC accredited program. After serving the Woodland center as site supervisor, she went on to support East Palo Alto’s Preschool for All program before moving to Fair Oaks center as site supervisor. After taking a year off for pregnancy related matters to give birth to her second son, Lupe returned to Izzi and briefly worked to support a partner shelter program in San Mateo before returning to East Palo Alto Head Start. From there, Lupe was inspired to co-lead Izzi’s pilot education coaching program with former staff member and the late Sheri Geesey.
While serving as education coach, Lupe also applied to become the Developmental Disabilities Program Assistant, because she wanted to advocate and be a voice to the Latino community. Her role eventually graduated to lead the Developmental Disabilities Program for the last six years. She also recently took on the role to be the interim site supervisor for Izzi at Ravenswood program in East Palo Alto, a familiar location where she previously went to school nearby.
At this point of the interview and while trying to be respectful of her time, I was shocked that we took more than 15 minutes to cover her entire history before I even had a chance to ask the rest of my questions. Lupe’s history with Izzi reflects deep roots growing up in the Peninsula and a connection to her late brother who helped her start on a long-time career dedicated to serving the community.
When asked about favorite moments with the organization, she shares about face painting at community fairs that Izzi used to host and memories of her brother as a teacher.
“My brother also taught my older son,” she shared. “I have a picture of him celebrating Halloween in the classroom with my son and nephew. These are definitely special moments to me.” (Photo: Lupe’s nephew Freddy, left, in vampire costume and her son Joey, right, dressed in Barney costume from 1994 at Chilco Head Start.)
As she shared this, I briefly felt close to her relationship with her brother. I had a chance to photograph them, when he attended as a special guest to our 35th anniversary fundraising event in October 2018 before he passed away suddenly in December 2019.
Beyond the mentioned roles, Lupe also spend her summers in between school years picking up on home visits for the home-based program and family services specialist responsibilities. “Everything I’ve learned throughout the years has been helping me,” Lupe shared, “but I also have to remember that times have changed.” Lupe acknowledges that the early education field has evolved a lot since she first took classes in the nineties. “We have to keep moving forward, otherwise we’d get stuck. I won’t give up though.”
Lupe remembers the hesitancy when she first started her career, but Lupe started to see how she can really help out the families around her, especially in the community she both grew up and currently lives in. “I can at least plant that seed,” she explained. “[To the parents,] here are these resources. You have a voice. You don’t have to agree with everything they say. You know your child better than anyone else. That’s what kept pushing me.” As the population of Latinos grew in East Palo Alto, Lupe found a growing opportunity to give back. Likewise, she has also seen the Bay Area tech landscape grow and would love to see a vested interest in our corporate neighbors supporting our programs.
Lupe (left) with long-time Izzi staff member and friend Ofelia Alfaro (right) at the annual mid-year staff retreat in December 2018.
Lupe (third from left) poses in a group photo with other Izzi staff members during a Community Collaboration event in 2019.
As the interviewer, I was intrigued to learn about Lupe’s history both growing up in the Bay Area and dedication serving the Izzi community, which I find to be special and rare in our current fast-paced Silicon Valley culture. Likewise, Lupe’s heart of gold to serve her the roots of her community is also rare and inspirational. That said, I have no doubt that the seeds that she has planted over her 30 years have flourished and planted roots of their own.
Thank you Lupe for sharing your story!
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