After 8 years at Fresno Christian, Student Leadership and Christian Living teacher Aubri Foster moves on from FCS
Some may say that the most unique part of Fresno Christian’s environment is the teachers: the emphasis they put on growing students’ relationships with God and each other, as well as the teacher-student relationships that are built.
Student Leadership and Christian Living teacher Aubri Foster is one such influential teacher, who will be moving on from Fresno Christian at the end of the school year.
Throughout Foster’s teaching career, she has taught at many different schools, teaching various subjects and grade levels from as young as 5th grade to college level.
Growing up in Los Angeles, California, Foster attended Villiage Christian High School. In 2001, she moved to Fresno after marrying FC alumnus John Foster, ’96.
One of her high school teachers, Anne Floyd, inspired her life and influences the way she teaches.
“I had a history teacher who cared deeply about her students but held us to a high standard,” Foster said. “She was one who sat with me in the midst of personal trauma and prayed with me. How the teachers made me feel is what I remember most about high school, not necessarily anything they taught.”
Foster strives to maintain this mindset in her own teaching style by, “caring more about the heart than the hair,” meaning she emphasizes more on what’s going on in a student’s life than being overly strict about the details.
One of her Christian Living students, senior Brynn Foster, shares her favorite things about her teacher.
“Her open personality, her ability to welcome any human, and her presence whenever she walks into a room,” Brynn said. “She is a very gentle and kind human and she is very inclusive as a teacher. I am going to miss the talks we have shared, the moments we have had, the laughs, the cries, everything.”
For Brynn, one of the most unique things about Foster’s teaching method is that she utilizes personal experience to help her students understand the lessons better.
Throughout her 8 years at Fresno Christian, Foster has taught 5th grade, high school bible, and leadership; despite her never originally wanting to teach K-12.
When she was first offered a position to teach 5th grade at FC, she initially said no, but after talking it over with her husband, she decided to give it a shot. Her year in 5th grade remains one of her favorite years of teaching.
Junior Mia Alberta had Foster as a teacher in both 5th grade and high school. She shares her experience being in Foster’s classes.
“My favorite memory is when it was her birthday during our 5th-grade year,” Alberta said. “We did this big Breakfast at Tiffany’s themed birthday, and we all dressed up. She always wanted to have fun. We learned a lot, but her main focus was fun and we really all knew that she loved us.”
Foster’s impact on FCS extends beyond just students, to parents and co-workers as well. Silva Emerian, Fresno Christian’s office manager, has been her co-worker for the past two years. Moreover, Emerian has gotten to know her better through various school events over the past five years, as they both have a 2023 graduate.
“Every time there is an activity, a football game, a homecoming, her energy is off the charts,” Emerian said. “She is so energetic and always has the sweetest spirit. She always puts God first and her students second, it is just a blessing to watch her in action.”
FCHS principal Amy Deffenbacher shares about Foster’s impact on Fresno Christian’s campus.
“She has enthusiastically partnered with me to make things happen at Fresno Christian,” Deffenbacher said. “Specifically, she really helped us to move forward with being intentional in our Bible program development. Her best character quality is that she loves big and extends it to the Lord, to her students and to all of the staff as well.”
For Foster, the hardest part of teaching is the strong sense of empathy she feels for students who go through tough times.
“It has been the hardest, most rewarding job I’ve had in my entire life,” she said. “I am a very empathetic human and when students feel something I feel it right along with them.”
But despite the hard parts of the job, she loves watching her students learn and grow, sometimes without them even knowing that they are doing so until after they have left her classroom.
She doesn’t know what the next chapter of her life will hold, but she trusts that it is time to move on from FCS.
“I just feel like it is the right time,” Foster said, “like God has something different.”
If Foster has impacted your life, or you have a favorite memory of her, we would like you to share. Leave a comment below.
Below is a slideshow of Aubri Foster’s time at Fresno Christian.
To read more from The Feather, see Senior Reflection: Trinity Cox, or Fresno Christian 2022-23 boy’s tennis finishes season as champions
