"Improving public education in New York City is an awesome reason to go to work each day."
Christine Green - 2006 New York
Spotlight on Christine Green
During her fellowship at Victory Schools, Christine prepared and filed a 501(c) application for a Philadelphia charter school and helped to implement New York State charter school health and safety requirements. In addition, she drafted and revised principal contracts, teacher agreements and loan documents. After receiving her JD from Villanova University, Christine joined Victory Schools and is now their Associate General Counsel.
I started my career as a TeachForAmerica corps member teaching third grade in the South Bronx. Early on, I knew I wanted to combine my passion for public education reform with a legal degree. I anticipated using my law degree to work as a lawyer for an organization that affected positive change in education, such as a non profit, a progressive school district, or a social entrepreneurship entity. I knew education was the sector for me because of my childhood experiences attending both public and private school in both the northern and southern United States. My mom is a public school teacher, and her experiences teaching in very different settings exposed me to the problems poor students face: teen pregnancy, truancy, insufficient academic performance, lack of quality health care, etc. I wanted to address them with my legal degree.
The chance to speak directly with so many stakeholders in public education during my Education Pioneers fellowship was invaluable.
For example, hearing from union leaders that starting a union-led charter school was meant to show how much could be done within the union contract and not to show significant student achievement demonstrated to me the myriad of interests at play in education. We also interacted with social entrepreneurs trying to address an aspect of education that needed reform. I vividly remember Charles Best discussing how his experiences as a teacher who needed resources to enrich his students learning led him to found DonorsChoose.org. Access to such passionate individuals furthered my passion for closing the achievement gap and ensuring that all children have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.
After I graduated from law school, I knew I wanted to continue to do what I had at Victory - combine legal work with education reform. I was hired by my summer placement, Victory Schools and I love my job and the purpose of my work. My company affects the lives of over 6,000 students. I work with boards, administrators, teachers and families who want a quality education for their children. I know that we are creating great schools where learning and high expectations are valued.
Improving public education in New York City is an awesome reason to go to work each day.
