I have over 33 years of experience as an educator. I was a classroom teacher in grades two through six for over 20 years. I have also served as district literacy coach, writing coach, science coordinator and lab teacher. Retiring from Marietta City Schools in 2009, I currently work as an educational consultant.
I prefer an integrated approach, tailoring lessons to better address students' needs and learning styles. Engagement is key! Students do not learn from work they won't or can't do. I have found that the more actively involved students are in their own learning, the more content they retain. I have had great success using scaffolding: -I do, you watch (modeling) -I do, you help (shared learning) -You do, I help (guided learning) -You do, I watch (independent learning)
Teacher of the Year, Marietta City Schools Outstanding Certified Employee, Hickory Hills Elementary Elementary Science Teacher of the Year, District IX, Georgia Science Teacher's Assn.
University of Houston-BS in Elementary Education, minor in Biology University of Houston, Clear Lake-MS in Education, Reading Specialist Certification
Trainer/Instructor-Reading Endorsement program for teachers, developed by Metro-RESA in Georgia(three 50-hour courses on the foundations of reading, assessment, and teaching reading through the content areas) Trainer-Write from the Beginning (a developmental writing program using Thinking Maps to plan and organize for writing) Trainer-Best Practices (a series of professional development modules created by Metro RESA in Georgia on a variety of Best Practices in education, including Vocabulary Instruction, Higher Level Thinking, Student Engagement, and Summarization)
Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th
English Language Arts, Balanced Literacy, Writing-Expository, Reading, Vocabulary, Science, Earth Sciences, Literature, General Science, Reading Strategies