JULIA E. TORRES is a nationally recognized veteran language arts teacher, librarian, and teen programs administrator in Denver, Colorado. Julia facilitates teacher development workshops rooted in the areas of anti-racist education, equity and access in literacy and librarianship, and education as a practice of liberation. Julia‘s work has been featured on NPR, AlJazeera’s The Stream, PBS Education, KQED’s MindShift, Rethinking Schools, Learning for Justice Magazine, School Library Journal, American Libraries Magazine, and many more. Her co-authored title Liven Up Your Library: Design Engaging and Inclusive Programs for Teens and Tweens is just the first of many forthcoming publications for librarians and educators.
Julia E. Torres is an expert in secondary writing and reading instruction, including accelerated reading and writing instruction for multilingual students and those learning in urban environments.
Julia facilitates workshops and professional conversations around the country pertaining to best practices in reading and writing instruction, culturally sustaining pedagogies in language arts, as well as digital literacy and librarianship.
Currently, Julia is a library administrator in Denver, Colorado. Throughout 20 years in education, Julia has taught in small, medium, and large districts, across the Western United States. Her high school teaching career has included teaching freshman English up through advanced courses including World Literature and AP English Literacy and Composition. In 2014, Julia began teaching in the largest (and only urban district in Colorado)—Denver Public Schools. As a teacher at Denver Center for International Studies at Montbello, Julia taught Concurrent Enrollment English classes partnering with Aurora Community College. Julia has also taught Creative Writing and African-American Literature through University of Colorado Denver’s Upward Bound pre-collegiate summer academic institute.
Within Denver Public Schools, Julia was chosen to be a member of the steering committee for the Superintendent’s African-American Equity Task Force ongoing work that continues to seek improved schooling and work conditions for African-American students and teachers within Denver Public Schools. Julia has also cooperated with the DPS Imaginarium and the Culture Equity Leadership Team as a school leader working to spread the adoption of culturally responsive teaching practices throughout the district. Julia leads several community book clubs and projects focused on engaging literature written predominantly by authors of color for children of color.
In May 2018, Julia was selected as a 2018-20 Heinemann Fellow. Her action research focused on the changing role of school libraries, and the intersection between traditional and digital literacy as pertaining to the formation of reading identities among secondary education students in urban school districts.
As a teacher, librarian and scholar committed to education as a practice of freedom, her practice is grounded in the work of empowering teachers and students to use language arts education to fuel resistance and positive social transformation. Julia has also served Colorado language arts teachers as the Vice-President and President of the regional NCTE affiliate–The Colorado Language Arts Society, and on the national executive board as the NCTE Secondary Representative-at-Large. In her work as a member of Educolor’s Working Group, Julia frequently collaborates with the collective by participating in online chats as well as local community organizing and the creation of school and classroom resources that promote educational equity, student agency, and the advancement of teacher pedagogy with respect to anti-bias/anti-racist educational curriculum development, and practices, as well as educational progressivism.
A record of some of Julia’s time in the classroom is kept on her blog at juliaetorres.blog Julia was awarded the 2020 NCTE Colorado Affiliate Teacher of Excellence award, chosen as a 2020 Library Journal Mover and Shaker, and serves as a judge for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Julia is a co-founder of DisruptTexts.org and a Book Love Foundation Board Member. Her work has been featured in several publications including NCTE’s Council Chronicle, NPR, AlJazeera’s The Stream, PBS Education, KQED’s MindShift, NY Times Learning Network, The Chicago Tribune, ASCD’s Education Update, Rethinking Schools, School Library Journal, and many more.
JULIA E. TORRES is a nationally recognized veteran language arts teacher, librarian, and teen programs administrator in Denver, Colorado. She is a teacher/activist committed to education as a practice of freedom. Her practice is grounded in the work of empowering students to use Language Arts to fuel transformative resistance and social progress. Julia has been awarded the 2020 NCTE Colorado Affiliate Teacher of Excellence award chosen as a 2020 Library Journal Mover and Shaker, and serves educators as a member of the Educolor Collective, Book Love Foundation, and as a Co-founder of #DisruptTexts. Through her work with The Educator Collaborative, and other organizations, Julia facilitates workshops and professional conversations about anti-bias/anti-racist education, social justice, and culturally sustaining pedagogies in Language Arts, as well as digital literacy and librarianship. Her work has been featured in several publications including NCTE’s Council Chronicle, NPR, AlJazeera’s The Stream, PBS Education, KQED’s MindShift, NY Times Learning Network, The Chicago Tribune, ASCD’s Education Update, Rethinking Schools, School Library Journal, and many more. Her co-authored title Liven Up Your Library: Design Engaging and Inclusive Programs for Teens and Tweens is just the first of many forthcoming publications for librarians and educators.
