Background:
I grew up in southwestern Colorado, and when I turned 18, I joined the military before going to college. I moved to Fort Collins in 2001, and I've lived here ever since--I love this city. I have one son who recently graduated from Fossil Ridge High School, and while this is my first year teaching in PSD, I've always loved this school district for all the amazing learning opportunities my son experienced here. We have a Goldendoodle named Scout--she sheds, so I guess she's a defective-doodle, but maybe that's made us love her even more.
Education and Teaching:
I've been teaching for 15 years--the first seven years, I taught English Language Arts and social studies at Eaton Middle School (6th and 8th grade), and for the last eight years I was an instructor at the University of Northern Colorado. At UNC, I worked in the English education department where I taught and prepared future English teachers. I feel so lucky to have this experience, and while I loved working with college students, I always missed working with middle schoolers.
I have a master of arts in teaching (MAT) with an emphasis in English education, and I recently finished my PhD in educational psychology. I loved the research and scholarship I did during my doctoral work--I designed research specifically geared to help engage students in learning, and I'm excited to put my research and educational experiences to work here at Preston Middle School.
Why teach?
I love teaching. When I worked with future English teachers at UNC, one thing they often told me was that people in their lives would ask them, "Why would you want to be a teacher?" I was able to share my reasons for why I love this career and explore all the amazing things we can do as teachers. In the English ed program, we emphasized that we're in this because we love teaching students first, content second. Teaching has been the most fulfilling, exciting work I've ever been a part of, and I'm excited to share this enthusiasm with my students.