Who/what inspired you to enter into the education field?
Working with children has always been a passion of mine. I knew I wanted to go into early education for a long time, but my life kind of got in the way and I had to work long and hard to make it happen!

Tell us about your family? (children, pets, etc)
My husband and I have two beautiful baby girls, Eliza and Aubrey! Eliza (3) has been along for the ride with CHARGE since year 1 being born April of that year. Aubrey is a year old now! We have two wild pups, Jax and Louie that the girls just love.

What is your Teacher Leader Mission? YOUR WHY in the classroom? How do you #LeadTheCHARGE daily?
As a teacher leader in CHARGE, I have done my very best to share every bit of knowledge and resources gained from this grant to not only my children over the past 5 years, but also my fellow colleagues! At my school our administration is always welcome to our grant members sharing what we learn. My goal every year is to build a lasting relationship with my classroom full of students so that they know someone will always be in their corner.

What is one attribute of leadership that you think is critical to possess as a Teacher Leader. Why?
One attribute that is critical of a Teacher Leader is eagerness! You must be eager to learn, eager to teach, eager to help, eager to volunteer. Being a teacher isn’t easy. Everything is always changing and people always want more of you. It is nice you have people whom you can go to for help or advice and know that they are genuinely EAGER to be there for you.

What are ways that you engage families as part of the learning in your classroom/school?
I try to be very responsive to families and know that every household is different. My life is busy and I know that they are too so I try to be accommodating when responding to families who care enough to reach out whether it’s about homework, a test, behaviors, or just to ask a question. We use Class Dojo at our school so we are in constant communication with families. I also try to get families involved in different aspects of helping their students at home giving them ideas that might encourage students to work at home.

What “fingerprint” or lasting impression do you want to leave at your school or on your students?
The lasting impression I want my kids and colleagues is that I not only cared to build those relationships, but I cared that they actually learned something too!!

How do you maximize the strengths of those around you?
I try to share my resources and knowledge built over the years with people around me. I listen and then help anyway I can to make others feel more confident.

What do you like most about teaching?
Building relationships through learning is the thing that I like most about teaching. Some days I feel we get caught up in the idea of a test, when really we just need these students to grow up to be successful human beings in society.