Who/what inspired you to enter into the education field?
My dad’s entire family was in the education field, and so was my mother, so it gave me the drive to want to pursue that field as well.
Tell us about your family? (children, pets, etc)
I have an older sister who is an NCIS agent for the marine corps, which has allowed me to travel to many destinations I would otherwise not have access to. My dad is the district attorney where I live, and my sweet mom just retired from 28 years of teaching at the same school with me. I have a chocolate lab named Bentley, and he is 5 years old.
What is your Teacher Leader Mission? YOUR WHY in the classroom? How do you #LeadTheCHARGE daily?
I want my kids to know I am here for them no matter what is going on.
What is one attribute of leadership that you think is critical to possess as a Teacher Leader? Why?
I think flexibility is crucial to be a good teacher because you can spend hours planning the “perfect” lesson, but nothing you had in those plans might happen, so you have to know when to say everyone made it here today, they were safe and fed, and made it home, it was a good day.
What are ways that you engage families as part of the learning in your classroom/school?
I use a weekly newsletter as well as the Remind app. We also invite parents in when we have parties to let them see what goes on in our classroom from day to day.
What “fingerprint” or lasting impression do you want to leave at your school or on your students?
That I gave it all to my kids. I wasn’t just a teacher, but so much more. I do my absolute best to fill in those gaps for kiddos who don’t have what they need to be successful in life.
How do you maximize the strengths of those around you?
By putting all of our strengths together, we can create a very strong team to bounce ideas off of.
What do you like most about teaching?
I love it all, from the minute my feet hit the door, til the minute I walk out to go home.
