Culver City Educator Honored

The Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP) honored Darla Pulliam of Culver City as one of five Preschool Teacher of the Year award winners.

The countywide preschool teacher recognition acknowledges the quality, creativity and hard work of those who teach children during a time when, according to researchers, rapid brain development can be leveraged toward long?term academic achievement.

Pulliam currently holds a dual role with the Office of Child Development; she is a Certificated Teacher (five years) and Curriculum Liaison (three years). She reviews and monitors the monthly curriculum lesson plans developed by teachers for all 17 classrooms, with program quality as centric. She is a certificated teacher with CCUSD, since 1988.

“I am fortunate to have unearthed my passion early in life,” Pulliam said.

She attributes her mother, a retired early childhood educator, as her sole mentor.

“I wonder if it is fate that I was born into this family of teachers… yet I can only describe my connection to children as an innate passion. Teaching young children is what I am ordained to do,” Pulliam said.

Winners hail from each of Los Angeles County’s five supervisorial districts and have gone “above and beyond” to provide excellent learning environments and classroom experiences for preschool children. For the selection process, LAUP uses an external committee comprised of county officials and early education experts.

“As is the case each year, the caliber of preschool teachers was high. However, these five teachers rose to the top,” said LAUP’s CEO, Dr. Celia C. Ayala. “It is common knowledge by now that the most critical developmental years are between the ages of zero to five. It is LAUP’s priority to recognize the value of the talented professionals who spend their days nurturing and teaching our children during this very important stage. LAUP is proud to lift up these five teachers who represent the best of early learning in Los Angeles County.”

Besides Pulliam, this year’s other Preschool Teachers of the Year are: • Ana Sosa of the Magnolia Center at the Los Angeles Children’s Bureau: “I have been a child development teacher for about nine years. I knew that being a teacher is what I wanted to do as a career since I was a child.”
• Dorie L. Meek of Pine Street Preschool in Santa Monica: “I set the bar high for all children and ensure that they grab hold, pull up, and peek over the top to view their next dream. Their epiphanies are my greatest accomplishments.”
• Diana Melina Echeverria of Cerritos College Child Development Center: “I eat, live, and breathe what I do daily. What gets me through tough times is the sense of accomplishment a child shares when they master something that they have been working towards.”
• Dina G. Pérez of Pasadena Unified School District’s Burbank Early Childhood Center: “Teaching was a natural instinct. Working with children has been a rewarding experience, and seeing the results has fueled my passion.”

The recipients were recognized May 26 at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration with a luncheon and awards ceremony hosted by LAUP and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

All of the award winners received a stipend, classroom supplies and an official LA County Proclamation from the Supervisors to commemorate their work and accomplishments.