“A champion for her students” is how fellow teacher Angela Calloway describes Christine East, the Poplar Bluff Junior High School Teacher of the Year for 2021-22.
“Whether a student is struggling or excelling, she supports and challenge them to be the best version of themselves,” Calloway said. “Ms. East sets a high bar for her students, which her students work hard to reach and exceed. Through diverse and engaging lessons, guided practice and a variety of assessment tools, Ms. East keeps her classroom environment inclusive, open and inviting, with plenty of room for reflection and growth.”
East is a 21-year veteran of the Poplar Bluff R-I school district, holding a bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and a master’s degree in elementary administration from William Woods.
She taught for 14 years at Oak Grove Elementary before teaching fourth grade for three years at Poplar Bluff Middle School. East has taught eighth-grade English at PBJHS since August 2018 and also taught kindergarten art and elementary physical education for a year.
“Chris has been invaluable to me as a colleague and mentor, especially as a newer teacher in the district,” Calloway said. “Entering the teaching profession as a second career has not been without challenges, and I have leaned on my department for advice and support many times. Having Ms. East as a mentor and advisor has helped me grow as a teacher and step out of my comfort zone.
Julie Gambill, the chair of the English department at PBJHS, nominated East for Teacher of the Year, and praised her as a motherly figure to her students.
“Ms. East will work one to one with any student,” Gambill said. “She also uses small groups. Ms. East encourages students with kind words. She is a motherly figure. Students seek her advice on many of life‘s speed bumps, hills and valleys.”
Gambill also praised East for her handling of tense situations.
“Chris selects her words well in all situations,” Gambill said. “She is open-minded and shares her thinking in a professional manner. Chris is non-confrontational with students. She will find ways to de-escalate a situation. Ms. East exercises the most appropriate tone and volume for student correcting.”
Teachers are not the only ones that have words of praise for East. Amanda Gowen praised her for being a mentor to her daughter.
“Regardless of what has happened throughout the chaos of each day, Ms. East remains positive and encouraging to her students, always seeking to help them improve not only their work in her class, but their lives overall,” Gowen said. “I am told of the patients she practices and how far above and beyond she goes for her students.“
Steve and Kati Ray’s son, Blane Ray, had East as a teacher as a fourth-grader and now as an eighth-grader at PBJHS.
“Ms. East has always brought out the best in our child,” Steve and Kati Ray said. “As parents, we feel that she set the expectations high for Blane behaviorally and academically, then she went above and beyond to equip him with what it takes to reach his full potential. She had a way of making him understand his value and worth.”
When she isn’t teaching, East keeps busy. She is an active member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church and the secretary of the St. Anne Society. East also has been involved with Downtown Poplar Bluff and has served on the Butler County Fair Board in the past.
Editor’s note: This is part of a continuing series recognizing area Teachers of the Year from Butler County districts.