Social studies teacher Kevin Curtin, his wife Julie Curtin and his cousin Richard Resig have been teaching together at Marshall High School for over seven years.
Kevin and Resig both teach social studies while Julie teaches English.
“I love working in the same building as my family members,” Resig said. “We have plenty of similar interests and were raised to value similar traits and characteristics, allow[ing] our teaching styles and compatibility to be quite strong.”
Prior to working at Marshall, the two Curtins also taught together at Colonial Forge High School as a part of Stafford County Public School System.
From their home in Alexandria, their commute was about an hour, which is one of the reasons they chose to look for a job in Fairfax County Public Schools.
“Both she and I were looking to move north, at least in terms of our teaching,” Kevin said. “We sort of wanted to stay together and Marshall was the place that offered us […] a great place to teach and an opportunity to teach together.”
The school offered the position to Julie in the summer before the 2011-2012 school year, and Kevin came in for an interview a month later. The pair started teaching together that school year.
In addition to teaching, the family members were also involved in other facets of the community.
Julie was the swim and dive coach for three years, and the assistant varsity volleyball coach her first year teaching. Kevin coached basketball and lacrosse, and Resig also coached lacrosse in addition to the debate team.
After about a year of working together, Kevin’s cousin Resig said he was looking to move to Virginia from New York, so the couple passed his resume along to the department chair and assistant principal at the time.
Currently, the family members all work in B Hall, though Julie works on the second floor. Resig and Kevin’s classrooms are two doors down from each other.
“Mr. Curtin, my actual blood cousin, is an enthusiastic, personable and devoted person both as a professional and as a person of community and family,” Resig said. “I am very lucky that we can support each other, work with each other, confide in each other when we need it, relate on certain issues and then bring those shared experiences home when our families get together.”
Resig said he did not expect to be working in close vicinity to family when he was studying to become a teacher.
“I never thought when I was getting my teaching license [and] masters degree that I would end up teaching in the same building as family,” Resig said. “Now that I am, I would be very sad to lose that. It makes this whole career, passion, and life’s work all the more enjoyable with family here too.”