Meet Mrs. Garrison

PHilosophy

The components essential to my philosophy of education are basic skills, higher order thinking skills (HOTS), and students' affective needs. Traditionally, educators have viewed basic skills and HOTS as opposing philosophies. However, I believe effective integration of basic skills and HOTS, combined with an attention to student's affective needs with educators as problem solvers, guarantees excellent education. For successful integration, educators must maintain a high level of expectations of all students.

Basic skills remain fundamental to student achievement in both professional and academic worlds. When students learn basic skills and standard English, they can function effectively in both realms. With a solid understanding of language, students will be prepared for professional responsibilities such as writing emails and reports and reading legal documents. Academically, students will learn to write papers successfully, give presentations, and complete research. My responsibility as an educator is to help develop students' basic skills.

Knowledge and technology will forever increase, and what a student learns today may be obsolete tomorrow. Students need to exercise their ability to problem solve. Teachers must create lessons providing for the development of HOTS. Students will make successful decisions when in situations without clear answers and become lifelong learners when proficient in analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Self-fulfilling prophesy explains students with low self-esteem do not perform at their highest level. When teachers include students' affective needs within the curriculum, not only do the students become more interested in learning, they inevitably increase their self-esteem. With increased self-esteem, students believe they can learn more and consequently do learn more. Educators need to positively reinforce students and be aware of their vulnerability. I agree with Dr. Ross W. Greene’s famous quote, “Kids do well if they can.” When a student is not finding success in the classroom, educators should be problem solvers, helping the student and their family work to identify lagging skills and unsolved problems in the environment. Punitive approaches are less effective than problem-solving strategies, and teachers that help students build needed skills ultimately have students that feel better and achieve more success. 

Teaching basic skills, higher order thinking skills, and catering to students' affective needs are central to my philosophy of education. In all areas of teaching, it is imperative teachers hold students to high standards. I strongly believe in the statement made by Jamie Escalate whose teaching career was made public through the movie Stand and Deliver.  Escalate stated, "Students will rise to the level of expectations you are holding them at." It is my responsibility as an educator to partner with families to help students find success, working foremost in the role of problem solver. I want to hold students to high expectations while focusing on the areas of basic skills, higher order thinking skills and affective needs.

Professional Activities/Education

Professional Activities:

Taught 7th and 8th grade literature and language arts, 1998-present (27 years of experience)

Illinois ELA Standard Setting Committee for the Illinois Assessment of Readiness with Pearson and ISBE 2025

Room Lead for 6th Grade ELA Rangefinding for the Illinois Assessment of Readiness with Pearson and ISBE 2025

Room Lead for 8th Grade ELA Rangefinding for the Illinois Assessment of Readiness with Pearson and ISBE 2024

New Teacher Mentor 2024-2025 School Year

From Illumination to Blueprint: Creating Your Literacy Plan Training  2025, Literacy Plan Team 2025

Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program reviewer 2024 and 2025, panelist 2024 

Participated in two separate Illinois Assessment of Readiness Virtual Content Text Reviews with Pearson and ISBE 2024

Middle School Crystal Apple Award, A Peer-Nominated Award, February 2024 and May 2025

Camp Rewrite Participant with Matthew Johnson, Rebekah O’Dell, and Angela Stockman 2023

Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms application reviewer 2023

Promising Young Writers contest judge for the National Council of Teachers of English 2023

The News-Gazette Teacher of the Week  2023

St. Joseph Masonic Lodge "Teacher of the Year" 2023

Psi Iota Xi, Iota Sigma Chapter Grant Recipient 2023

Homebound instructor 2023

College Essay Coach, Students received acceptance into Caltech, Columbia, Cornell, BYU, Duke, Rose-Hulman, Carnegie Mellon, UChicago, UCLA, Northwestern UIUC Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Purdue, and more 2021-2025.

Room Lead for Illinois Assessment of Readiness Virtual Content Text Review with New Meridian and ISBE 2022

Participated in Affiliate States ELA Item Review Content Meetings with New Meridian and ISBE 2022

Illinois Tutoring Initiative trained tutor 2022 

Iota Theta Grant Recipient 2022

Room Lead for Illinois Assessment of Readiness Virtual Content Text Review with New Meridian and ISBE 2021

Participated in Illinois Assessment of Readiness Virtual Bias and Sensitivity Text Review with New Meridian and ISBE 2021 

Participated in a rangefinding of student responses for the Illinois Assessment of Readiness with New Meridian and ISBE 2019

Illinois State Board of Education Reading and Writing Consultant 2000-2013

Edited passages for numerous ISAT reading tests through 2013

Wrote 7th and 8th grade ISAT reading tests in 2005- 2011

Edited and developed ISAT writing prompts

Wrote student-friendly rubrics to accompany ISBE materials for teachers

Worked on the validation committee to evaluate 7th and 8th grade extended responses in reading 

Evaluated the IMAGE test’s alignment to the Illinois High School State Standards 

Guest presenter on Assessment and Reading for Normal West School District, Normal, IL

Assessment training by Harcourt Publishing, Pearson, Metritech Inc., New Meridian, and the Illinois State Board of Education

45 Hour Gifted Education Seminar Completion through the Champaign/Ford Regional Office of Education 2012

Created and developed 8th grade honors literature and language arts class and curriculum

Created and developed 7th grade gifted literature section and curriculum

St. Joseph Education Association Grievance Committee, Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) Committee, and Negotiation Team

Education:

Post-Graduate Work:  University of Illinois and Eastern Illinois University.

Graduate Degree:  Eastern Illinois University - Master of Arts in English

Undergraduate Degree:  Eastern Illinois University - Bachelor of Science in Education 

Major:  Middle Level Education        Field I:  English        Field II: Art

Teaching Certification: English (6-12), Art (6-12), Gifted Education (6-12) and Social Sciences (6-9)

High School: 1993 Graduate from Hoopeston Area High School - Home of the Cornjerkers.

Life Outside of School

After living in St. Joe for 19 years, I moved to Mahomet with my family in May of 2018.  My husband is a guidance counselor at Tuscola High School as well as the Boys Cross Country Coach. We have a son named Grant who went to school in St. Joe from kindergarten through 8th grade, but he attended high school in Mahomet. We are big dog people and have owned a doberman, great dane, as well as spinone italiano. Owning a dog is a "big" part of my life outside of school. 

I also love to travel. Reading about travel is one of my favorite things to do--besides actually traveling, of course! I believe that travel is important, educational, and an investment in family memories and relationships. I feel that the knowledge I have gained through traveling has considerably impacted how I teach. Traveling has also broadened my understanding of the world, and I feel I learn a lot from stepping outside my own culture. 

I have been fortunate to travel to so many places over the years, both in the U.S. and abroad. We began taking more frequent trips with Grant in 2008, visiting cities across the country as well as exploring much of Europe. Our travels have taken us through Scandinavia, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean. We have traveled to 30 countries in total. 

I like to hear about other people's adventures. I absolutely love to get new ideas, and I enjoy sharing my travel tips and experiences with others as well.  (I am continually on the lookout for travel "hacks" and ways to travel well, affordably.) I always have a list of countries I am currently researching for future trips.

Salzburg, Austria

Predjama Castle, Soloveia

Oslo, Norway

Bosnia and Herzegovina