Christie Brown is a first grade teacher at Liberty Elementary and lives in Blackwell with her husband Chad and two children, Megan, who is currently a fifth grade teacher at Liberty Elementary and Blake, a junior at NWOSU.

Brown was a 1990 graduate of Blackwell High School. After high school, she completed an Associate of Art degree at Northern Oklahoma College, then continued education at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva and received a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education in 1994.

Brown began teaching in Ponca City in 1995 and has been working in the district since and she became a National Board Certified Teacher in 2008 and was selected as Ponca City District Teacher of the Year in 2015.

She was inspired by her favorite elementary teacher: second grade teacher Ms. Davis. Brown was a reluctant learner when she started second grade, but Ms. Davis changed all that by nourishing, believing in Brown and making her feel like the most special student in the entire class.

Brown willed herself to become an avid reader that year.

"I felt so loved, so important, and so smart that I knew by the end of second grade that I wanted to grow up to be a teacher and difference maker like Ms. Davis," said Brown.

One of the things she is very proud of is the classroom environment she creates with students each year.

"Our classroom is a great place to be!" said Brown. "I set very high goals for my students and myself and provide rigorous learning opportunities every day."

On a school-wide level, Brown is a leader and mentor to other teachers and often thinks of the quote, "Be a lamp, a lifeboat or a ladder."

"As a leader, you have to know how to serve and guide others," said Brown. "I am always available for a brainstorming session, a listening ear, or a bit of advice."

Over the years, Brown has served as a mentor for several beginning teachers and hosted student teachers from area colleges. She spent a great deal of time in conversation with new teachers about foundations of teaching, classroom management, data collection, lesson planning and curriculum.

"It is one of my greatest privileges to help develop new teachers into high quality professionals that can serve our students and our profession with excellence," said Brown.

During her time as a Wildcat she has attended Kagan Cooperative Learning, Responsive Classroom, Professional Learning Communities, Literacy First, Math and Parent Partnership, National Board, Great Expectations, Love and Logic and many more.

One of her favorite things about her job is the people she gets to work alongside every day at Liberty.

"We have some of the hardest working, innovative, caring and reflective teachers I know."

One ofthe values Brown holds deeply is the importance of social emotional learning in the classroom. In the early weeks of school, she is devoted to spending time creating classroom rules, doing guided discovery of classroom materials, interactive modeling and establishing a safe trusting place for kids to feel loved and be able to learn.

"My focus on social learning never waivers and leads our class to develop strong skills of caring, assertion, respect, empathy and self monitoring," said Brown. "During our year together this foundation allows us to proceed academically together with few disruptions to our learning process."

Brown carefully groups students according to academic need based on data collection and careful progress monitoring. Additionally, she provides instant feedback during the day, which leads to students that are eager to grow from their mistakes and relish in their success.

"Students in our class praise, encourage, and compliment each other as we are working towards mastery of skills," said Brown. "This is one of the highlights of why I teach - this love of learning!"

It is Brown's fondest wish that her daily classroom life with her students will make a difference to them in the years to come as they continue to establish positive feelings about school, solidify foundational skills and commit to years of future learning.

"This profession is a calling and I am delighted to say that I still love my job even after 25 years and I get to serve as an educator for PCPS."