"Hello!

I am an elementary school classroom teacher in my third year of teaching. I have my Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education with a minor in Teaching English as a Second Language and my Masters in Elementary Education both from James Madison University. I have worked with grades K-5 and am currently teaching first grade where we focus heavily on the foundations of reading and math. I heavily differentiate my instruction to meet each of my students' needs and conduct all my planning in data driven practices through a variety of consistent assessments to stay on top of their progress.

I have my LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) Volume 1 certification and am entering my LETRS Volume 2 certification this fall. These trainings are based in the science of reading to teach educators best practice for literacy instruction. My classroom is also an English Language Learners cohort and I act as team lead for my grade level.

As I believe my philosophy of teaching will evolve, I find it remains grounded in creating a communal, equitable, empathetic, and intentional learning environment for all my students. My classroom is rooted in a familial community where students are expected to practice empathy toward one another. Furthermore, I foster a heavily differentiated environment where I create intentional learning opportunities that adapt to appropriate levels of difficulty and complexity for each student. Consequently, establishing these norms perpetuates a meaningful and collaborative classroom where students can learn from each other while I learn from them as well." less...