I have taught in the elementary classroom for 19 years. I have managed to teach all K-5 grades. One of my best experiences was moving from 2nd to 3rd to 4th with a group of the same children. I have tried to approach education from many angles by sitting on many committees and attending training workshops ranging in topics from curriculum to leadership to standardized testing and now common core. In nineteen years, I am amazed at the rapid change from program to program that is expected from year to year from classroom teachers.

I believe that I am a teacher who attempts to teach to the needs of my students. This style, however, is always changing...and I probably spend more time thinking about how I "didn't" address needs more so than what worked for my students. I'm usually given a pretty diverse group; GATE/RSP, GATE/EL, so I would be kidding myself if I thought any particular style would match up with each year's class of learners.

In my 19 years of teaching I have felt rewarded primarily from my students from year to year. However, there have been other moments in my career for which I am very grateful. During my 4th year of teaching I received the honor of being one of our district's Teachers of the Year. This was a surprise to me, and I felt so honored. Since then, I have written many grants that have been funded. I think the grant writing process is amazing and it is such a good feeling when someone rewards my ideas not only with monies, but the acknowledgement that how I chose to use my written words were worthy of monies as well.

I received my Bachelors degree in Liberal Studies and my teaching credential from Cal Poly Pomona. I earned my Masters in Educational Administration from CSUSB. Throughout the 19 years in the classroom, I have also finished a CLAD credential and GATE certificate. I received training in Early Literacy to train new teachers in grades K-3 during our class size reduction years. Over several years I was also able to become a Trainer of Teachers for Thinking Maps and Write From the Beginning.

I have been married for 21 years to Matt. We have two great kids, Nick and Jackie. Our favorite times are watching both of our kids play the sports they love. We are always surrounded by our three dogs, Ty, Sadie, and Mollie who love attention and treats.