Buchholz High School teacher Christin Vinson once pulled her car over after spotting a senior who hadn’t been in school for three months to encourage him to come back and finish high school.
“Going above and beyond is the standard for Mrs. Vinson,” said principal Kevin Purvis. “Her ability to bridge the gap between home and school has been instrumental in helping countless students overcome barriers and reach their full potential.”
“I call them my babies, and every baby has a future,” she said. “I try to give them a vision of what they’re future can be, because sometimes they don’t know they have one,” said Vinson.
Vinson, who teaches math and learning strategies, was named national Teacher of the Month for December in the Amazing Teacher recognition program, which included a $5000 award. Recently Vinson was notified that she’d been named the program’s national Amazing Teacher of the Year. This week she was presented with an additional $10,000 check in front of several cheering students.
The Amazing Teacher program is coordinated locally by the Gainesville Sun and sponsored by Florida Credit Union.
“I was emotional to know that someone had nominated me and had seen something that sometimes I don’t think we see in ourselves because we do it every day,” said Vinson. “We don’t do it for the recognition, we do it because we love being with students.”
Vinson said she’s grateful she learned about the award before her father died in January.
“He was my rock and my hero,” she said. “Being able to share this with him before he passed...I can’t put it into words.”
Vinson is now in her 26th year of teaching in Alachua County Public Schools, including more than 10 years at Buchholz. She is also the mother of two children who went through the school system.
“To not only be an educator, but also a mom, a parent in Alachua County Public Schools, I’m honored and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said.