San Leandro Teacher Wins Pura Belpre Award: Carolina Ixta was awarded the 2025 Pura Belpre Award in the category of Belpre Young Adult Author for her first novel, Shut Up, This Is Serious, published by HarperCollins. Ixta is a fourth grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, part of the San Leandro Unified School District. The Pura Belpre Award is given by the Association of Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to honor Latino writers and illustrators whose children and young adult books “best portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latino cultural experience.”The novel is about two best friends who live in Oakland, and are children of Mexican immigrants. Ixta teachers in a dual language immersion program, and has been a San Leandro teacher for six years. For more information see: february-6–2025.pdf.
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