Meet Your Teacher: Armada’s Marie White Looks to Foster Confidence in Young Students

“It is my belief that students should be given the opportunity to develop into lifelong learners through a balanced education that addresses the needs of the individual as well as the group, across the curricular mosaic,” said Marie White, a fifth grade teacher at Armada Elementary School in the Moreno Valley Unified School District (MVUSD). She began teaching 10 years ago with this goal in mind; she made the switch to teaching from social work—White worked as a social worker in both Riverside and San Bernardino counties for 10 years—because of the need for structure she identified in the clients she worked with. “Working as a social worker was very rewarding, but there are too many individuals who have social, academic and financial concerns that I feel should have been dealt with during their formative years,” White said. “As a teacher, I feel that I can help change the course of a child’s life by offering them not only the academic support needed to ensure that they will have a successful life, but also offering them the social skills needed to become productive members of society. These same guiding principles create a productive and prolific school experience for every student when applied at the building level.” One way to address these issues was through reading skills, and White said she has been “trained to teach several reading intervention programs for student who are reading far below and below grade levels.” She added, “I became a reading intervention teacher because I wanted to help ensure that all students get a fair and equitable education.” Currently, White teaches the district’s Read 180 and System 44 reading programs. White attended the University of California, Berkeley after completing high school and in 2004 received her teaching credential from California Baptist University. She has three Master’s degrees in teaching, educational leadership and school psychology from Azusa Pacific University and in her decade of teaching has taught third, fourth and fifth graders in the MVUSD at both Seneca Elementary and for the last nine years at Armada. During her tenure with the district, White has also assumed various leadership roles, including serving as the Administrative Designee for the last five years, was elected as the Co-Director of Elementary of Education for the District Union by peer teachers at MVUSD, and is currently on the MVUSD’s evaluation committee. White has also worked as the grade level leader for grades fourth and fifth and has assisted in the development of Professional Learning Communities throughout Armada Elementary. “I enjoyed serving as the grade level representative to our curricular teams and working to develop curriculum that meets and enhances the Common Core Standards,” she said. Last year, White’s dedication to her students and her school was recognized when she was nominated as a teacher of the year for the 2012–2013 school year. In August 2013, she was named the Teacher of the Month. “It is a very humbling experience when you are acknowledged by other exceptional educators for your hard work,” White said. “I was extremely honored to have been nominated.” What makes her career rewarding, she said, “is [seeing] the students who felt they did not have a chance of succeeding in school begin to succeed, and to see the smile on a child’s face when he realizes he is able to accomplish things with hard work.” Her goal for each of her students is to grow in them self-esteem and make them realize their capabilities, she noted. “I want each student that is in my charge to feel they are smarter than they were when I first met them. I want them to have self-esteem that will enable them to face and conquer any challenges that might cross their paths.” In her spare time, she enjoys reading, cooking and spending time with her family: husband Melvin and children Zadora, 23, Darius 17, and Dante, 16.