We paid Monica Cruz-Arrellano a visit in his classroom and surprised him with the KENS 5 EXCEL Award and a $2,000 check from our partner Credit Human.
SAN ANTONIO — With technology at every corner in today’s world, a local teacher is inspiring her students to go for the good ole fashion way of reading, a book in hand. It’s how she’s instilling a love of literacy in them. Though her two-decade teaching journey has gone through some painful times, she has stayed resilient and continues to give back.
This year her school district, Southside ISD, decided to give back to her.
Monica Cruz-Arellano won the KENS 5 EXCEL Award. Through our partnership with Credit Human, we honored the teacher at her school with a $2,000 check for her excellence in education.
There is one rule Monica Cruz-Arellano lives by in her 4th Grade classroom at Freedom Elementary School. “Every day. Every day,” Cruz-Arellano said.
Not a day goes by without making sure her students have a book in hand.
“It is really the marker that makes the culture in my classroom.”
She creates a culture of disconnecting from technology and reconnecting with literacy.
In today’s technological world, you might think the kids frown upon the idea but when you ask them, it’s one of their favorite things. “She reads to us over there in the back,” one 4th grader said.
Not only do they love to read but on their desks, you’ll see lucky duckies sitting near them. They’re a special token from Cruz-Arellano. They’ve come to believe a little luck from their teacher goes a long way, “So we can have luck on our ECR test,” said one student.
It’s Cruz-Arellano’s way of showing that she supports them. She says everyone needs it sometimes. She herself wouldn’t have made it to two decades’ teaching without others like her family and colleagues, lifting her up.
Back in 2014, about halfway into her teaching career, Cruz-Arellano’s life took a tragic turn.
“I lost my husband to gastric cancer.” Her husband was only 33-years-old and she had just given birth to her second child. His loss would forever change her life she said.
“All of a sudden I wasn’t able to only prioritize my job because I knew I had someone at home that could handle the kids. I had to learn how to balance and I was very blessed to be here at Freedom and have an administrative team that allowed me to be a mom.”
As a mom to her autistic son, Max, she says her home experience has shaped the way she approaches her students.
“Now when I’ve had the opportunity to have kids in my classroom who are on the spectrum, I always think, you know, how would Max approach this? Or if Max is overwhelmed, she must be overwhelmed.” Her empathy and patience shine bright in her classroom. Her students can clearly feel her love, “She cares about us, and she acts like if we’re her family,” one little girl said.
Cruz-Arellano explained she likes to be transparent with her students and has shared her loss. Even at their young age, she says it’s important they learn about life’s challenges and how to overcome them.
“I use that story to be able to show a bit of vulnerability and be able to relate to them. We’ve all experienced loss in some way so if in any way my story can show them that, you know, yes, we lose and yes, we grieve, and our lives don’t always look the same with the same people. But you still strive, and you get up every day.”
If you would like to watch the stories of past EXCEL winners, check out kens5.com/EXCEL.