‘It was the kiddos’

Julie Carvo said she didn’t plan from the outset to become a teacher. It just sort of crept up on her.

Carvo, who’s been teaching fourth grade at Moses Lake Christian Academy for 10 years, started out home-schooling her own kids. While she was doing that, her husband suggested she put that experience to another use.

“He said, ‘Honey, I know you love what you're doing, but would you like to go get the paperwork that says you're qualified to do what you're doing?’” Carvo recalled. “So I said, ‘Sure, no problem.’ So that's when I went to school to get the paperwork that said I'm qualified to do what I'm already doing.”

At first, Carvo was helping out students at Moses Lake High School who were in danger of missing graduation because of a behavioral or medical problem.

“I helped them get set up to make up the credits they needed,” she said. “They had to make up a portfolio and submit it to the department head. And if they had enough qualification there, they would get their credits made up while remaining a full-time public school student.”

Carvo’s work didn’t go unnoticed. Cynthia Calbick, who was then in charge of the Early Childhood Education department at Big Bend Community College, reached out to Carvo with a suggestion.

“She came to me and said, ‘I've been watching you with your homeschooling experience,’ Carvo said. “And I just smiled at her and said, ‘Well, okay.’ I didn't know where she was going with that. And she said, ‘I would like for you to teach a homeschool qualifying course at Big Bend.’ I said, ‘I would love to do that. Just give me the syllabus, and I'll read through it.’ She said ‘Well, before you can teach the class, you will have to write the class.’”

It took Carvo eight months to create a syllabus and get permission from the various sources whose materials she used. When she finally submitted it to the college, it was approved right away. Carvo went on to teach the class for six years.

Once her own children were grown and off to college, Carvo began to focus on her own education. She got her associate’s degree from Big Bend, her bachelor’s through Heritage University’s extension on the BBCC campus, and her professional development through Eastern Washington University.

Carvo’s first official job was teaching fourth and fifth grades at New Life Christian School in Ephrata. Unfortunately, that school ran into some difficulties after she’d been there four years.

“They lost about a third of their enrollment, and they were going to lay someone off,” she said. “Since I live way out Wheeler Road out by Ruff, I said, ‘You know, go ahead and lay me off. Everybody else is closer to the school.’ Because I wasn't doing it for the money. I was doing it because I really enjoyed helping young people succeed.”

Carvo spent a couple of years as a substitute in the Moses Lake School District, but her heart was in Christian education, she said. When a position opened at Moses Lake Christian Academy, she took it gladly.

“Christian education, to me, is really, really important,” she said. “Because I want these kids to know who Jesus is, and that he's more than just a person in a storybook. He's real, and he loves them, and he can help them through so many different challenges in their lives. And it's important for me to instill that into the kids.”

Lots of teachers come to the profession because of another teacher who inspired them when they were in school. Carvo came to it from the opposite direction.

“I guess it's the kids who inspired me. Because when you see their little eyes catch a concept. And they have that little light that comes on, that flickers, and they smile because they get it. You know, to me that is worth so much.”

“I deeply appreciate all the teachers who have touched my life,” she added. “However, it was the kiddos who inspired me to become a teacher.”