Bio

A Bit About Julie:  The Educator Plus

Julie is a K-8 STEM Director at Challenge to Excellence Charter School in Parker, Colorado. She was the first recipient of the EdTechTeam's grant for tablets in the classroom and piloted using tablets in her school over 3 years. During her implementation, she worked with Google on the Android and Google Play for Education projects. She has worked on other projects that culminated in being featured in teaching videos to promote technology in the classroom while working with Google Play for Education. Julie helps other teachers in their technology integration at her K-8 school and also supports other educators through her participation in online educator groups. She is currently the academic dean for student interns and helps them integrate technology into their lessons during their field experience and student teaching.

Julie has been a presenter at district to international level conferences covering topics from Google Play for Education, 21st Century Learning Spaces, Google Apps for Education, and Future Ready Schools. She has worked with the Denver Zoo, and has worked as an independent contractor with McGraw-Hill on special projects. Julie has been teaching for over 30 years and has embraced new technology being integrated into her classroom as the world of educational technology has evolved during her teaching career.

ISTE Presenter starting in 2014

InnEdCO -ISTE Affliate Presenter starting 2013

Outside the Four Walls of the Classroom

I was born in Virginia where my father was serving a brief tour in the United States Army. Shortly thereafter, my family moved back to Le Mars, Iowa where my parents were born and raised. The family soon moved to Akron, Iowa where my father had a teaching job as a political science teacher at Akron High School, and my mother worked as a registered nurse at the local hospital. We then moved a few years later to Twentynine Palms, California when my father got a new teaching assignment at Twentynine Palms High School as the Department Chair of the Social Science Department. He later became the Department Chair at College of the Desert/Copper Mountain Campus, Joshua Tree, California. The campus later became Copper Mountain Community College which is where I started my college career. California would be home to me for a very long time growing up with three sisters and starting my adult life after college.

After earning my A.A in Liberal Studies at College of the Desert, I attended Chapman University where I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science with an emphasis in Elementary Education. I taught for 10 years in California and then moved to Parker, Colorado from Palm Desert, California. When we moved to Parker, I taught at a local private school for 2 years and then began teaching at Challenge to Excellence the first year the school opened in the fall of 2002.

I thoroughly enjoy teaching K-8 STM and enjoy continuing to learn new things as the world of education is constantly changing and evolving. When I am not at work, I enjoy spending time with my loving husband, Bill, and my six awesome children. My eldest son, Jonathan, was graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver with a degree in biology with a minor in chemistry and currently works in Denver. My next son, Stephen, is currently working in the engineering field for a company in the Denver area. My eldest daughter, Elizabeth, completed her teaching degree at Metropolitan State University of Denver and is teachng in Denver Public Schools. My daughter, Kathryn, also received her teaching degree from Metropolitan State University and is currently teaching in Jefferson County. My daughter Rachel attended CSU/Fort Collins and earned her BS degree in biomedical engineering and is currently attending nursing school. My daughter, Sarah, is  working on her cosmetology license to pursue her dream. I am so very proud of them and what they have accomplished so far in their young lives. This mom and teacher is blessed beyond words!

My love for Colorado gets stronger every single day as this wonderful state has so much to offer. I am constantly amazed as I travel throughout the state and discover new things that really make this a great place to live and raise my family. When I am not teaching, I enjoy being outside, cooking, baking, crocheting when I have, and timelearning about anything having to do with technology in the classroom! My newest outside activity is learning how to flyfish. I snag more twigs and trees than I do fish, but I have fun learning from my devoted and VERY patient husband. I also love being able to share my knowledge with other educators as I work with them at educational summits/conferences across the country and share all of the things that I get to do in my classroom and grow as an educator.