Welcome to Mrs. Long's ELA Website

I'm a native Texan with a love of learning and sharing that learning with others. I've been married to my tall, dark, and handsome Marine for 29 years. We have three amazing children all grown up. Our oldest daughter, Lexi, works for Texas State University as a housing director. Our son, TJ, is a graduate student at A&M Corpus Christi working toward a PHD in psychology. Lia, our youngest daughter, recently graduated from the University of North Texas as an Art Major (she is a photographer). I am a very dedicated teacher and can't imagine ever retiring, but I do dream of eventually living on the coast or lakeside to spend my time reading and writing.

I have over 20 years of teaching experience, serving grades K-12. I started teaching part time while my children were littles. I began teaching full time in 2009. I student taught 2nd grade then landed a position as a music and literacy teacher for grades K-6. I also taught math for grades 3-6 before I took a 3rd grade self-contained classroom position which I held for six years. I left that position to explore teaching other grades and spent some time overseeing virtual high school courses. I have extensive experience with reading remediation courses for elementary and middle school reading, as well as English I and English II at the high school level. I taught reading intervention at Deerpark Middle School for two years before moving into the 6th grade ELA & TAG position. Teaching middle school is a lot of fun, and it's definitely where I feel I have the most impact. This will be my 7th year at DMS. Being a Deerpark Middle School Ranger means being part of an amazingly supportive school community!

You will find that I am a firm, but fair teacher. I believe that success is easy when we give our best, and each individual's success is specific to their own skills and abilities. I often say that Effort=Outcome, so I expect my students to always give and be their best. I'm also a very transparent teacher, constantly "keeping it real" for all my students, and parents alike, because that's what I always wanted with my own children. I will communicate the good, the bad, and the ugly. Yet, I always focus on the positive.

Ranger Pride.....Never Dies! #RangersUp