I am in my 18th year of teaching. All of my years have been in districts with a high percentage of at-risk youth and children of poverty. I taught 4 years in a rural district and the rest in an urban setting. I have taught all grades from pre-k to 6 except 3rd and 4th, the bulk of my years have been in kindergarten. I also spent three years a curriculum writer and a coach, helping classroom teachers integrate high level thinking strategies and science curriculum into their lessons across content areas.