Crasto, who has been teaching English language arts in Centerville for 14 years, said it is a joy to teach middle school students.
“Middle school students are just young and curious, and I love working with them, learning from them, and hearing their ideas and creativity,” she said.
The newly-minted Teacher of the Year also stressed how important it is to work with the students on character growth.
“We work a lot in middle school with character growth, so we get to talk about confidence, problem solving and critical thinking skills and really working toward the future and what they want to do in the world,” Crastro explained.
According to Magsig Principal Stacey Westendorf, what sets Crasto apart is her focus on the learning process, not just the end product.
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“We need to make sure students are being reflective in their work, that they’re being taught to self-assess and to peer-assess, and that they have the tenacity to continue to improve,” Westendorf said.
Crastro was also recognized for putting in an extra effort to help her students learn and gain success.
“In Kim’s classroom, you see the process of the hard work it takes to get to an exemplar product,” Westendorf said.
Crasto will represent Centerville City Schools as the district’s finalist for the Ohio Teacher of the Year competition. A state selection panel will review all finalists’ credentials this spring and choose one individual to be honored as Ohio’s 2020 Teacher of the Year.
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The state honors one teacher annually in each of the 11 state school board districts, which includes about 1 million Ohioans each.
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