Kristen Davis always knew she would come back home to Texas City ISD to start her teaching career. Coming from a family of longtime Texas City residents who had also come up through Texas City schools, Davis wanted to be a part of continuing to grow the community she grew up in.
“I felt comfortable here; I felt at home here,” she says. “Plus I thought it would be extremely neat to work with teachers I had actually been in classes with, to be on the other side with them and get a different relationship.”
Davis got to experience that when she started as a dance and math teacher at Texas City High School just four years after graduating in 1999. She says the best part was getting to teach alongside Kay Potts, her Algebra II and Calculus teacher from high school – the teacher who had pushed her the most while she was in school.
She says Potts saw the potential in her and applied a little tough love to get her to kick things into gear and really start trying. It was Potts’ love for math that influenced Davis.
“She always told me, ‘whatever you do, don’t become a math teacher,’” Davis laughs. “And what do I do? I became a math teacher!”
She says it’s her love for the Texas City community, its schools and students that has kept her in Texas City ISD for the past 17 years. After 10 years at Texas City High School, she moved to Blocker Middle School as a math and science instructional specialist before taking on the job of seventh grade assistant principal two years ago.
There have definitely been changes in the district since she was a student. One in particular are the demographics, something Davis says she didn’t pay much attention to as a student, but she sees now through the lens of both an administrator and a parent. She has two children who attend Texas City’s schools.
“I appreciate the diversity that has changed over the years that my kids are getting to come up with; that’s important to me,” Davis says. “They have learned to be friends with anyone no matter where you come from.”
Texas City’s and TCISD’s strong sense of community has always made Davis feel proud.
“Texas City has always had a very small town feel,” she says. “Anytime anything has happened … Texas City comes out, they show up, they help. That’s the biggest reason (I’m proud to be a Sting).”
