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Welcome to 5th grade and the learning community of Ms. HL’s Mountaineers! I’m Kaitlyn Harris Leach (“Ms. HL”) and this will be my eighth year teaching at Laurel Mountain. I believe that true learning comes from students being engaged in authentic contexts and inquiry, so I am grateful to work in a school that offers many amazing spaces and opportunities!
Why Mountaineers? As human beings we all face challenges, make mistakes, have unique interests and strengths. In our classroom community, we have different ‘mountains’ we climb each year but are all on the same journey. Climbing mountains takes practice, resilience and support. Mountaineers have to train in all types of terrain and find what method is most successful for them. As a teacher, my philosophy is to create an empathetic, empowered community of learners who will support each other in our climb!
A little about me: I grew up in Southern California near the ocean and love exploring tide pools and hiking with my family. I moved up the coast for college to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and received my undergraduate degree in Elementary Education, along with a minor in Biology. After completing my degree, I stayed in San Luis Obispo and led a STEM camp through my university for 2 years. This inspired my next step in life, which was moving to Austin to pursue my Master’s degree in STEM Education. After graduate school I started my 5th grade position at LME and love working with the students and community at this amazing school!
In my spare time I love to travel, explore new places and work on projects. On the weekends you can find me hiking, enjoying a jigsaw puzzle, or exploring local coffee shops around Austin! I also enjoy working on different art projects and currently have been improving my ceramic skills by taking pottery classes. I love all animals and have two fur babies: Dallas, a lively Australian Shepherd and Poppy, a sweet cat.
I look forward to partnering with your family and having a successful year of learning, laughing, and making new memories. Fifth grade is going to be fabulous!
Dallas
Poppy
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