High school English teacher Christine Marsh runs for Arizona State Senate.

In today’s highly-charged political climate, there are many opportunities for hardworking and civic-minded educators to make important changes that create improved classroom conditions. One educator who hopes to do this is Christine Marsh, a high school English teacher who is running for office in the Arizona State Senate.

Christine’s impressive career as an educator spans 26 years. For 24 years, she taught at Chaparral High School in the Scottsdale Unified School District. Her teaching assignment there included courses in Advanced Placement. She currently teaches at Cactus Shadows High School in the Cave Creek Unified School District. In 2016, this amazing educator was recognized as the Teacher of the Year by the Arizona Educational Foundation. Following her selection, she traveled to Washington, DC, to meet President Barack Obama.

If elected, Christine hopes to improve pay for classroom teachers in her state. “I’ve seen the impact systematic cuts to education have had on teachers and students,” Christine comments, observing that currently Arizona is next to the bottom in the nation for high school teacher salaries and at the bottom for elementary teacher salaries. “We lose a lot of teachers because of that, including really good ones who leave the profession and go do something that’s more lucrative, so they can sustain a family.”

Christine, who is running on the Democratic ticket, is hoping to oust Senator Kate Brophy McGee, the Republican incumbent who currently represents District 28. At present, Republicans control the Arizona State Senate by two seats. “I see an opportunity to flip the Senate, or at least create a tie,” she says.

Christine was raised in Scottsdale. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from UCLA in 1989, and her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from Grand Canyon University in 2016.