Leading the Pack

I am a second grade teacher and certified reading specialist, but have had experience teaching all early childhood grade levels from Kindergarten to third grade. I also lead our school's service learning efforts, and this year was nominated to be a Tennessee Early Educator of the Year and a Memphis Excellence in Literacy Instructor!

I am fully devoted to creating a positive classroom culture. During student teaching, I was frequently told that students won't listen unless you yell at them, put some bass in your voice, and force them to respect you. I just don't believe this is true. I believe in setting a precedent at the beginning of each year to build a foundation of mutual respect, where students listen and follow directions because they love their class, their teacher, and their school, not because they are yelled at. I also believe in incorporating multi-modal learning in every lesson, so that students can learn in whatever method they need- whether it be auditory, visual, or hands-on learning.

During high school, I was a member of FCCLA, where I participated in the Early Childhood Education STAR Event competition, and won silver medals at both the district and state level. I also participated in Child Development and Teaching As a Profession courses. In college, I was a member of the Student Tennessee Education Association and Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society. I was also a President's Ambassador for my school, and a member of Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity, where I served as the Programming Director, which gave me the opportunity to teach my chapter about our National Fraternity and other life lessons.

I began my education at a brand-new county school in Shelby County, in Tennessee. I attended this elementary school in Cordova, TN from Kindergarten until 3rd grade, when I moved to a local private Catholic school in Bartlett, TN. However, halfway through this school year I moved back to my public school. I stayed there until my 5th grade year, when I went back to the Catholic School. In 8th grade, I moved to a public school in Tipton County, which is where I graduated from high school. I went to Christian Brothers University, a small private Catholic college in Memphis, TN, and graduated Cum Laude in May of 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education.