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Julia Cerda Crawford, a resident of Kearny, was recently awarded the Chicanos por la Causa Esperanza Latino Teacher Award. Crawford is a Spanish teacher at Miami High School.
The nomination required letters of recommendation from colleagues and her school administration. Her teaching techniques are student focussed and creative. She works diligently to immerse her students in the culture while also teaching Spanish. Singing songs in the Spanish variation is also an important part of her technique. Crawford highlighted the difficulties of teaching during COVID restrictions and how many of her students did not have the internet connections to fully participate in the class. Despite the challenges she found ways to communicate with the students in the event that they could not fully participate due to the lack of internet. Many times the audio connections would not work appropriately.
Crawford’s nomination described her as a student-focussed teacher, making time to make her students feel special on their birthdays and everyday greeting them with a handshake and warm smile. Teaching at a Title 1 school, she understands that many students do not have the same opportunity to celebrate special days like their birthdays, so ensuring that her students feel special and respected is important to her. Her struggles as a student at ASU while raising her family and commuting from Kearny were also recognized in her nomination as obstacles she has had to overcome. She immigrated to Los Angeles from Monerrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico and became a U.S. Citizen in her 20s. She is proud to have completed her education and earn her bachelor’s degree in Spanish at age 51.
Chicanos por la Causa awarded her $5,000 as part of her award. They will be producing a video to honor her recognition. You can learn more about her nomination online:https://bit.ly/3E2k9xW
Copper Area News congratulates Julia Cerda Crawford on this award.
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