I chose to pursue teaching at age 27. I had many jobs and a career in business prior to making this decision. I discovered my passion is to work with students, presenting them with the endless opportunities that an education and the acquisition of learning skills can give them. I started teaching high school in the summer of 2010 and switched to elementary in the winter of 2014. I love teaching at either level! I have become immersed in my school communities as my commitment doesn’t stop when the bell rings. I want to promote and champion for our students and have done so through various extracurricular activities such as After School Numeracy Program, BeYou2Full, Coding Club, App Squad, Snazzy Science, and coaching athletics. My own education encompasses a variety of curriculum areas and I am comfortable teaching multiple subject areas. My teaching experiences have confirmed that optimal education occurs through real-life application, cross-curricular practice, and balanced, fair assessment. It gives me great pleasure to help students appreciate the world and all the wonders open to discovery through education, while developing essential character values. I feel that a strong sense of community of trust, respect, care and integrity are essential for this learning to occur and practice Tribes and Zones of Regulation in my classroom. I have been a regular classroom teacher, special education resource teacher, student success/guidance counselor, and my assignment for September is teacher librarian!