Staff Spotlight: Christy Marana, Prather & Wilson

By Brayden Cook '26

Every week throughout the 2025-26 school year, Granite City Community School District #9 will be highlighting a staff member for going above and beyond to give students a positive experience.

This week’s staff highlight is Christy Marana! 

Marana is a Title Reading teacher serving Prather and Wilson Elementary Schools and has worked in GCSD9 for 23 years.

Where did you go to school?
I earned my Associate’s degree from Belleville Area College, now known as Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC). I then completed a Bachelor of Science in Education from McKendree University. I also hold a Master’s degree in Reading from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), along with a Reading Specialist endorsement.

What is your favorite part about being a title teacher?
I love seeing the progress my students make throughout the year. Many students come to Title not feeling confident in their phonemic awareness and reading skills. I enjoy reading with them and playing fun educational games, which they do not realize they are actually learning from!

What is your favorite memory from being a title teacher?
Our Title Family involvement nights are always some of my favorite memories. I enjoy the kids coming to school in the evening with their parents, grandparents, and siblings. It is nice to see them spending quality time together! These events may be a theatre play, science experiments, fall festivals, story tellers, and other experiences our students have never had a chance to be a part of before.

What inspired you to become a title teacher?
I have always wanted to be a teacher since I was a student myself at Frohardt Elementary School. My kindergarten and 2nd grade teacher Mrs. Johnson was my inspiration to become a teacher. Reading was something I really did not enjoy in school, but as an adult I read about 30 books a year. I want to get kids excited about reading different genres and what they are interested in. 

What does your role as a title teacher look like on a daily basis?
My day consists of 10 groups of students each day ranging from Kindergarten-5th grade, and they consist of 3-6 students in each group. I teach everything from letter recognition, letter sounds, phonemic awareness, fluency, reading comprehension, and more! On Thursdays, I travel to Holy Family and St. Elizabeth schools to teach about 30 K-3rd grade students. 

Hobbies?
I enjoy watching my three children in their activities, reading, walking, watching shows, hanging out with friends and my husband, and spoiling my two cats!

If you would like to nominate a deserving staff member, please email: information@gcsd9.net