T.O.Y. — Kristi Reinke

Reinke Named Teacher of the Year

Award winner credits her success to the support of colleagues and smiles on students’ faces

By Tom Gerhardt, NDU Communications

In a tough and trying year of pandemic, separation, exertion and exhaustion for all of us, we can all likely agree that each and every educator in North Dakota deserves an award. But it was Minot Education Association and North Dakota United member Kristi Reinke of Jim Hill Middle School who took home the prize of 2021 North Dakota Teacher of the Year.

“It’s still humbling,” Reinke said. “I mean, it’s just kind of crazy. You go to work every day — you want to teach — you want to have relationships with your co-workers, with your students, but you never really think of there being an award for doing that. I mean, to me, I know hundreds of other people that should be getting this exact same honor as I am.”

At a ceremony held in the Memorial Hall of the state Capitol building, in front of a socially distanced audience, all wearing masks, Reinke was presented with this year’s honor. Gov. Doug Burgum,

Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler and North Dakota United President Nick Archuleta were on hand to present her with the trophy and honor her accomplishment. Also in attendance and honored were two of the three other finalists for the award this year: Dana Kasowski, of Wahpeton, and Cory Volk, of South Central in Bismarck.

In his remarks, President Archuleta said that during the pandemic teachers from across North Dakota have been asked to do incredible things — and they have delivered. “From developing distance-learning protocols, to safely welcoming back students into the classroom,” Archuleta said, “You honorees and your colleagues from across the state have done an amazing job. Your commitment to excellence in education and your dedication to creating loving, safe and creative learning spaces for your students has earned you the admiration and respect of all North Dakotans.”

North Dakota Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Kirsten Baesler says ceremonies like the Teacher of the Year are important. “We need to celebrate each and every day the heroic work that they do with their students, their students’ families and their colleagues,” Baesler said, and Governor Doug Burgum agreed. “Theodore Roosevelt once said far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing,” Burgum said in his speech. And we know that — what a year for our state educators — working so hard at work worth doing.”

“One of the biggest priorities for me is the health and wellness of all the stakeholders in education,” Reinke said. “We spend a lot of time focusing on our students and their well-being. This is the year we really need to focus on

educators as well. You know they are burning candles at both ends. They are working harder than I’ve ever seen them work and I worry about compassion fatigue, I worry about their well-being, so I want to make sure that they take time for themselves, put their own oxygen mask on before helping others. That’s going to be a priority of mine.” Going back to her roots, Reinke nearly chose a different career path out of college.

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“I graduated from Minot State with a degree in criminal justice,” Reinke said. “And right after graduation, I moved out to Washington, D.C. I worked for one of our United States senators out there.”

But a few months into the internship – the unthinkable.

“And then 9/11 happened. And very shortly after I ended up moving back to Minot because my priorities just switched. I wanted to be back near family,” Reinke said.

Back home, a series of events led her to the classroom, first at the Burdick Job Corps Center, then as an education support professional, followed by seven years in special education before settling in as a world geography teacher at Jim Hill Middle School in Minot. “I feel like, truly, if I would’ve just started right away teaching in social studies, I wouldn’t have understood … all the different types of students,” Reinke said. “And I really think getting that experience, working with all different types of students, I think it just makes me a better teacher.”

Reinke says much has changed in her teaching career. She says some days content is the last thing she and other educators are teaching.

“And we know their home environment, you know, on their days where we walk into school, and we see somebody and we know that they haven’t had breakfast yet,” Reinke said. “So, we reach into our drawers and we make sure that they have breakfast, and we make sure that they’re OK. And I think just that’s what teachers do

now. We feel so much more than just teachers, you know. Actually, somedays I have someone call me mom.”

She says if we all knew what some students go through each day, it would break our hearts. But as the Teacher of the Year, she hopes to also shine a light on mental health for educators.

“I’ve seen them working harder than I’ve ever seen at work, and they’ve always worked very hard. But, I mean, they’re coming in early. They’re staying late. We have teachers that are teaching six straight hours in a row, but then some are online, some are face to face,” Reinke said. “And then on their one planning period, they’re creating videos for those students that are home quarantined. I mean, teachers have just been working so hard. You know what? I’m just concerned that they’re going to burn out because at some point you got to take a little break.”

Active in the Minot Education Association and North Dakota United, Reinke prioritizes this opportunity for using her voice for educators. She started her work as a leader of MEA without too much thought ahead of time though, she admits. “I somehow ended up on the ballot” for election of officers one year, she said, “and I ended up becoming the vice president. At that moment, I kind of went, wow, like now you’ve got to step up. Now you have 500-some other people that are relying on you.”

She credits her colleagues in education with preparing her for the task. “I feel like it just kind of was natural for me,” she said. “I had awesome mentors, obviously, and once I realized that I could use my voice and really speak for the people, that maybe were a little bit more nervous about speaking for themselves or having concerns, and I started doing that. Then I figured, well, once you can start doing that with adults, there you go.”

She says her rock star co-workers keep her coming back to Jim Hill. And the bonds she forms with her students.

“I mean, I had a great compliment even just today from an ESP that was in my classroom,” Reinke said. “She just came in and said, ‘You know, so-and-so just loves being in here.’ This is the bright spot of their day, which just makes you feel so good because if you know that it’s a student that doesn’t like school and doesn’t want to be here, the fact that they show right away in the morning to your class and yeah, it’s kind of cool. It’s just the little teeny things like that is what makes the rest of your day.”

Those small moments are what keep her and her students going, through the tough times. “We laugh every day in this class,” she said. “I’m blessed to be able to teach a class where, you know, we get to do some fun things. Sometimes we can stop and just take a breath, and we can readjust things. And just watching the kids laugh – a lot of times at me, instead of with me – that is just motivation to keep going. And although I can’t see their smiles right now underneath their masks, I know that if they’re enjoying class, they’re just going to learn that much easier.”