Quick Teaching Stats
Number of Teaching Years: 13 years of public school teaching, 1 year of homeschooling
Grades Taught: Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, and 3rd grade
States Taught in: Virginia and South Carolina
Preferences: Title One Schools, Primary Grades K-2
Certifications: Teacher, Pre-K-6th grade | Administration, K-12
Degrees: B.A. Human Development | M.A. Ed Curriculum and Instruction
EdS Educational Leadership K-12, EdD in Educational Leadership K-12
Awards: Teacher of the Year (2020-2021) | Rotary Teacher of the Year- Elementary (2011-2012) | Reading Teacher of the Year (2011-2012)
Dreams in the Making
I dreamed of being a teacher since I was four years old watching the Disney teaching awards on TV. The rest of my four siblings chose professions in business and healthcare. However, I couldn’t shake it- I wanted to teach.
I started my teaching program in the Fall of 2001 at Virginia Tech when AOL instant messenger was all the rage until Facebook came out. While in school, I worked two to four jobs to manage living expenses while staying heavily involved with student organizations on campus. Because my siblings and I were the first of our family to go to college in the United States, our parents put a heavy emphasis on succeeding in our studies and obtaining that degree. However, because I am Filipina American, I also wanted more of a social life outside of school.
So, as imperfect as that journey was, I lived five years with academic and social pursuits in my life mixed together as a messy, tangled web. I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Human Development in December 2004. Then, I graduated with a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction in May 2006.
My Teaching Start
In August 2006, I started teaching at a Title One Elementary School in Norfolk, VA. I was given an empty kindergarten classroom and $200. I worked as a waitress at a local sushi restaurant three to four days a week and slowly built up my learning resources and teaching materials.
As hard as my first year of teaching was, I still wanted to be there and master the profession. Classroom management was my first obstacle to conquer and the health of my students and their families was innately a priority to my heart.
I finished three years at that school and then married my husband, Ben, to move to South Carolina for his work. Due to the 2008 recession, teacher jobs were hard to find in the Fall of 2009, so I was not hired until November. The third-grade class that I took over had been left in Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade due to behavior. That class inspired me to teach my students how to do their “part” in the classroom setting. I taught at that school for two more years in grades 2nd and Kindergarten.
Inspired by my first year at the school, I started a dance crew for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders to incentivize good behavior and grades in the classroom. That dance crew ran for two years and gave opportunities for older elementary students to lead and perform a dance around the community and participate in community service initiatives.
My Break From the Classroom
After those three years in South Carolina, my husband and I moved back to Virginia to settle with our families. We had hoped to have children while in South Carolina, however, all our efforts were unsuccessful. So, I decided to take some time off from the classroom to focus on my husband’s new career and our marriage.
With the time off, I got to explore many different life experiences. My husband and I started leading a high school ministry called Young Life. I volunteered as an advisor and Province director for my sorority. Then, in the winter of 2013, we found out we were pregnant with my daughter, Reagan. My son, Reggie, was born about two years later and I was officially a full-time wife and mother. My husband ended up changing jobs the summer after Reggie was born and, because we were on the same schedule, I returned back to teaching.
Little did I know, that this season of life would have a major impact on how I approached teaching and learning differently with new my students. I had a relationships-first mindset to all things at home, so it made sense to me to do the same in the classroom. I had walked through problems with teens and young adults while raising my own children. I was more focused on a balance of heart work and academics to enrich young lives. In the fall of 2016, I started teaching 1st grade at a primary school in Chesapeake, VA, and reimplemented an updated version of my partnership approach as my classroom management plan. With my teens in mind, I added more social and emotional support throughout the years and implemented a set of sayings I call REAL Talk to start more real conversations in the classroom.
My Comeback Teaching Story
I stayed teaching at that primary school in Chesapeake, VA for five years total and left the school as their Teacher of the Year. That school helped me gain perspective on the importance of working with a good school community that supports your professional endeavors but also validates you as a human. I had three additional children while working at that school and many days out due to sick kids.
My school family were rockstars and heroes to me through three maternity leaves; ten days out due to flu; two moves; and virtual teaching. Many of my teacher friends were there for me in and outside of the classroom. I have never forgotten it.
So, compelled by their love and support, I became their Spirit and Morale chair for three years before I left. I showered that staff with encouragement, gifts, fun celebrations, and goofy staff challenges. That school community taught me the value of a supportive educator network. I carry that sense of community in my heart everywhere I go.
COVID and the Closing
At the time of the closure, I had 24 students on my roster and four children at home (ages 6, 4, 2, and 1). In addition, I just found out that I was pregnant with our fifth child. I navigated my way through packets and virtual teaching. Then, I decided to do it all over again virtually due to the coming of, Miles, that September.
My son was born on the 2nd week of school and I had 26 kindergarteners on my roster. For our virtual team, I was the team lead and inclusion teacher. I took five weeks off for maternity leave and kept Miles at home with me while teaching for four months. I loved my virtual experience and became increasingly practical and proficient with all things teaching and learning from management to instruction. Relationship building and systematic teaching are just as important virtually as it is in person. I was a master at both. Due to a lack of afterschool care options for my personal children, I transferred schools for the next year so I could take them with me where I taught. The new school was an elementary school (K-5) versus the primary school (K-2) that we were zoned for. I thought moving to an elementary school was the best option for my family so they could all be together with me for a longer period of time, especially during these Covid years.
Job Changes and Quarantines
My son got a fever on his first day of Kindergarten and I quickly realized how unnormal this school year was going to play out. At the time, when a child is sick, you were responsible to test them, quarantine them (with unvaccinated siblings), and then hope to not get sick yourself. Our first quarantine lasted seven days, but it only took a day after quarantine for the baby to get a fever and the three-year-old to have his first ear infection. After those illnesses, I resigned as a teacher and became a teacher assistant so my children could still stay at that school. Substitute teachers were hard to find, so my teaching assistant job became more of a substitute teaching job. I did not mind it, but I did not like the pay.
My husband got word that he was going to switch jobs by the end of the year. So, we had to make a series of hard decisions to better fit our family’s needs. I resigned again as a teacher assistant and enrolled my daughter and son at a private school near home to help manage transportation and afterschool care.
To afford the costs of private school, I returned back to teaching in 1st-grade mid-year at another local primary school closer to home. Before the school year ended, my family was quarantined three additional times. Then, a week after school let out, my family got quarantined again for our fifth time total.
We have become pros at adapting and adjusting to life’s changes at home through Covid. However, financially, we are still figuring out how to make it work. I teach summer school this summer. Then, I return back to school to teach Kindergarten in the fall.
The Birth of The Resilient Teacher Mom
After surviving this school year, I rebranded myself as the Resilient Teacher Mom and got my business license under this name. I doubted my place in the school system because of all that I have been through in Covid. However, I look back on my story and know I have been resilient through it all.
In March 2021, I published my book, When Relationship Matter: A Socioemotional Approach to Teaching and Learning, to share how I build relationships with my students and parents in the classroom. Then, in December 2021, I finished my Educational Specialist degree in Educational Leadership K-12. Now, I am pursuing my Ph.D. in Educational Leadership K-12; my endorsement in Reading Specialist; and my endorsement in English Language Learners.
I am intentional about serving marginalized populations with my teaching and research. So, with that in mind, I have two educational consultant businesses, The Resilient Teacher Mom LLC and Teachers As Partners LLC. The Resilient Teacher Mom LLC works with parents and families to provide at-home educational services that nurture high-levels of academic achievement with social emotional supports. Teachers As Partners LLC works with school districts and educators to run a relationship-based classroom or school. Crystal specializes in relationship-based classroom management, social cognitive and sociocultural motivational theory, social emotional learning, and restorative practices. She helps solve the problem of teacher attrition by impacting high levels of teacher self-efficacy and teacher job satisfaction amongst educators and school leaders who WANT to stay in the classroom.
The Adventures of Homeschooling
In the fall of 2023, my son, Wyatt, was pulled out of his traditional private school to better serve his social emotional needs. In March 2024, he was diagnosed with ADHD and he required more intentional accommodations for social skills and emotional regulation. Choosing to bring him home was not an easy decision for my husband and I, but we knew it was the best decision for HIM. I was still working full-time as a teacher in the public schools, managing childcare/school for my other four children, and working on my dissertation while homeschooling him part time three days a week. In December 2023, I finally resigned from my full-time teaching job and started homeschooling full-time.
Within the first few months of homeschooling, my husband and I fully understood the benefits of this educational option especially in the areas of freedom and time. We have spent more time as a family while homeschooling than we have had in years. In addition, Wyatt is the happiest we have every seen him and we naturally make accommodations for him now that we have the time. By January, we had decided to bring all of our kids home to homeschool in the fall and dreamed of freedom and time for us all to be healthy and whole.
I continued to write my dissertation on research that pointed to the social benefits of learning in a relationship-based classroom. So, I secretly dreamed of opening my homeschool to other families who needed the option too. One day, I received an email from a microschool network called Kaipod Learning and realized I could make my dream a reality by applying for their Catalyst program. By mid February, I received notice of acceptance into Kaipod’s Catalyst program. I am the founder of , Heartwise Scholars Microschool, a new learning center opening in Chesapeake, VA in the Fall of 2024.
Becoming Dr. Crystal Goins
On April 22nd, 2024, I changed my title from Mrs. Crystal Goins to Dr. Crystal Goins and it felt amazing. My journey as an educator has been unique as a mom and professional, but I have NO regrets. My lived experiences make me a powerhouse female in the educational space and, now, I am an expert of relationship-based research. I have relaunched my Teachers as Partner business to train educators in my three-part relationship training model that shares the research I published in my dissertation entitled, The Impact of Relationship-based Classroom Management on Teacher Self-efficacy and Teacher Job Satisfaction for K-3 Public School Teachers Post-pandemic. My microschool, Heartwise Scholars, will practice the research in a Schoolwide setting and it will benefit my own five children. Our indoor and outdoor learning center will serve a small village of up to 36 students PreK3 to 8th grade. Life as a doctor has been busy in the best ways relaunching a business I am passionate about and giving my children the dream educational option that will prepare them for the 21st century world.
“Resilience is based on compassion for ourselves,
as well as compassion for others.”
— Sharon Salzberg