Ceriss Blackwood (she/her/ella) is a Triethnic Indigenous Chicana who was born at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado. She grew up in the Colorado foster care system and graduated from Ignacio High School, against all odds. Deeply believing in education, Ms. Blackwood became a highly qualified teacher to pay it forward to the next generation. She is currently serving the Southern Ute Indian Montessori Academy as a lower elementary teacher and the Kwiyagat Community Academy as a school board member, in Southwestern Colorado.
A first generation college student, Ceriss attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. While there she earned both her B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies, with a focus on early childhood, and her M.A. in Ethnic Studies with a focus on Tribal Education. After working for Denver Public Schools Indian Education Program, she was selected as a Teach For America Corp Member for Navajo Nation, where she taught 5th grade. She returned to Colorado to raise her 3 children within the bounds of the Southern Ute Indian Reservation, near family. Blackwood is very passionate about culturally responsive teaching and indigenous language revitalization. She was honored to be selected for Cohort 14 of the Buell Early Childhood Leadership at the University of Colorado at Denver. The program values and ideas are in alignment with her career goals. She is looking forward to using her transformational leadership skills in her community.
Ceriss is interested in continuing her work in early childhood within the bounds of the reservations. Within that context she is looking to support implementing researched based strategies to advance Tribal education in Tribal communities, as she deeply believes in equitable excellence for all children. Using Indigenous language revitalization practices and culturally sustaining pedagogy has had a positive impact with her students over the past decade. Her hope is to inspire future Tribal leaders to continue to flourish into the 21st century.
A first generation college student, Ceriss attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. While there she earned both her B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies, with a focus on early childhood, and her M.A. in Ethnic Studies with a focus on Tribal Education. After working for Denver Public Schools Indian Education Program, she was selected as a Teach For America Corp Member for Navajo Nation, where she taught 5th grade. She returned to Colorado to raise her 3 children within the bounds of the Southern Ute Indian Reservation, near family. Blackwood is very passionate about culturally responsive teaching and indigenous language revitalization. She was honored to be selected for Cohort 14 of the Buell Early Childhood Leadership at the University of Colorado at Denver. The program values and ideas are in alignment with her career goals. She is looking forward to using her transformational leadership skills in her community.
Ceriss is interested in continuing her work in early childhood within the bounds of the reservations. Within that context she is looking to support implementing researched based strategies to advance Tribal education in Tribal communities, as she deeply believes in equitable excellence for all children. Using Indigenous language revitalization practices and culturally sustaining pedagogy has had a positive impact with her students over the past decade. Her hope is to inspire future Tribal leaders to continue to flourish into the 21st century.