Rayna Christy

Position: Mathematical instruction specialist, grades six through twelve 

Years at LCM: 17

Years teaching: 44 

Q: How would other people describe your high school self?  

A: When I was in high school, people probably thought of me as the smart guy. We really didn’t say nerd back then, but it’s kind of nerdy. Also, a basketball player. 

Q: Was there a career you wanted to pursue or pursued before teaching?  

A: I always wanted to be a teacher. My mother tried to talk me out of it. 

Q: Tell us about how you got into teaching.  

A: There were two things I really liked: doing math and playing basketball, and the only thing that I knew I could do both of those and get paid for it was be a teacher and coach. I went to school, majored in math and minored in physical education and became a teacher and coach. 

Q: What do you do outside of school for fun? 

A: I go to basketball games, watch basketball on TV sometimes, listen to music, read.

Q: When people get to know you, what are they most surprised to learn about you?  

A: That I have a sense of humor and can be funny. Most people think I’m focused on teaching math and that’s really not funny, but I can say things that are really kind of sharp and witty and make you laugh.

Q: What is something you know a weird amount about that’s not related to something you teach?  

A: Basketball and geography 

Q: Tell us the story about what you are most proud of yourself for.  

A: Here at LCM, the most proud thing I’ve done is, I forget what year it was, I think it was like 2011, teaching AP Calculus, six students decided to take the AP test and all six of them made a 5, which is the highest score you can make on an AP test, so that’s pretty impressive that six out of six made 5s. Another thing, before I was here, I coached basketball at West Orange- Stark and took the girls’ basketball team to the state tournament and we finished second in state, so that was a pretty good accomplishment.

Q: Who is someone you are thankful for and why?

A: My mother, thankful she never talked me out of teaching math, but she’s always been encouraging and supportive, even if I don’t do the things she wants me to, like being an accountant.

Q: What advice would you give to your younger self?  

A: To be more outgoing, to network with people. I think those are very important things. I mean, I’ve survived without it, but if I’d have been more outgoing and did more networking, may have accomplished more, but who knows.

Q: What do you hope to be remembered for?  

A: Being a kind, thoughtful, helpful person

Q: What’s on your bucket list? What aspirations do you have for the future?  

A: I’ve been to Saint Louis, Missouri twice, and I haven’t got to ride up in the arch yet, and that’s what I’d like to do someday. One day it was foggy, and if you rode up in it you weren’t going to be able to see anything, and the other day, the line was too long and nobody wanted to wait as long as I would’ve waited, because you only get a few people at a time, they ride up in this elevator that takes you from the bottom up to the top, and you can look out and it brings you back down. At some point, I’ll retire, not sure when that’ll be, I still want to give back as long as I can to students, to teachers, to community.

Favorites 

Food: Broiled red snapper

Restaurant: Pat’s of Henderson, because they have good broiled red snapper 

Music: I like slow, mellow music, Luther Vandross, Teddy Pendergrass. 

TV show: I like to watch “Young Sheldon” and “Abbott Elementary.” Those are the two shows I try to watch. I don’t always get to see them.

Movie: “John Q,” and the other one is “Akeelah and the Bee.” “John Q” is about a father who’s willing to give his own life so his son can live, and “Akeelah and the Bee,” Akeelah’s a young girl that goes into the spelling bee and overcomes the odds and does well in the national spelling bee. Just kind of inspirational things.

Book: That was hard. I picked one that is kind of unusual; it’s by Tavis Smiley. “What I Know For Sure” is the title of the book. It just talks about his life and the things he’s done to become a national figure.  

Teacher: Growing up, I guess my favorite teacher was, several of them along the way, Mr. Honeycutt was my sixth grade teacher, Mr. Andrews, my Algebra I teacher, those were two favorite teachers. Mr. Chandler was my senior math teacher when I was a senior in high school. On this campus, my favorite teachers are Jane Dunn and Terry Morris.