Christy is an 11th and 12th grade secondary teacher and team lead at North Florida School of Special Education. NFSSE’s mission is to discover and foster each student’s unique abilities, revealing their highest potential. Christy’s contribution to that mission lies in preparing her students for the workforce and teaching them social and independent living skills—a focus she’s most passionate about. She loves getting creative with hands-on, empowering ways to administer vocational training, and goes above and beyond to ensure her students know their worth.

The Basics:

Hometown: Jacksonville, FL
Current city: Jacksonville Beach, FL
Alma mater: University of North Florida
Degree: B.A., Exceptional Student Education (ESE)
Very first job: Babysitting
Hustle: Secondary Teacher and Team Lead, North Florida School of Special Education

The Interests:

Babe you admire and why?
My mom is definitely a babe that I admire. She’s also a teacher, but she’s warmer and kinder than most. She can be anyone’s best friend and she will never complain about working hard. She’s 55 but actively continues to dance and chase fun!

If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?
I’d be right where I am—but without a pandemic. Ha.

Go-to adult beverage?
Night at home: glass of cabernet; Sunny day: skinny margarita

Current power anthem?
Underdog by Alicia Keys 

What would you eat for your very last meal?
My mom’s spaghetti and garlic bread 

What’s something you want to learn or master? 
Interior design! I’d love to master this and be able to do it on the side during my summers off.

The Hustle:

Tell us about your hustle.
I teach high school students with mild-to-moderate physical and intellectual differences. I’m the reading teacher in the secondary department, but the big focus of my profession is on vocational training. The mission of NFSSE is to discover and foster each student’s unique abilities, revealing their highest potential. Preparing my students for the workforce and teaching them social and independent living skills is what I’m most passionate about. I spend a lot of time thinking about my students individually, wondering what skills are most crucial for them to learn. I love my job because I have the ability to be creative in teaching them these life skills. This last year, we opened a school coffee shop/cafe, as well as organized a cleaning crew. I try really hard to find ways to teach these concepts in hands-on ways, and with experiences that will empower them while also giving them necessary workforce skills. I also act as team lead for the secondary department at NFSSE, where I lead weekly conversations with the high school teachers. Together, we discuss ways we can improve our practice and better ourselves to meet the needs of the students in our classrooms, whether that be through classroom management, lesson implementation, or advances in our curriculum.

What does your typical workday look like?
My alarm goes off at 5:50am and I make it to the gym or go for a run before each workday. This helps to wake me up and be more productive throughout the day. I get to work early and drink a cup of coffee, check emails and get some things done with no interruption. Students start to arrive around  8:45, and I try to play some happy/cheerful music upon their arrival. After our morning routine, students switch to their academic classes based on their ability levels, eat lunch, and then the rest of my afternoon is spent teaching vocational and independent living skills. I try to plan fun games, and sometimes we’ll go out into the community to practice what we’ve learned inside the classroom. The day is always fast-paced and unpredictable, but before I know it, it’s 4pm and I’m thinking about dinner. 

What’s your relationship like with your students?
I have really good relationships with my students, and I find behavior management to be my strength inside the classroom. I try hard to build relationships with my students outside of the academic setting. Engaging in conversations about their weekend plans, scheduling class time to tell jokes, and taking breaks to go outside and throw the football around are all things that go a long way in building their trust. They’re high school students! They all have their moments, but at the end of the day, they know that I care about them and they don’t want to disappoint me. 

How do you divide your time between meeting the immediate needs of your students and keeping up with the administrative side of things?
I told myself that I never wanted to be that teacher who took loads of work home each night, only to show up the next morning feeling burnt out. Instead, I show up to work an hour early, work through my lunch, and keep things very organized between myself and my teaching assistant.

How do you feel about the current education system—and particularly special education?
I’d love to see more inclusion in the school system. I often take my students into the community, and it’s obvious that adults with intellectual and physical differences are treated with less respect than their neurotypical peers. It’s something I think about often, and it’s something that our nation needs to be better educated on as a whole.

What would you say is your biggest career milestone to date and why?
Last year, I entered my 2nd year of teaching. I was 23 at the time, and my boss asked me to be the team lead for the high school department. I have innate leadership traits, and I knew that it was something that I was capable of—but it was a position that challenged and pushed me to grow professionally.

How would you say being a woman has affected your professional experience? What can we do to create more equal, uplifting (and well-paying!) spaces for women in your industry?
Teaching was a male-dominated career in the U.S up until the late 1800s. Once it became primarily female, it was a job no longer viewed as a highly paid profession and more as a morally upright job for working-class women. So I’m not sure—but I think encouraging more of the general population to view teaching as a serious profession that deserves higher wages is a good place to start. 

What’s the gender ratio like in your industry? Do you see it evolving? Why or why not?
The male-to-female teacher ratio is 2:12. I don’t see it evolving until the salary for teachers increases greatly.

What are some misconceptions about your job? What are some everyday struggles we might not see?
Teaching is a hard career because you can always, always, always, do more. I struggle with this because I take a lot of pride in performing well at my job—yet there are always times I wonder if I do enough. Ultimately, I know that I do the best that I can, and it’s humbling to set boundaries. I learned early on that you won’t (happily) make it far in the profession if you don’t have confidence and a backbone. 

Are you involved with any other careers, side projects or organizations?
I have been paid to do calligraphy for small side projects and weddings, and I have toyed with the idea of growing it into a business. I’m fearful, though, that if I do that, it will no longer be a hobby that I enjoy and turn to for creative inspiration. Stay tuned.

Who are some women in your field that you look to for inspiration?
Angela Watson’s book, “Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching” is something that has helped and inspired me tremendously in the workforce. She works and writes to empower teachers to develop the resilient, flexible, and positive mindset that you need to be successful and avoid teacher burnout. When I find myself feeling overwhelmed or under-appreciated, I turn on her podcast or pick up one of her books every single time!

Career and/or life advice for other babes (both inside and outside of your industry?)
Your life is as good as your mindset. It’s also one of the only things that we have control over—in work and in life. Engage in uplifting conversation, and spend a lot of time talking with people who love what they do. Spend more time wondering, and less time worrying. Instead of worrying about whether you’re good enough, wonder how you can get better. Instead of worrying about whether you’re competent, wonder how you can contribute. I’m a firm believer that what you see depends on what you’re looking for, and the happiest people are the ones who believe they’re standing on the greenest side of the street.

Connect with Christy:

Personal IG / Facebook / Teacher IG

This interview has been condensed and edited.

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