Born and raised in San Jose, I attended public schools in the Evergreen School District and the East Side Union High School District and graduated from San Jose State University. My family and I have made our home here locally, and we enjoy biking on trails, going to the beach, attending sporting events, and vacationing in Tahoe and Disneyland!

During my credential program, I was fortunate to be hired here at Price, and I have made this my home for the last 22 years teaching 7th grade ELA, 7th grade Advanced ELA, 7th grade Social Studies, 8th grade U.S. History, Film & Literature, and Reading Intervention. As a middle school teacher, I am passionate and dedicated to the task of preparing my students for success in high school and beyond. I believe that all students have the right to learn and to have equal opportunities to access education in order to become responsible citizens ready to participate in our world. Within our classroom, we work as a team to create unity and foster an environment that is positive and built upon respect for our classmates and peers--one that values our varying perspectives and our diversity, embraces our learning differences, and challenges us to both learn from one another and to be our best. I encourage our team to learn from our struggles and mistakes while celebrating our successes and accomplishments. Through our units of study, we work to learn about the world around us and make connections between ourselves and others to foster empathy, compassion, and respect. I encourage my students to work towards being individuals who promote understanding of one another and to be forces of positive change within our communities.

In my teaching, I adhere to the principles of "Gradual Release of Responsibility," a practice that models skills as a whole class and with partners and teams before students work individually on tasks. Similarly, I believe that homework is a "practice of what we have learned" and that mistakes are opportunities from which to learn. Within my classes, we frequently work with partners and in groups and, therefore, it is essential that understanding and respect for each other is key in reaching our goals.