"I hold three college degrees, the first being a BA in English with a minor in special education, a master's in Special Education and a second master's in Educational Leadership. I have worked in a variety of school ranging from urban (title 1), rural and suburban districts. Throughout my 15 years, I've taught English, math, civics and economics, special education and vocational/daily living skills.

In addition to classroom teaching, I taught extended school year for students with disabilities, middle school English and completed afterschool tutoring for state test prep. The majority of my career was spent in middle school in the areas of English, math and civics, however, the past 3 years I've been working with high school age adult students with disabilities. The range of students I've been afforded the opportunity to work with gives me a significant range in tools to pull from when teaching students. Each year, class, disability and grouping has given me the knowledge to meet the needs to all learners.

I believe that students learn best when you are your true self. In addition, I express to everyone that I'm here to guide and assist them in their journey of progress, not perfection. Education in today's world isn't always appealing to students and I've worked hard to make it relatable. For example, when I'm teaching a unit on figurative language, I ask students to pull from literature, but also music. I find music bridges the gap for a variety of students when having to learn all thing English related. I also like to collaborate in conjunction with other subjects to create cross curricular units. For example, I worked with the history teacher to teach Animal Farm. The students were able to understand the correlation of the satire that is Animal Farm.

Finally, teaching doesn't stop in the classroom and my ability to make it relevant to the students everyday life is what I believe is a strength of mine. I truly enjoy working with students, learning and growing from them while they flourish in my classes." less...