Jasmine Thomas of Autumn Creek Elementary School named District Teacher of the Year and wins $10,000 check sponsored by Robbins Auto; Camron Bradford of Summer Creek High School named Secondary Teacher of the Year and wins $5,000 check sponsored by GTS Technology Solutions
Jasmine Thomas, a fourth grade teacher at Autumn Creek Elementary, is the 2024-2025 Humble Independent School District and Elementary Teacher of the Year and Camron Bradford, an English teacher at Summer Creek High School is the 2024-2025 Secondary Teacher of the Year.
Thomas won a $10,000 check sponsored by Robbins Auto and Bradford won a $5,000 check sponsored by GTS Technology Solutions at the Humble ISD Education Foundation Boots and Bling Gala held at Stampede Houston on April 26.
Around the halls of Autumn Creek Elementary she is known as “Ms. J”.
Her infectious laugh, pure energy and positive attitude floods the halls of her school and into her community, which some would also refer to as her classroom.
It is a place where students spend time learning through week-long units – all part of analyzing their read-aloud fiction texts – where they visit Literacy Island, the Fiction Far, and Plot Mountain where integrating arts into her classroom takes learning to a new level.
They have daily Community Circle time which looks different depending on the day. On Fridays, Thomas has held Future Friday where Thomas tells them about a friend in a different career each week. Then there is Freestyle Friday where students will create a beat and then Thomas will make us a song to go with it. There is a quote of the day, which matches with different monthly themes.
“As I demonstrate that I am so much more than their teacher, they are reminded that they are so much more to me than their school work, their academic achievements, and their grades inside the classroom,” Thomas said. “Sometimes transcending the classroom just looks and sounds like love.”
Thomas is also a part of the Autumn Creek Elementary Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) team. Pouring positivity into the students and staff of Autumn Creek Elementary is part of her daily routine.
“Celebrating and recognizing that success doesn’t look the same for all of us is a really big part of my classroom,” Thomas said.
Every day that Bradford walks into his classroom at Summer Creek High School, it is the students who drive his energy. They push him, just like he does on a daily basis in his English class.
“I don't really teach English, I teach communication,” Bradford said. “I want to teach you how to read, how to write, and how to speak, because sooner or later, you're gonna be in a situation where you're gonna have to communicate with somebody how you actually feel, versus just getting through it and saying, I don't care anymore. So as that happens, they start to realize it's not about writing for the teacher. It's more about writing to get my opinion out. And that is how I inspired them to just use their voices.”
Whether standing at the front of his classroom or spinning tunes behind a DJ table courtside of the Summer Creek Lady Bulldogs basketball games, Bradford is entrenched in the Summer Creek community. From soccer games to dance recitals, Bradford is there for his students inside and outside the classroom.
“I find myself spending most of my nights and weekends at Summer Creek,” Bradford said. “And it's only because they come back the next day, and they're so excited to say, Mr. Bradford came and saw me or how I saw him in the stands or he was DJing at the game, like they enjoy telling other students that weren't there.”
Even though Bradford’s mother was a teacher, he never saw himself as one until one day poking his head into a classroom at Eisenhower High School in Aldine ISD, where his mother taught, and noticing students struggling with reading.
And ever since that moment, the front of the classroom has been how Bradford starts the track list for every day.
“As I got into teaching, it's almost like this is where I'm supposed to be,” Bradford said.
“And I enjoy every minute of it.”
Each year during the spring semester, Humble ISD schools choose a Teacher of the Year for its campus. The 2024-2025 Finalists and District Teachers of the Year were chosen by a district selection committee based upon essays and interviews in March and April. All district Teacher of the Year Finalists will be honored on stage and will receive a $250 Visa gift card, courtesy of PBK and a Whataburger Yeti Rambler, courtesy of Whataburger.
The annual Boots & Bling Gala benefits the Humble ISD Education Foundation’s Innovative Education grant program, which has awarded $17.3 million in education grants since it was founded in 2000.
District Teacher of the Year Finalists are:
Elementary Finalists
Jasmine Thomas - Autumn Creek Elementary, Fourth Grade
Wendy Curtis - Deerwood Elementary, Third Grade
James Linse - Lakeland Elementary, Special Education Bilingual
Sara Feske - Maplebrook Elementary, Librarian
Natalie Harris - River Pines Elementary, Art
Secondary Finalists
Julianne Kovacik - Creekwood Middle School, English
Tyler Morrison - Kingwood High School, Band Director
Megan Proulx - Kingwood Middle School, World Cultures
Dr. Kevin Caizley - Kingwood Park High School, CTE
Camron Bradford - Summer Creek High School, English