ClipArt ChuckleBerry

My career in education began in 2003 where I started at a private school, teaching third grade. I loved the age group and found that I enjoyed developing strategies, jingles, and mnemonics to help make concepts fun and memorable for my students. In 2008, I decided to make the transition to public education and began the next season of my journey at a charter school, where I again found a position teaching third grade. Here, there was a new challenge which I had not faced in the private school- a high stakes standardized test called the FCAT- but yet I was ready to meet it head on, trusting the Lord to help me prepare my students for success in meeting the standards for third grade...and we were always successful. I knew I could not accomplish any it as successfully as it went without the help of the Lord and a great team of teachers and parents. My work as a teacher was a tremendous source of satisfaction for me. As a teacher, I worked with close to two hundred students and their families during my ten years of teaching, and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to be used to make an impact in one more person's life that God sends my way.

My primary styles of teaching are those of facilitating and direct instruction. I truly believe there needs to be a balance of both in the classroom in order to minimize frustrations and enhance the absorption of learning by students. My philosophy for education is this: "If they can see it, they can learn it." Thus, my role as a teacher was to develop and implement strategies in the classroom that lent themselves to presenting academic concepts in ways that are visually connective to student understanding. I have made many of my resources available via my They Can Learn It store on TeachersPayTeachers. While the academic success of each student was a primary goal for me as an educator, my focus was not merely academic. It was furthermore to help my students and their families gain a deeper sense that they are valued and worthy of respect and kindness, while helping the students themselves realize academic success is within reach. To be a teacher is to play a very important role for one year in 20 plus people's lives. My prayer is that God will help me make a positive difference in the lives of all who pass through my classroom and all that are within in my realm of influence. My hope is to continue to use the strategies and resources I have been able to develop (with God's help) to empower other teachers to realize that success in math and other areas of learning is possible for every student if it can be presented in a way that is concrete and memorable.

FCAT Results for Our Third Graders: 2008-2009 Highest District Scores in Math & Reading 2009-2010 Highest District Scores in Math & Reading 2010-2011 Highest District Scores in Math & 2nd Highest in Reading 2011-2012 Highest District Scores in Math & 2nd Highest in Reading 2012-2013 Highest District Scores in Math & Reading 2012-2013 Our third grade scores placed us in the top 4% in the state. 2003 Valedictorian at Trinity College of Florida/ Graduating: Suma Cum Laude, President's List Awards, Dean's List Awards, Academic Excellence Scholarships, 2015 Trinity College of Florida Alumna of the Year, Teacher Volunteer selected for the Foundation for Excellence in Education's LearnMore.GoFurther.org project: I was honored to be a part of the LearnMoreGoFurther project, highlighting the academic improvements Florida has made over the last 15 years and supporting the cause for continuing to pursue higher standards in our state and country. In volunteering for this initiative, I was able to show my support for the project via TV ads/commercials, through newspaper interviews, events/speaking engagements, and on television news interviews. As an educator who taught higher standards and saw the positive results they had in the performance of my students, I was definitely honored to share the success our state had in raising the bar and further encourage the implementation of higher standards.

Graduate of Trinity College of FL

Wife & mommy who loves the Lord & desires to be a blessing to her family & the world. Dedicated to knowing Jesus & showing His love.