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Congratulations to the 2021-2022 Castleberry Elementary Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Cepeda!! Mrs. Cepeda is in her 5th year of teaching with all of those years serving the students and families of Castleberry Elementary in Castleberry ISD. Mrs. Cepeda is a 5th grade bilingual teacher who goes above and beyond for not only her students, but the campus as a whole.
Mrs. Cepeda is a young lady ambitious to learn, teach, counsel, advocate, volunteer, and mentor. She is someone who is the perfect example of a great leader: she is fearless to speak and act on behalf of all students and parents, active with students in and out of school, and ready to brainstorm ideas and facilitate in meetings. She brings great ideas to meetings and suggestions or feedback to situations are always welcomed.
Cepeda has a heart of gold. Many times, I have seen her go over and beyond to help students. I have seen her bring students clothes, she has covered expenses for field trips and/or helped pay for Chromebook fees. Cepeda does not just help her students, she also helps the parents. Whether it is helping them connect to internet, technology or helping them with resources in the community - Cepeda does it all. For example, she has helped parents with resources to feed their families or help pay their utilities, she has helped parents fill out college forms for high school seniors, and she has even helped parents in finding jobs.
She does not brag or advertise what she does because she is a very humbled person; however, her teaching partner, Mrs. Vela, sees these acts of kindness all the time. “I am very proud of her being awarded Teacher of the Year. She deserves it. I want to be like her when I grow up” says Mrs. Vela.
When Mrs. Cepeda was asked her “why” for her love and enthusiasm of CE and Castleberry ISD she stated, “I enjoy teaching at CE because of the relationships that I have built with the students and their families. I also get to work with amazing educators that share the same passion for teaching as myself.” Mrs. Cepeda also has learned this year to have a healthier balance of home and work life. Her advice to all teachers, both first year and veteran teachers would be “when you learn to have a healthy work and home life balance, your love for teaching increases.”
Congratulations Mrs. Cepeda on a very much deserved award!