Crowley ISD

📸✨ What an excellent afternoon in Crowley ISD as we welcomed and celebrated our newest employees during New Professionals Orientation for our four Breakthrough Campuses! 🎉 We can't wait to see the impact you'll make and the growth you'll inspire throughout this school year! ✨

Let’s hear it for 𝙍𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚 𝙍𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙙—our latest recipient! 🎉📚

Richmond is a 5th grade math and science teacher at Parkway Elementary School who is making a big impact both in and out of the classroom. Through a grant she wrote, she brought Camp Read-A-Lot to life—creating a fun, camp-themed reading space where students can relax, connect with books and enjoy reading in a different way. Check out the before and after photos.

“Mrs. Richmond has written grants that have brought incredible opportunities to our campus,” said Felicia Hobson, who nominated Richmond. “She consistently celebrates student success and creates experiences our students love.”

Richmond says her goal was simple: create a space where students feel comfortable and excited to learn.

“When students want to learn, that’s when authentic learning happens,” Richmond said. “I’ve always wanted to be that kind of teacher.”

Learn more about Faces of Excellence at crowleyisdtx.org/facesofexcellence!

✏️📒The 2026-27 Crowley ISD school supply list is now available online at www.crowleyisdtx.org/backtoschool

Meet Olivia Peasley, a sixth-grade math teacher from Summer Creek Middle School — a recipient! 💐

Ms. Peasley has made a meaningful impact on the Summer Creek campus by intentionally creating a culture where staff members feel appreciated and supported. Through her “Give Them Flowers” initiative, staff members are nominated by their peers and surprised with bouquets of flowers as a way to recognize their hard work and encouragement.

"I believe that, as a community, we need to lift one another up," Peasley said. "If you see something good, say something good. We all work so hard, and sometimes it can feel like those efforts go unnoticed—but they don't. Someone, somewhere is noticing."

Staff at Summer Creek have mentioned that the program has made a positive impact across the campus by uplifting staff and creating moments of appreciation that bring people together. Ms. Peasley’s thoughtfulness and commitment to supporting others continue to make Summer Creek a stronger and more connected school community.

Through simple acts of kindness and encouragement, Ms. Peasley is helping cultivate a culture of support, positivity and excellence each day. 🥰

"Ms. Peasely has made an intentional effort to ensure that staff members feel supported and it has made a positive impact on our campus," SCMS principal Joseph Cato said.

Make a Faces of Excellence nomination today at crowleyisdtx.org/facesofexcellence.

🐳 🪸 Our 𝟮𝟭𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝘆 "Under the Sea" Summer Program is helping 175 Pre-K through 4th grade students strengthen their reading and math skills while preventing summer learning loss and accelerating academic growth. 💡 📚

Students also enjoy hands-on enrichment through drumming, cooking, dance, athletics, STEAM, college and career readiness and swimming lessons through our Ryan Family YMCA partnership.

Take a look at our 21st Century scholars diving into a summer full of learning, creativity and fun! 🐚☀️

Another great day at Fine Arts Camp! Kindergarten through 5th grade students spent the day creating, dancing and having fun while exploring their talents. One more day to go, and we’re making the most of every moment! 🎨🕺

🎉 ¡𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀! We are so excited to celebrate the accomplishments of 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼 𝗦á𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘇-𝗩𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘇𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘇, a Sycamore Elementary School fifth-grader who recently advanced to the 𝗧𝗲𝘅𝗮𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝗹 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝗼. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗜𝗦𝗗 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

To reach the state level, he won first place at both the Sycamore and Crowley ISD competitions, then placed second at the Region XI event. At state, he passed through six rounds and was only three positions away from nationals.

Sánchez-Velazquez’s achievement is a story of 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽.

Martha Castillo, the bilingual lead teacher at Sycamore who coordinates the bee for the campus, said that last year, Sánchez-Velazquez was eliminated in early rounds at the district-level bee. But that day in February 2025, 𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 that the following year he would take first place.

“Watching him process the defeat was difficult, but it became his primary motivation,” Castillo said. “Along with his mother, Armando studied countless amount of hours. They created a custom study guide and strategy. 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗼𝗳𝗳. He went on to place first at district, and second at regions, earning him a spot at the state competition.”

And in doing so, he modeled an important lesson.

“Even though he didn't advance to nationals, 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲, 𝗱𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗠𝗦,” Castillo said.

In addition to Castillo, Sycamore bilingual teacher Carlos Ortega also supported Sánchez-Velazquez’s journey. Ortega described the state event as tough — so tough that a mystery list of words the students never saw beforehand was used.

“It was a fierce competition, and he represented us well,” Ortega said.

Castillo said annual events such as the Spanish Spelling Bee are becoming cultural touchstones for students.

“𝗜 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴, ‘𝗠𝗿𝘀. 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗼 — 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼. 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴.’”

We’re so excited to introduce you to 𝗝𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀, a collaborative special education teacher at Sue Crouch Elementary School AND our latest 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁!

“𝗠𝘀. 𝗔𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗱,” Dianna Talton, Ackers’ colleague, said in nominating her. “She is always going above and beyond to help her students and co workers. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀. She always volunteers for district events and always has a smile on her face. She is an amazing teacher and a wonderful asset to her campus!”

Ackers has served at Sue Crouch Elementary for the last three years but just finished her 25th year in education.

“Ms. Ackers makes a difference by building meaningful relationships with all students and ensuring every child feels valued, supported and capable of success,” Sue Crouch Principal Shanel Robinson said. “𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹.”

Robinson appreciates Ackers’ “unwavering dedication, positive attitude and commitment to doing what is best for students every single day.”

Ackers most enjoys working with students and helping them fill in the gaps in their learning.

“There’s nothing more rewarding than spending time working through a difficult concept and then seeing the moment when it finally clicks for a student,” she said. “I also love getting to celebrate the small victories with my students, because those moments build confidence, growth and a love of learning.”

And her motivation? �

“What motivates me as a teacher is remembering that every day is a new day, and even every minute is a new minute,” she said. “𝗘𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳. I am also motivated by the relationships I build with my students and their families, because strong connections create a supportive learning environment where students can thrive.

“One of the most rewarding parts of teaching is seeing my students’ faces light up when I walk into the room, knowing they feel safe, valued and excited to learn.”

𝙏𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙀𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨, 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙩 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙮𝙞𝙨𝙙𝙩𝙭.𝙤𝙧𝙜/𝙁𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙛 𝙀𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚.