ALL THINGS DRAMA

Middle School Graduation Coach -- 10 years; Social Studies and Language Arts Teacher -- 1 year; Drama Literacy Days Director -- 9 years; Tour Actress -- 1 year; Stage and Tour Manager -- 1 year; Publications Secretary -- 8 years; Playwright -- 25 years; Development (Fundraising) and Public Relations Specialist -- 10 years.

Drama and middle school are synonymous. Walk down a hallway and you can hear and see the unscripted ‘drama’ in full production. My teaching style uses the innate abilities of middle school students’ propensity for drama and channels it into learning how to effectively and respectfully communicate. They pay attention to and practice their communication skills: facially, word choice, tone, and body language. Students are given the chance for a ‘do-over’; a way to express themselves that will not offend another student or Teacher. In the classroom, they constantly write and practice public speaking with the possibility and probability of the ever-present ‘do-over’.

Employee of the Year – Stockbridge Middle School 2012--2013; Hambidge Center (artists’ colony) Fellow; Georgia Council for the Arts -- Playwright Recipient; 1993 Deep South Play contest award-winner: "Scattered Pigeons"; Decatur Neighborhood Playwright Contest award-winner: "Peggy"; 1989 Best New Play in Atlanta: "The Vision"; Associate Member Dramatists Guild; New York; Recipient of the Earl S. Kjer Award for Excellence in Theatre Education, UWEC; Member of ASSITEJ (International Organization of Children’s Theaters).

Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire; Teaching Math to Middle School Students, 5 credit course offered by Henry County Schools; Teaching Reading to Struggling Readers, 5 credit course offered by Henry County Schools; Playwriting workshops with Jim Grimsley in Atlanta, Georgia; Screenwriters’ workshop at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia Classes on PowerPoint, InDesign, PageMaker, and publication design in Atlanta, Georgia Marketing and Public Relations courses and seminars given by United Way, Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia

My classroom is full of colorful pictures of butterflies that float around the room. In front of the window, a three-dimensional monarch flutters. A paper mache cocoon with a silk butterfly unfolds next to my desk. Butterflies illustrate grit as they emerge from their cocoon without any help. It is in that struggle they learn strength. This is what growing up is like and I'm reminded every day as I teach my students to advocate for their own education and themselves and in that they too embrace grit.