After five days away due to her sister’s death, Spanish teacher Christine Posadas approached her return to SHS with a heavy heart. The weight of recent loss lingered, and she realized she wasn’t OK.
Just before first period began, Principal Amy Boone arrived with a bright red vase of flowers and thoughtful gifts. In that moment, Boone’s embrace and words of comfort reminded Posadas that she wasn’t facing this difficult transition alone. Her school community stood ready to support her through her darkest moments.
In that moment, she felt loved and supported.
“My favorite thing about Southport High School is the people,” Posadas said. “We often say that we’re a family – my Southport family. They’ve been very supportive.”
Her coworkers say that this love and connection are not just felt by Posadas but reciprocated and that she has been a pillar of compassion and encouragement at SHS. For more than two decades, Posadas has shaped lives far beyond the classroom. This dedication led her to be honored as the 2025 Teacher of the Year.
A rising star
As a senior at Ben Davis High School, Posadas had modest ambitions, and she was planning to continue working as a shift coordinator at Burger King after graduation.
Growing up in a working-class family, Posadas experienced the realities of limited financial resources firsthand. Nobody in her family had ever been to college, and with her father’s income supporting a family of six, the path to college for her seemed daunting and unrealistic, but with support and encouragement, Posadas found her way forward.
“We weren’t destitute, but we were a poor family,” Posadas said. “My dad worked so my mom could stay home and take care of the four kids, and there were a lot of sacrifices.”
But her school social worker saw more in her and took her home one day so she could speak with Posdas’s mother. She explained that she was in the top 20 students of her graduating class, a fact that made the possibility of college suddenly real.
“(The social worker) said, ‘You are going to go to college. You can do great things,’” Posadas said.
Because of the encouragement of one of her teachers and the social worker, Posadas began applying for scholarships and realized not only was college within reach but she could even choose which one to attend.
Posadas’ passion for Spanish was ignited years earlier by her inspiring Spanish teacher, Tom Alsop, at Ben Davis. That fascination led her to pursue Spanish while taking education classes in
college, and it ultimately shaped her path toward teaching.
“(Alsop) was just so inspiring,” Posadas said. “I loved Spanish as a high school student. I’ve just been very interested in the culture and fascinated by language learning.
She ultimately selected Marian College, now Marian University, for its close-knit community and proximity to her family.
Shaping lives
Building on this foundation, Posadas stepped foot into a new school, but this time as a teacher, and began her teaching career in the 1994-95 school year at IPS, teaching at H.L. Harshman Middle School and Arlington High School. During the 1998-99 school year, she was named Arlington’s Teacher of the Year.
In the fall of 1999, she began her journey at SHS, where she has since taught every level of Spanish, from introductory classes to AP and advanced courses.
Over the years, she has become known for her empathy, kindness and her ability to see students as individuals first, offering support that goes beyond academics.
Math teacher Christina Ferguson, one of the teachers, who nominated Posadas for Teacher of the Year, appreciates her contributions to the Southport community and her dedication to helping students and other teachers in any way possible.
“When I think of Mrs. Posadas, I just think about her overall character and how caring she is,” Ferguson said.
Posadas says that she hopes to communicate to her students that education is much more than just learning a subject. It’s about learning how to learn, building character and always striving to do your best.
Posadas says she especially loves seeing her advanced students grow in their language and as people. One of those students, senior Paige Mayer, says she looks up to Posadas for staying so strong through so many challenges while still making sure the students in her class are doing the best they can do.
“I’ve gotten to know her and learn about her life experiences,” Mayer said. “She faced so much adversity, but she always remains positive, and she always finds ways to help people even when she’s the one that needs help.”
Spanish teacher Jamie Marshall says whether a student is struggling with coursework or a personal challenge, Posadas is the type of teacher who will reach out, listen and offer help beyond the classroom walls.
“She is just there for people, and she is just there for the students and really treats each of us as though we are one of her own and we are part of her family,” Marshall said.
The impact that Posadas has on others is reflected in the heartfelt notes and letters she has received over the years,
many of which she keeps and revisits during challenging moments. These messages remind her that the most meaningful lessons she communicates are not always academic, but about resilience, courage and self-worth.
One student told her, “Señora, you are the strongest person I know,” when Posadas herself was struggling with personal loss, reinforcing the nature of encouragement and strength in her relationships with students.
“It just made me stop to think, ‘You know, I guess I am strong, ’” Posadas said. “Even when you feel you’re broken, you’re surrounded by people who support you and help you and care about you. You’re stronger than you know.”
Southport family
The strength and support has made SHS much more than a workplace. For her the people here are a true family.
“It just feels like a community, and that’s the biggest thing. It’s like Southport is a special place,” Posadas said.
Over the years, this sense of community has become meaningful during times of personal hardship.
When she faced multiple surgeries and the loss of her mother and sister, her colleagues and students rallied around her, organizing food trains, sending
messages and offering help even if they didn’t know her well.
The amount of support she received at her mother’s funeral was shocking to her family when so many colleagues showed up.
In that moment, Posadas told her relatives, “I have the best job in the world.”
Posadas credits the administration for fostering an environment where traditions and events bring everyone together and where teachers are valued as individuals.
“They see us as people before they just see us as teachers or employees,” Posadas said.
For Posadas, the Southport family is defined by people looking out for one another. It’s this deep sense of connection and care that makes SHS a special place in her life and in the lives of everyone who walks the halls.
‘A different realm’
Although she has been named Teacher of the Year, this will be her last year as a classroom teacher. She has decided to retire at the end of the school year. Her decision has led to both excitement for new challenges and a deep sense of gratitude for the community she has been a part of for so many years.
While she loves her profession, her students and her colleagues, she feels ready to embrace a new chapter, one that allows her to support others differently.
Rather than stepping away from SHS entirely, Posadas intends to return as an EL facilitator, continuing to help and encourage students.
She had made the decision to retire prior to the beginning of the school year, but she was uncertain of what her next chapter would hold until the day Boone came in with thoughtful gifts and a beautiful vase of flowers.
“When Mrs.Boone came with that, I was like OK It was so clear,” Posadas said. “Within a couple of hours, I just went to tell her, thank you, because you just made my decision.
Boone is grateful that Posadas will still be present even outside the classroom.
“As much as I’m sad that she is retiring, I am just extremely excited that she’s still going to be a part of SHS and have a big impact on our students and staff,” Boone said.
Posadas’s new role entails helping EL students in just about any way the department needs.
“I would like to have some new challenges … Challenges that are going to push me forward in a different way or to be able to assist and help in a different realm,” Posadas said.
This transition also comes at a time when her family needs her more than ever. With a daughter who is a single mother of four, Posadas looks forward to being more present and available for her grandchildren, offering the same care and support at home that she has given her students at school.
Though she acknowledges the bittersweet nature of leaving the classroom, she is eager for the opportunity to give her best in new ways both to her family and to the SHS community she loves.
For Posadas, retirement isn’t an ending, but a chance to keep making a difference, just as she always has.
