I began my teaching career in 2003, working as an elementary school teacher (5th grade). I then completed my coursework to shift to middle school teaching. I worked as a middle school teacher for several years, teaching math, Language Arts and history. I took a break for 5 years to be a stay-at-home mom to my three (at the time) children. I returned to middle school teaching when they all went to elementary school. Then in 2017, my family relocated to Shanghai, China for two years. While there, I taught 4th grade at an international school. Upon returning to the States in 2019, my family relocated to Minnesota where my IL teaching license was not valid. Due to our plans to adopt a child as well as the onset of Covid-19, I chose to discontinue my work as a classroom teacher. In 2021, I returned to education as a Special Education paraeducator. Through this job, I have worked with elementary school special education students in small groups and 1:1, tutoring these students in the academic areas of math, phonics and reading. I have created learning tools and activities for these students for support in grades K-5.