Welcome to Michael's Web Site!
My name is Michael P. Smith, a.k.a. "Miguel Pablo Esmis" with my Spanish students over the years! I am an alumnus of Illinois State University in Normal, IL. I received my Undergraduate degree from ISU in1987, and I completed my Master's degree in the summer of 1996. I also earned a doctorate degree in Educational Administration and Foundations with the Peoria Doctoral Cohort. I have also created a web page for completing my doctoral dissertation. I completed the dissertation process in June of 2007 and graduated in December, 2007.
My major area of concentration for the classroom is in Spanish language and culture. I taught Spanish at Richwoods High School in Peoria, IL for 17 years from 1991 until June 2008. I have worked in school administration since the summer of 2008. Three years as a Dean of students at Peoria High School from 2008 until June 2011, and currently I continue working for Peoria Public Schools. As you will see in the pages on this site, my interests are varied! While Spanish is a main focus of this site, you will still find links to many other topics and projects I'm interested in. I enjoy music, reading, chess, golf, computers, and most of all my family!
I also enjoy spending time with our dog Valentino. We have supported dog rescue for many years, starting with our greyhound Liberty. We adopted her from a race track in July of 1998. You can also learn more about greyhound adoption online. Liberty crossed the rainbow bridge in 2005 and Valentino (a lab mutt hound, not a grey) joined us in December 2005. Tino is sleeping at my feet as I type this (that is not unusual).
On TV, my all-time favorite show is The X-Files and I also love Star Trek. We also enjoy the movies and look forward to going together, or with our boys.