Contact info

Email: oouthong@bedford.k12.va.us

Phone: (434) 299-5863

Feel free to send me a note inside your child's daily traveling folder. I check them each morning.

Meet the Teacher

Big Island Elementary School will always have a very special place in my heart, as it was my elementary school as a child. I began teaching 2nd grade at Big Island Elementary School in 2001, after completing my student teaching there. The following year, I volunteered to move to Kindergarten, where I had the privilege of teaching with my former 4th grade teacher. I have also had the honor of teaching the children of many of my former BIES classmates. What an awesome experience! I have been in my happy place since then...Kindergarten where the adventure begins. I have resided in Bedford County my entire life. I attended Lynchburg College, later reconnected and married my high school sweetheart, and we now have 2 beautiful children(Easton & Addalyn). They are very excited to begin second and third grade at BIES. We also recently welcomed a new addition to our family...an 8 week old shih-tzu puppy named LEO. Teaching is so personally rewarding. If you think getting 20 kindergarten students in a line to follow you to the first day is easy, think again. I jokingly tell others...I teach Kindergarten, you can't scare me! In all honesty, I learn from my students daily. Our Kinders come into school, in August, asking for a snack and a nap and often leave as readers. The amount of social and academic growth that I witness in my classroom is unreal! I love to watch how the students interact and care for one another. I love to watch them play, explore, and become excited about learning. If I have learned one thing it is that every student can learn just not on the same day or in the same way. I'm here for the kids!