(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Our teachers play a huge role in raising our children. They help foster both social and learning skills, from kindergarten to senior year. One teacher in Colorado Springs District 11, goes above and beyond and recently received statewide recognition for it. Her work to bridge the literacy gap throughout the area is headed to the national stage. Fatima Stansell, a kindergarten teacher at Adams Elementary School is no stranger to breaking barriers, she's a first-generation college graduate, a mother of two, and now the 2025 winner of Ms. Black Colorado USA. All eyes are on Stansell in the classroom, but she's not afraid to be center stage. She was nominated to compete in the Ms. Black USA pageant and is excited to represent Colorado Springs and the state on the national level. She's using the platform to bring awareness to the children's literacy gap and says a lot of students are not reading at their grade level. She also says there aren't as many African-American teachers, so she wants to be a positive role model and represent her community. "Because a lot of our children come in and, you know, they're dysregulated, and so my job and what I like to do is help them, you know, regulate themselves and build confidence. A lot of it is confidence," said Stansell, "So I use it as a confidence piece to them, showing them, 'hey, this can be done. No matter where you are, no matter what community you live in, (there are) people to look up to,' and so I just want to be the person that they can look up to." Stansell will be continuing her work to bridge the literacy gap throughout the next year and would love to see more people get involved with her community literacy events. She's been hosting literacy hours at local libraries, working on book drives, and creating videos to teach parents how to help their children read. You can get involved by contacting her via email at [email protected]. Stansell was awarded Ms. Black Colorado at the end of October and will compete for the national title in August 2025.