My name is Valerie Taft, and I am so excited to be a literacy specialist at Ford Elementary this year!

I am a Colorado native, and grew up in Edgewater- a small town just west of Denver.  I attended UNC in Greeley and completed my BA in Elementary Education. A few years into my teaching career, I fell in love with teaching students how to read, and earned my MA in literacy instruction with my Reading Specialist endorsement from CU Denver.  This year I will be starting my 14th year education. 

When I am not teaching, I love spending time with my husband, Kevin.  We have two wonderful children, ages 8 and 5.  We also have 2 dogs and a cat.  Our family loves traveling, especially to Disney.  I also love swimming, working out, cooking and baking, and spending quality time with my family.

This year I hope to not only support students, but also families as our foxes continue to grow as readers.

I am so excited to get to know you and your student. I have taught for 9 years mostly in 3rd grade but also for a few years in 2nd grade. I graduated in 2014 with my Bachelors in Elementary Education. I then went back and got my Masters from CU Denver in Curriculum and Instruction with a reading and writing endorsement in 2019. 

I have had a passion to support students in their reading ever since I was diagnosed with dyslexia in 3rd grade. I am excited to be the teacher that gets to help students just like the teachers who helped me.

I was born in Colorado Springs and still love visiting my parents at my childhood home. I can’t imagine not living in Colorado and getting to enjoy all the adventures our state has. I currently live in Littleton with my husband, Corey, and our two Chihuahua Terrier dogs, Leo and Echo. They definitely run our house and my students all learn about them and their antics. We love being outside hiking, biking, kayaking, playing pickleball or just reading a good book. I love books! Which is a good thing given my last name. My husband would say I have a book hoarding problem, but I say I have a lack of shelf space problem.

I look forward to getting to know you and your child better in the coming school year!