Angela Hartle

I have 19 years experience in the field of education. I taught K-5 gifted students for 7 years. I also held positions as Student Achievement Specialist for one year and Curriculum Specialist for 2 years. In addition, I have 5 years experience as Director of an after-school enrichment program, which I developed. I currently sit on the board of directors for the Gifted Advocacy Council of Hillsborough (GACH) as Director of Enrichment.

Creative, creative creative! I learned years ago that the creative and critical thinking skills we save for our gifted students are invaluable to ALL students. No matter the subject, I have always encouraged open-minded, out-of-the-box thinking. My goal is for my students to become life-long learners and problem solvers, not just rote memorizers. Whenever possible, I believe the students should be involved in planning, delivering, sharing and evaluating the teaching and learning in the classroom.

My shining teaching moment was bitter sweet. As a relatively young gifted program teacher, I was asked by my principal to fill a new position in our district, Student Achievement Specialist. I felt very honored that he offered me this opportunity because he valued what I was doing in the classroom and wanted me to share and teach our teachers. At the same time, as I have found always happens in education, if you are recognized as a good teacher in the classroom, it is only a matter of time before you are asked to leave the direct contact with the students and move into an office position. I enjoyed the new position, which later evolved into Curriculum Specialist, but I did miss the day-to day contact with the students.

I first developed my love of learning in an International Baccalaurate high school program and then attended the University of Florida. I hold a Master Elementary Education degree with specializations in Gifted and Early Childhood.

Throughout my various educational positions, I have never been given a textbook to follow or have been provided curriculum or lesson plans. As a gifted teacher, I was charged with creating my own curriculum to enrich all of the subject areas, for all grades K-5. As a Student Achievement and Curriculum Specialist, I was given the task of creatively presenting and coaching staff through critical county initiatives. As an Enrichment Program Director, I write and teach all of my own curriculum during the school year, as well as for 7 weeks of summer camp each year.