Educator of the Year 
2015

Leah Cull
Credit Recovery
Arrowhead Union High School

When the stick showed up as positive, I did nothing but panic. I cried and wanted to die. I knew my life would change forever. It all began junior year when I found out I was pregnant with twins.
Being 17 years old and pregnant means worrying about homework while maintaining two babies, the future, as well as keeping friendships. Walking down the halls having to listen to the lies and hate, and watching my body change, is heart-wrenching. I feared other people because I never wanted to be that teenager who was pregnant. But that changed when it turned into my reality.
Along the way, I held in my emotions. I couldn’t let them slip because I needed to show I could do this. But mixed emotions was all I felt. Sometimes I was sunny and joyous; other times I dreaded what was going on. It can be exciting to be pregnant with twins, but I am only 17. I put on an act for a while, but after time, I knew the truth of my pregnancy would reveal itself. And that was my fear.
Ms. Cull is a teacher who spends her days working with kids who learn in different ways. I met her in a program called credit recovery. If a student fails a class, they can make up the credit by doing additional work instead of retaking the course. Ms. Cull spends one-on-one time with each and every one of her students. She ensures each student that she wants them to succeed and she is always positive and motivating. She devotes time to talking to students and to making them feel like they belong. She never fails to make each student feel special.
Ms. Cull is like having a mother at school--she is by my side everyday. I'm grateful I talked to her about my pregnancy because I had no one else I felt could help me.
Ms. Cull devoted her days to insuring my happiness and relief.  She talked to me, and bought me books to help me learn. She gave me her cell phone number for those hard days. She let me know, in the kindest ways, that I could do this. She motivated me to not only be a brilliant student, but an even better mother.
Ms. Cull constantly reminded me that “you can do this” and “you are strong it can’t stop your dreams.” She always brightened my day and still continues too. All my smiles came from her. With that, Ms. Cull deserves to be recognized for this award because she never stops putting smiles on each and every one of her students’ faces.
Ms. Cull helped me to develop a plan so I could ensure I would graduate with my class. She went to my guidance counselor and came up with an alternative plan. She helped me figure out how school would still be possible even with the delivery date close to school starting. She worked with me to hammer out as many credits as I could so the end result would be fewer credits next year once the twins are born. She helped enroll me in summer online classes she thinks I could do well in. She reminded me when days got hard that I could bring my school work to her room. She never failed to make me feel at ease. She relieved my stress. She cleared my confusion and found a way to guarantee my graduation.
Ms. Cull made me feel like I can handle the negatives and she never let me down. Instead, she let me in and she gained my trust. She had a huge impact on my life. I would still be panicky and alarmed about being a mother to twins and graduating  if it weren’t for her.
I couldn't be more thankful to have her. Although I wanted to cry and die in the beginning, I realized pregnancy can be a beautiful thing. Ms. Cull also helped me realize that even though I’m 17 I  can still graduate high school and take care of twins--and that I will be successful. And because of this, Ms. Cull is a true blessing in my life.