About me

It wasn't my intent to become a teacher, but the NC Teaching Fellows Scholarship certainly altered the trajectory for this first-generation high school and subsequent college graduate. After winning the scholarship, I attended UNC Wilmington, graduating with my BA in elementary education in 1999. I took my first position teaching 5th grade in downtown Raleigh that fall at age 21, a time when most of my friends were either still in college or certainly were only responsible for themselves, and not a room full of ten year olds. Since then I've embarked on an amazing journey, which now brings me to Phillips Middle as your child's gifted ed specialist. 

Here are some tidbits:

• Years teaching: this is year 26. I spent the first 13 years teaching elementary school, teaching 5th, 2nd, and 3rd grades. The 2nd and 3rd grades were loops, with the same group of students for two consecutive years. 

  • In fall 2012 I decided to "grow up" a little and move to middle school. Since 2012, I've taught 6th grade math and science for 4 years and 7th grade math for 3. 

  • In summer 2015 I decided to add my curriculum/instructional supervision to my teaching license. In fall 2017 I added AIG certification.

  • I decided that having my own classroom for 20 years was enough. I became both an AIG teacher and a math interventionist in August 2019, doing that for 3 years. 

  • This is my second year as GES at Phillips! 

• Education: 

  • BA in elementary education, 1999

  • M Ed in elementary education, 2005

  • Curriculum/instructional supervision add-on, 2016

  • AIG certification, 2017

• National Board Certification, initially earned November 2007, renewed in 2016. Currently runs through 2027.

• Hometown: Elizabeth City, NC. Attended university and lived in Wilmington for 15+ years before relocating to the Triangle in 2016. For a brief tidbit, I lived in Raleigh from 1999-2001. 

• Married to an awesome and beautiful woman Sadie for nearly 13 years. Two stepsons, now both adults. The oldest Ellis lives in surbuban Washington DC. The youngest Thayer is a senior at App State. 

• And of course, the dog Sonora!

• Favorite food: pizza, tacos, and burritos. Seriously, these are the best.

• Favorite things to do: cook, exercise, and travel. Some pictures from two cross-country trips and the most fabulous trip I've ever been to, Iceland, are posted below: 

• Eventual goal: move to Colorado, but that's a few years off still.