I absolutely love teaching and feel so fortunate to spend my days helping my English Learners grow.  I received my Bachelor of Science degree from Bradley University in Elementary and Middle School Education and English.  After spending a summer working with children in Hawaii, I began my teaching career in West Bloomfield, Michigan, where I taught third and fourth grade for seven years.  I earned my Master of Arts degree in Curriculum and Teaching from Michigan State University along with a Graduate Certificate of Educational Technology. From my very first year of teaching in 1999, I was interested in how best to teach English Learners. In my first class, three of my students did not speak any English and other students spoke two or more languages, and I wanted to know more about how to support them. Later, I went back to graduate school to study teaching English as a Second Language.  While earning an ESL teaching endorsement, I learned much about the benefits of multilingualism along with many strategies to help English Learners.  I am grateful to get to share these strategies with the wonderful teachers in our school district. This is my eleventh year specializing in teaching English Learners, and I feel just as passionate about teaching as I did 26 years ago.  Now, I teach students in fourth through eighth grade, and my students' families speak six different languages.  Some of my students are learning their very first words in English, and other students are growing in the academic language they need to further develop their reading and writing skills.  I care so much about each of my students.

I have been married for 22 years to my husband, Conant.  We have two teenage daughters that are daily reminders of how very important my students are to their families. I grew up on a farm and as a child, I dreamed of exploring other countries and cultures some day.  Now, as an adult, I have taught or visited students in England, Japan, Thailand, Guatemala, and South Africa.   My husband is the son of immigrants from China and Taiwan.  I have traveled to six continents and have spent time in 27 countries and love growing in my understanding of other cultures.  I am so glad that I get to learn about my students' cultures here in Roscoe, as well.  Connecting to their background knowledge and experiences helps them more successfully grow as learners.  We all can learn a great deal from one another.