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Jessica Valadez Fraire will soon graduate with an Elementary Education degree from the University of Colorado Boulder, but she didn鈥檛 set out to be an elementary teacher.听

Her early schooling experiences were 鈥渋solating and difficult鈥� as a Brown, bilingual student growing up in largely white, affluent Boulder.听

Valadez Fraire鈥檚 life experiences were not reflected in her classrooms, and consequently, she didn鈥檛 value school. She was often in trouble, including a heart-stopping moment in fifth grade when a teacher threatened police involvement over a dispute with a classmate. The daughter of migrants, Valadez Fraire still requires deep breaths to talk through trauma from that experience and others.听

Finally feeling seen听

Those detrimental experiences began early and persisted until Valadez Fraire enrolled in a CU Boulder youth leadership program for Chicano/Latino high school students called Aquetza, where she finally felt seen as a scholar.听

鈥淚t was life-changing,鈥� she said through tears. 鈥淚t gave me a sense of purpose, because I received messaging that I was a valuable person who had things to contribute to this world. It really changed my perspective on what education could be.鈥�

Aquetza ignited the fire she already had burning for social justice. Combined with family鈥檚 unconditional support, she enrolled CU Boulder鈥檚 Leadership and Community Engagement major.

As a first-year student, an assigned podcast episode about the absence and importance of culturally diverse curriculum for elementary students in particular hit her hard. She had not been interested in working with young children, but she cautiously and curiously changed her major to Elementary Education.

鈥淚 was like, 鈥楧ang, should I be a teacher?鈥� It was an epiphany for me,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 ended up loving (the Elementary Education major). It's the perfect path for me, because I think it's super important for students to have teachers who look like them, who speak their language, and who care about their development as people. That's how I see education 鈥� a tool for students to negotiate their world and create a better world.鈥澨�

Infusing culture into the classroom

Valadez Fraire brought that ethos to her student teaching in Denver this year, just as unprecedented numbers of newly arrived migrant students enrolled in her school and many schools nationwide, altering classroom demographics and needs.听

Since the start of 2023, an estimated 42,000 migrant have moved to听Denver according the to the city, leading some school leaders, legislators and the media to label the influx of newcomers as a 鈥渃risis.鈥� But Valadez Fraire sees it as a beautiful opportunity.

鈥淎s a teacher, it's been difficult to plan and meet the needs for all of my students, because a lot of my students are coming to school with trauma and difficult circumstances in their lives,鈥� she said.听

鈥淏ut it's also been very beautiful to bring in culturally sustaining approaches, allowing them to have more agency, and seeing them empowered in the classroom.鈥�

Valadez Fraire infused her students鈥� culture and background into her STEM lessons. A recent astronomy lesson included the ancient wisdom that South American cultures have long carried about the solar system and earth sciences.听

鈥淭here鈥檚 not really talk about other cultures and their knowledge in science, or it is seen as a humanities lesson,鈥� she said. 鈥淚ntegrating that into science is important because students can see themselves as scientists and mathematicians. I noticed they were more engaged because the lesson had something to do with their identities. It was cool.鈥�

Graduation is only the beginning

For her culturally and linguistically sustaining teaching practices and critical contributions to the education learning community, Valadez Fraire has been selected by faculty as the Outstanding Graduate for the Elementary Education Program. She鈥檒l accompany the interim education dean at the CU Boulder commencement ceremony to help confer the education degrees in front of the packed crowd at Folsom Stadium. The 鈥渙utstanding graduate鈥� distinction is an honor, and it brings complex reflections.

鈥淪ometimes I have difficulty with stuff like this,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t's like we're being showcased to the university like 鈥榯hese are outstanding grads,鈥� and my experience is not very reflective of what students of color go through at CU Boulder.听

鈥淚 have difficulty with these distinctions,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t feels like I am being showcased as an outstanding grad while this experience is not reflective of what students of color go through at CU Boulder.鈥�

鈥淔or me, it just means that there's more work to be done.鈥�

Throughout her time at CU Boulder, she leaned on School of Education faculty mentors, like Vanessa Santiago Schwarz and Jamy Stillman, and her friends from programs like UMAS y MECHA, who now feel like family. They helped provide spaces to be vulnerable and share experiences as a student of color at a predominantly white institution as she prepares to enter the largely white teaching profession.

Valadez Fraire is committed to 鈥渢he work鈥� ahead. She is now a co-director for Aquetza, and she has a fifth-grade teaching position lined up in Denver come fall. The same grade level that shook her as a young person is now a beautiful opportunity to create the kind of classroom that her students deserve.

As graduation nears, Valadez Fraire feels ready to teach and grateful for her supportive community.

鈥淎s a first-generation student, graduation means everything to me and my family,鈥� she said, tears welling up. 鈥淚'm grateful for all the sacrifices that my ancestors, my parents, and everyone in my family have made to be able to get me here. I haven't done this alone. I've done this with my whole community but especially my family. I am very grateful for all of them.鈥�

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