When students enter Chrizia Dela Rosa’s classroom, they spend the first few minutes filling out a Google form to check in and report how they are feeling, their mood, and whether they ate breakfast and slept well. Looking for patterns, Dela Rosa uses that information to inform her classroom approach for the day.
“How silly should I be in class? Or is it just straight business today?”
The form also allows her to see if a student is struggling and gives her the opportunity to connect without singling them out in front of the class.
“I’ll just write on a post-it note and say, ‘Hey, saw your check in. You want to talk about it?’” Dela Rosa said. “I’ll just drop that off at their desk very discretely before we start our lesson. Usually, students will write back on the post-it note or email me.”
At the end of each day, students use another form to self-reflect, rate their interest level and provide instructional feedback to improve her teaching. Every two weeks, students are tested. Following the tests, they fill out a form to reflect on the test and their learning progress.
“I try to hook students in with building culture, building connections and building on those relationships. It gives me understanding where they’re coming from and knowing who they are,” Dela Rosa said.
This data-centric approach, which fosters engagement while providing personalized learning and attention, is one of the reasons Dela Rosa was selected as a 2026 California Teacher of the Year – an award given to just five K-12 teachers statewide.
In acknowledgment of this achievement and her impact as an educator, the Kremen School of Education and Human Development at Fresno State, along with the Brick Campaign Committee, will honor Dela Rosa with a commemorative brick on the Teachers and Friends of Education Honor Wall outside the Kremen building. The wall allows community members to gift an engraved brick, honoring educators alongside thousands of regional colleagues who have impacted students’ lives.
“Oh my goodness, that’s so awesome,” Dela Rosa said when she learned about the commemorative brick. “What an honor. Wow!”
Dela Rosa’s teaching philosophy was shaped by her own experiences as a young immigrant.
Born in the Philippines, Dela Rosa moved to the San Jose area when she was 6 years old. As a child, she struggled with English and dreaded school until one teacher, Miss Tran, connected with her and created a welcoming classroom environment.
“I really enjoy being able to create spaces where students belong and find their footing and get that confidence – similar to what Miss Tran did for me,” Dela Rosa said. “I always go back to Miss Tran because she’s one of the reasons why I became a teacher. School can be not just a place for learning, but a place where you can belong. You can really find yourself and make these mistakes when it’s not so high-stakes.”
Moving to Clovis in the third grade, Dela Rosa was able to navigate social structures and find herself through sports. A multi-sport athlete, by the time she was at Clovis West High School, she was involved in volleyball, badminton and track. She eventually settled on basketball year-round, and her team won multiple section titles.
After high school, Dela Rosa attended Fresno State, earning her bachelor’s degree in liberal studies with a concentration in mathematics in 2012. She then joined Teach for America and began teaching at Northwestern Senior High School in Miami. Simultaneously, she earned her master’s in education through an online program at Johns Hopkins University in 2015.
“Teach for America was extremely selective,” Dela Rosa said. “Even though the program was super prestigious, Fresno State prepared me.”
Now at Piedmont Hills High School in San Jose, Dela Rosa works as a ninth-grade math teacher and a volleyball coach. She often uses sports metaphors in her teaching and talks about building math muscles to help her students understand the brain requires practice and training, much like athletics.
“Unraveling these ‘I’m not a math person’ stereotypes gives them that confidence, and then by the end of the year, kids are having full-on conversations about math,” Dela Rosa said.
In the press release announcing the 2026 California Teachers of the Year, the California Department of Education said that Dela Rosa stands out for her data-driven approach, her commitment to her students and her unique approach to developing math skills.
“Ms. Dela Rosa is a dedicated teacher and volleyball coach who is passionate about knowing and including every child. She creates a classroom culture in which students understand that they need practice to build their math muscles just like they need practice to build skill on the court, and she uses her skills of data analysis to learn from constantly evolving data sets of student feedback,” the press release from the office of Tony Thurmond, state superintendent of public instruction, stated.
Dela Rosa said being named Teacher of the Year has made her an ambassador for the California Department of Education. At the statewide level, she advocates for teacher diversity, specifically the recruitment and retention of teachers who reflect their students’ identities and can serve as role models in their development. She also supports her fellow educators, promoting a healthy work-life balance so teachers can remain present and engaged with their students.
Back at Piedmont Hills, Dela Rosa said she has worked to turn her accolades into opportunities for her students. She has collaborated with local sports organizations that have donated resources and products directly to her school and used her platform to connect students with mentors and her former students, exposing them to various career options and helping them make lasting connections.
Reflecting on her time at Fresno State, Dela Rosa said she aims to instill that same sense of community and pride she felt on campus.
“There’s that huge sense of Bulldog pride and culture that’s kind of always stuck with me. How do I create that in the spaces that I’m in now? I want to create that sense of pride, and give that back to the community, and then help people find that space.”
Know a teacher who changed your life? Commemorate their impact with an engraved brick on the Teachers and Friends of Education Honor Wall. To learn more, visit teachershonorwall.com
