LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Christie Smith-McCargo was nominated anonymously.

Ms. Smith-McCargo's teaching method begins by making students feel safe with her and within her environment. Her approach is energetic, yet still firm and business-minded. Because she has a true passion for her students, she naturally gets to know each of them through genuine conversations, which shows that she genuinely cares. In turn, this translates into the overall climate of her classroom, which is nurturing, fulfilling, trusting, positive, and safe. 

Her new school is a STEAM school, and she wants to fully embrace what that means, not just by saying the word, but by bringing STEAM experiences to life for students. Not being the "average" teacher also helps Ms. Smith-McCargo achieve her goal of creating a positive environment. She is upbeat, energetic, silly, funny, and positive, and to her, the class is always a reflection of herself. She also allows her classroom to be a space where mistakes are welcome, and as a community, they work together to help one another fix them.

Another priority of hers is celebrating her students' milestones through incentives. She loves putting together themed celebrations because her students deserve it. Her classroom is like her household. At home, she celebrates her own wins, big and small, and creates spaces that make her feel good, especially when she's away from family and living in a city on assignment to reach and teach the students she has been called to serve. Ms. Smith-McCargo brings that same energy into her classroom because her students are like family to her. Oftentimes, they are the very reason she wakes up in the morning. For example, Ms. Smith-McCargo wants to see their little hearts light up with joy when they find out a Thanksgiving Dinner is happening in her class that day! Teaching is more than just a job for her; it is her reason. She feels it is her duty to ensure that every student feels seen, heard, and loved.

In her very first year as an Algebra teacher, while utilizing the iPREP room, Ms. Smith-McCargo received the Rookie Teacher of the Year award. She made history in a low-income community in Miami, FL, by achieving 100% proficiency on the End-of-Year Exam. In her second year, the number of students doubled, yet she still maintained a 96% proficiency rate. These results did not come from simply going to work each day and returning home. They came from waking up at 4 a.m., studying, lesson planning, and constantly reimagining how to make each lesson as engaging as possible. More importantly, they came from the relationships Ms. Smith-McCargo intentionally fostered with her students, because, as the saying goes, students perform for people they like.

Most recently, Ms. Smith-McCargo was honored with the award for Most Engaging Lessons. She also considers creating a sense of community among her students to be one of her most significant accomplishments, especially in today's tech-driven society. To build this connection, she developed two classroom Instagram pages that showcase the excellence, creativity, and joy that happen daily in her classroom.

Ms. Smith-McCargo has had the opportunity to teach in many different learning environments over the years, ranging from algebra to a culinary club. Now, she's in a brand-new teaching environment, and after just a few days in her new space, she's been brainstorming ways to integrate all of her prior practices across districts into the classroom.