Tina Kim Philibotte
Hometown: Manchester, NH; born Seoul, Korea
Current role: Chief Equity Officer, Manchester, NH, School District
Recent/previous roles: English Teacher & Director of Dance Program, Goffstown High School
Dance Educator, Goffstown High School Movement & Dance Company
Dance Educator, Goffstown High School Movement & Dance Company
Hobbies & interests: Arts, dance, gardening, reading, good food, writing
Favorite quote(s):
The moment we choose to love we begin to move against domination, against oppression. The moment we choose to love we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others. ~ bell hooks
Who or what inspires you? I'm inspired by my students, community, and equitable and joyous spaces where people can be their full selves. That, and Nature – it always finds a way...
In the news:
- New Hampshire Public Radio: In Effort to Improve Equity, Manchester School District Turns to a West High School Alum
- WMUR-9: Wednesday, December 12th: The Goffstown Nutcracker – Police officers, a science teacher, even the football team gets dancing.
- DanceTeacher.com: My First Year as a Public-School Teacher: "We Had Half the Starting Lineup From the Football Team in Our Nutcracker"
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Tina Kim Philibotte grew up half a world away in Manchester, NH. She was one of the few Korean children living on Manchester’s West Side in the 1980s and ‘90s, and she graduated from the Manchester School District (MSD) in 1995. More than three decades later, she’s building inroads and helping develop a more culturally aware and supportive system for a much different looking, more diverse Manchester as the MSD’s first-ever Chief Equity Officer.
“As a Korean, transnational, transracial adoptee to good French-Canadian stock, I have experienced both the joy and challenges of the Queen City,” Tina recently told the Champions Council of Manchester Proud.
“I became a teacher to be the adult I needed as a West side kid, a Korean-American, as a ‘raised as a French-Canadian,’ as the only person of color in nearly every class, as a kid who never had a teacher of color, and also as a kid who struggled, as a kid who had a few amazing teachers who despite all my challenges, ultimately gave me a touch point for the teacher and leader I am today.”
Working alongside other MSD leaders, Tina helps build a more equitable educational system that better serves and supports all students and their families. In doing so, she’s drawing upon both her personal history and professional experience, which includes 13 years of teaching English and dance at Goffstown High School. During this time, she was a finalist for the NH State Teacher of the Year award and a two-time fellow with the National Writing Project. She’s served as a NH Listens fellow since January 2021 and an advisory member to the Endowment for Health’s Race & Equity Series.
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