Education: I was fortunate enough to have been able to receive both a Bachelor's Degree in History as well as a Master's Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. (I still miss those Great Smoky Mountains!)
Experience: I have been teaching 2nd - 5th grade for 16 years. This will be my second year teaching English language learners at Horn Lake Intermediate after ten years teaching at Lewisburg Elementary. When we moved here from San Francisco, I took a position in Lewisburg's Special Education department to "get my foot in the door". After falling in love with those kids, I ended up spending 7 fulfilling years as a Special Education teacher. As sad as I was to leave the SpEd department, I had begun to feel that more of my time was spent on paperwork than on working with my kiddos, so I felt I needed a change. I spent three years teaching in the classroom (two in 4th, one in 3rd), and realized that, although I loved being a homeroom teacher, I missed working with small groups of kids who have specific needs that I can help address. My desire to fill this need, combined with my interest in promoting diversity, led me to the ESOL program, which I feel very honored and excited to be a part of.