Ms. McPhie is an English teacher here at Centreville High School, currently in her fourth year of teaching. She has a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction for Secondary English Education 6-12, which she got at George Mason University. Ms. McPhie used to teach at Mountain View High School before coming to Centreville. She said that it was “a really interesting school,” since Mountain View is an alternative school rather than a traditional school, like Centreville. She compares her experience of Mountain View and Centreville, saying that she has a lot more students than she did at Mountain View, and that they are “more available to learn.” Ms. McPhie loves teaching honors, and working on the ninth grade team because “you’re working together to find the best assignments, the best curriculum for all the students in the grade and make sure everyone is having a cohesive experience in their 9th grade class.”

Ms. McPhie loves teaching at Centreville, saying “I found it so supportive, I love the department, and I love the students.” She loves interacting with students from different backgrounds, and enjoys how diverse the school setting is. She loves having whole class discussions with her classes, having people actually participating because “that’s a sign that people are engaged, by seeing people’s faces and that they’re looking at me, and making comments on the topic.” She also enjoys building a positive classroom community where people can chat and joke, and also getting them to engage with material.

She stated that she thinks teaching has changed a lot since the pandemic, and that it has been difficult. She finds teaching overall more difficult than it used to be; however, she feels supported, loves her students, and overall lucky that she’s gotten to know and interact with so many different students from so many different backgrounds. Ms. McPhie said she’s always wanted to be a teacher to be like the teachers she loved, and unlike the teachers she didn’t particularly like. She picked English because she has always been an avid reader, spending lots of nights reading and excelling in English at school. 

Ms. McPhie sponsors the soap club after school, and likes to do creative things in her free time, such as cooking, watercolor, calligraphy, and enjoys traveling and meditating. 

Ms. McPhie is an amazing teacher who dedicates time to her students and is thoughtful and kind. English is always interesting with the class discussions, and the general mood is always positive and enlightening.