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22 ADVOCATE | SPRING 2016 Arizona Teacher of the Year: Changing the World One Student at a Time By Lisa Irish, Arizona Education News Service WHEN CHRISTINE MARSH WAS A COLLEGE STUDENT, she said she wanted to change the world. She became a public school teacher. That was 24 years ago. Now students of Marsh, Arizona's 2016 Teacher of the Year, say she is encouraging them and teaching them skills they'll need to do just that. Marsh, who was awarded the honor in November by the Arizona Educational Foundation and is a member of the Scottsdale Education Association, said she focuses on her students, their needs and makes "sure that every single student feels valued and special." Her students know it, and in an interview, one said, "She cares for us inside the class and outside. She doesn't just care about AP literature, she cares for us in the future and what we're going to do to better the world after her class." Marsh said when she first started teaching, "one of the old timers in my building sat me down and gave me perhaps the best advice I've ever gotten." "Chris, he said, just close your door and teach," Marsh said. "There are going to be a lot of things outside your control. You need to focus on what you can control, which is the experience that your students will have in the four walls of your classroom." That focus let Marsh hone her skills as an Advanced Placement English teacher and learn how to reach each student in her classes at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale Unified School District. Christine Marsh, AP English teacher at Chaparral High School is the Arizona Educational Foundation's 2016 Arizona Teacher of the Year. "That luxury of focusing only on my own students is gone, though. It's gone. It's gone for me, and it's gone for other teachers as well," Marsh said. "Teachers can no longer ignore the broader realities of teaching and of doing what is best for our students. There are too many forces that are now operating against public schools." Marsh said that's why she's so thankful and grateful to have been honored as Arizona Teacher of the Year, because "winning this award will give me just a tiny bit of a broader voice from which to advocate for my fellow teachers, for students and for public education as a whole." In his recommendation letter, Scottsdale Unified Superintendent Dr. David Peterson wrote that Marsh already is an advocate for education. "Even though she is extremely involved in supporting and motivating her students, she rarely misses a governing board meeting," Peterson wrote. "She stays current on educational issues and shares them on the blog she writes for the Arizona K12 Center." Blog link www.storiesfromschoolaz.org/author/christine_p_marsh Marsh also "does all of this while also making sure her students' essays are graded and returned within 48 hours," Peterson said. Ambassadors of Excellence from left to right: Jennifer Anglin, an eighth-grade English teacher at Flowing Wells Junior High School; Mike Vargas, ninth-grade physics teacher at Pinnacle High School, Christine Marsh, 2016 Arizona Teacher of the Year, Angelia Ebner, a fifth-grade teacher at Maricopa Elementary School; and Beth Snyder, sixth-grade science teacher at Akimel A-al Middle School. Photo courtesy Arizona Educational Foundation. AEA members in bold. Arizona Educational Foundation's 2016 Arizona Teacher of the Year Christine Marsh gives her speech at the awards luncheon. Photo courtesy Arizona Educational Foundation Arizona Educational Foundation's 2016 Arizona Teacher of the Year Christine Marsh working with students in her English classes at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale Unified School District. Photo courtesy Arizona Educational Foundation