The Dream of Becoming an Educator

My name is Christine Hull, and I would like to tell you a quick story about how I knew I wanted to be an educator.

The story begins when I started going to kindergarten. I was unlike many kids my age, because my parents were going through a divorce. This wasn’t super common back then. I was really worried that I was different when I was starting school. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be treated differently. I was nervous and scared to be different and not fit in.

But you know what I remember instead? I walked in, and the teacher didn’t treat me any differently. When I walked in, I got a hug, I got a hello, and I was a Lincoln Park Lion, just like everyone else in the room. I know my teacher knew that things were different for me at home, but she never made things different for me in the classroom.

I always felt welcome and had a smile on my face. I just never wanted to go home, and I never wanted school to end for the year because it was nice to feel the same, which has carried me through.

She was the first, but not the last, of many great teachers who put me on a course where I knew I wanted to go into teaching; I knew I wanted to be a part of making classrooms safe spaces for all students, where students would learn through inquiry, sharing, and collaboration.

Life as an Educator

It wasn’t until 11th grade that my US History teacher inspired me to teach Social Studies. The class was fun and exciting; everyone wanted to see what we would do next. “Do” being the operative word, the students in that class led our learning. We felt empowered and motivated to work hard and had fun learning at the same time.

Through my own teaching, I saw how I could impact students. I felt alive in a very different way, which made me want to go further.

I found along the way that by working with other teachers, we could become even better practitioners, which led to me leading professional learning, developing curriculum, and running really cool and life-changing programs, as I do now, coordinating We the People, History Day, and variety of other ways that I found to support students and to support teachers too in a much bigger way.

A Volunteer in our Community

Being an active community member has been important to me since I was a child; my parents were actively involved in First Tee of Northern Nevada, the Junior League, and the Children’s Miracle Network Telethon. I was a Girl Scout and have served in leadership roles all throughout school.

Most recently, I’ve also served and volunteered to give back through various boards, including the Washoe County School District Zoning Advisory Committee (ZAC).

My involvement in ZAC started as a parent while my children were at a school that was forced to be on a multi-track calendar due to overcrowding; essentially, three months on and one month off of school. Our family had actively advocated for the passage of the WC-1 ballot initiative, having seen first-hand how detrimental overcrowding was to the entire school community. Once new schools were starting to be built, I attended the zoning meetings to stay involved in the process, knowing my neighborhood would likely be rezoned.

Why I want to Serve District A as a Trustee on the Washoe County School Board

I am proud that my work as an educator, parent, and community volunteer supports giving our students access to programs, resources, and learning spaces that ultimately provides them with a quality education and foundation for a life-long love of learning.

I’ve been an educator for two decades. I know learning happens all over a building: on field trips, playgrounds, and libraries. Our kids deserve to be challenged and led to learn in creative and engaging ways. My wish is for the children in our community to not be in overcrowded buildings with as many as five lunch periods each day, but it’s so much more; they deserve to have updated buildings and learning spaces.

Through this work in my career, I knew we could continue to do better as a community, so I was honored to be part of the Facility Modernization Plan committee over the last two years, to advocate for all our schools to begin the process of modernizing all of our school buildings across Washoe County.

As a parent of three kids, I have also become passionate about advocating for students in an even deeper way. Our son began to struggle in his early preschool days, and we knew that typical learning environments would not work for him. I knew about the Special Education system from the teacher’s perspective, but I also am committed to advocating for him as his parent. As a parent, I know that each of my children and their educational needs are unique. As a teacher who understands classroom differentiation, I have found a unique perspective on navigating the world of education for my own children.

It is with all of these thoughts in mind, as a teacher, as a trainer of teachers, as a mom, as a community member, these are the things that I think about that drive me to run for this position, and that’s why I’m running for the school board and asking for your vote.

Your Support

A campaign like ours depends on donors in the local South Reno, Washoe Valley, and Incline, NV area. Will you chip in and support our campaign with a gift as little as $5? Together, we can win for all of the students and the future of Washoe County schools.