My name is Katrina Nubine. I have been working for OKCPS since 2012. I began my OKCPS as a paraprofessional in the Self-Contained Intellectually Disabled Classroom. I held this position until graduating from Grand Canyon University with a B.S. in both Elementary and Special Education. I also hold a M.Ed. in Special Education. Upon obtaining my degrees, I became a certified teacher for the Elementary Self-Contained ID classroom, and continued in that role until the 2019-2020 school year, at which time I decided to spread my wings and move into the Middle School Lab setting. I am still currently serving our district in the middle school setting as the Self-Contained ED teacher at John Marshall Enterprise Middle School.Â
I knew from a very young age that I wanted to teach. I remember my second grade teacher, Mrs. Opal Floyd, who made me feel smart and important. Watching her teach and learning from her inspired me to teach. My other inspiration came from watching my mom, Olivia Rose-now a OKCPS retiree, work for so many years teaching students and making a difference. I watched her teach students that grew up and then brought their children to her to teach! What an inspiration! Seeing women that looked like me be so successful, and making such a difference truly inspired and motivated me to become a teacher. I count it a blessing to have had such role models to show me what I was capable of.
Teaching comes with so many challenges. It requires patience, empathy, spontaneity, determination, and out-of-the-box thinking amongst other things. But there are so many rewards too. Those rewards may not come right away, it may be years later that a student sees you again and says thank you, or simply remembers you for making a difference however small it may be-those moments make teaching worthwhile. I count it a blessing to not only be a teacher, but a teacher in the mighty OKCPS District