I bring 27 years of elementary teaching experience, with a variety of students from many different cultures and backgrounds. I started my career as a lead teacher in one of the last one-room schools in Colorado, where I taught Kindergarten through sixth graders. After some really great years working at this amazing and unique school, my partner was offered a job in Hawaii that we couldn’t pass up. I spent 15 years teaching in award-winning and high-achieving elementary schools on Oahu. I loved every minute of it, but I am a mountain girl at heart. We decided it was time to be closer to family, so we moved back to Durango, Colorado, in 2017. I have spent the last 8 years teaching fourth grade, fifth grade, and visual arts to amazing students in this beautiful area.
No matter what grade I teach or where I am employed, I have always focused on providing more creative and impactful educational experiences for my students. I spent eight years as an educational leader in a Harvard Project Zero blue ribbon elementary school. I have been the grade level chair and lead science teacher. I have designed countless hands-on learning opportunities for my classes over the years. I created, implemented, and procured funding for a Lego EV3 space robotics unit that I designed to service 450 fifth graders. I have been invited to present and train teachers at different prestigious statewide conferences on the implementation of this project-based unit in conjunction with Maker Mindset principles. These venues include Iolani School Ignite Sessions, Google Apps for Education Seminars, and Kamehameha Schools STEM Conferences. I have developed aquaponics and hydroponics systems in conjunction with local agriculture businesses into my science inquiry and ecosystems units. I have been a Google Education Apps and Promethean Integration school-level trainer for various schools. I was also awarded two Fulbright-Hays world study excursions, where I spent time analyzing the educational systems of Japan and Peru, respectively, in the hope of bringing more global awareness to my students and colleagues.
I enjoy bringing learning to life and sparking interest and confidence in young minds and fellow teachers. I love what I do, and hope to be teaching for many years to come.
I bring 27 years of elementary teaching experience, with a variety of students from many different cultures and backgrounds. I started my career as a lead teacher in one of the last one-room schools in Colorado, where I taught Kindergarten through sixth graders. After some really great years working at this amazing and unique school, my partner was offered a job in Hawaii that we couldn’t pass up. I spent 15 years teaching in award-winning and high-achieving elementary schools on Oahu. I loved every minute of it, but I am a mountain girl at heart. We decided it was time to be closer to family, so we moved back to Durango, Colorado, in 2017. I have spent the last 8 years teaching fourth grade, fifth grade, and visual arts to amazing students in this beautiful area.
No matter what grade I teach or where I am employed, I have always focused on providing more creative and impactful educational experiences for my students. I spent eight years as an educational leader in a Harvard Project Zero blue ribbon elementary school. I have been the grade level chair and lead science teacher. I have designed countless hands-on learning opportunities for my classes over the years. I created, implemented, and procured funding for a Lego EV3 space robotics unit that I designed to service 450 fifth graders. I have been invited to present and train teachers at different prestigious statewide conferences on the implementation of this project-based unit in conjunction with Maker Mindset principles. These venues include Iolani School Ignite Sessions, Google Apps for Education Seminars, and Kamehameha Schools STEM Conferences. I have developed aquaponics and hydroponics systems in conjunction with local agriculture businesses into my science inquiry and ecosystems units. I have been a Google Education Apps and Promethean Integration school-level trainer for various schools. I was also awarded two Fulbright-Hays world study excursions, where I spent time analyzing the educational systems of Japan and Peru, respectively, in the hope of bringing more global awareness to my students and colleagues.
I enjoy bringing learning to life and sparking interest and confidence in young minds and fellow teachers. I love what I do, and hope to be teaching for many years to come.
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