In our latest installment of Hometown Pride, we take a look at Crowley Middle School sixth-grade teacher Kristin Johnson. Johnson is a 2014 North Crowley High School graduate. She also attended CMS and North Crowley 9th Grade after moving to Texas as a seventh grader from Detroit, Mich.

Johnson, who began working in the district in 2020, teaches College and Career Readiness at CMS. She excelled in numerous clubs and activities while roaming the hallways of North Crowley, including being a four-year varsity letter winner as a member of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC). She was also a part of Teen Leadership, while also being a key member of the Principal’s Advisory Council at NCHS.

Because of her exceptional work in and out of the classroom, Johnson racked up over 15 plus leadership awards from various organizations, including several from JROTC and Teen Leadership. During her senior year alone, she earned the highest rank a student cadet can earn in JROTC by being named the Battalion Commander of the Panther Battalion, which at that time had a school record 356 plus cadets. Johnson was also the first junior to ever serve as the Battalion Command Sergeant Major, while also being a two-time captain for the Lady Soldiers Unarmed Drill Team.

Johnson, who was also a founding member of the North Crowley Panther Olympics, earned both the American Legion School Award Medal Set and a Heroism Medal Set Silver because of her exceptional work with the Panther Battalion.

Following her time at North Crowley, Johnson attended and graduated from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. While at CSU, Johnson, who was a Thurgood Marshall and CSU Presidential Merit Scholar, was not only the Student Government Association President in 2017-18, but was also a two-time Miss Black and Gold recipient. She also served in various roles at the Colonel Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument, where she would go on to claim several national awards, including being named the 2018 National Park Service Volunteer of the Year. She was also recognized nationally with the 2020-21 Trailblazer Award for her amazing work with the monument during COVID-19.

Fast forward to 2022 and Johnson, who was named the 2021 Crowley Middle School Teacher of the Year, can now be found encouraging and helping students grow so that they can have success daily.

“As an instructor, I believe in developing the whole student. It is important that my students leave my classroom with a firm foundation for success. We must hit our goal of having an understanding of self, college and high school success, financial education and effective communication skills. This ensures that as sixth-grade students they are exposed to the foundational principles of career and college success. I am also probably the loudest person in school, so I spend most of my free time in the hallways encouraging and redirecting our students to success. I am always looking for new ways to make our environment welcoming and awesome,” said Johnson.

Johnson went on to credit several teachers during her high school career that had a major impact on her life, including now Crowley 9th Grade principal Latresa Kennard, NCHS JROTC instructor Gregory Peavy and NCHS AVID teacher Laneece Yarbough-Anderson.

“Those three believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. My behaviors always didn’t match the leader I was on the inside. There is no way I would be where I am at without their continued support over the years. I owe a large part of who I am to the teachers who carried me along the way. Crowley ISD helped to develop me and provided me with an educational opportunity bigger than what I had ever been exposed to. Working at Crowley ISD is a dream come true. This school district saved my life as a student by providing me with lots of love, discipline and enlightenment. I'm honored to give back to the very people, buildings and district that poured so much life into me,” said Johnson.

If you are a graduate of either high school and would like to be featured in this series, please email information including your high school, graduation year and a photo to news@crowley.k12.tx.us.