All About Ms. Poulos
Bio
Bio
I have been teaching for a total of 36 years; 30 at Denman. I grew up in Manteca, California in the central valley. My parents were first generation Americans - my mom’s family was from Italy and my dad’s was from Greece. I attended Manteca High School and spent summers and after school working in my father’s pharmacy (in the days before CVS and Target!) My dad was an amazing example of how you pay it forward to humanity and to your community. I learned more in my after school job with him than I learned in high school!! I went to UC Santa Barbara where I completed a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, took some time off to work and explore the world, and then returned to University of San Diego where I got my teaching credential. I worked for 3 years as a 4th grade teacher in a private school in LA, spent 2 years in Madrid teaching ESL to all ages, and then landed in San Francisco and found Denman (by accident.) I have been at Denman for the last 27 years. At Denman, I fell in love with middle school age kids, found my wonderful husband, raised my kids in the back of my classroom, and still want to be here! My children Noah -23 and Marina -21 have both graduated from college. It brings me nothing but great joy to run into my students who are now adult members of the community.
I have been teaching for a total of 36 years; 30 at Denman. I grew up in Manteca, California in the central valley. My parents were first generation Americans - my mom’s family was from Italy and my dad’s was from Greece. I attended Manteca High School and spent summers and after school working in my father’s pharmacy (in the days before CVS and Target!) My dad was an amazing example of how you pay it forward to humanity and to your community. I learned more in my after school job with him than I learned in high school!! I went to UC Santa Barbara where I completed a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, took some time off to work and explore the world, and then returned to University of San Diego where I got my teaching credential. I worked for 3 years as a 4th grade teacher in a private school in LA, spent 2 years in Madrid teaching ESL to all ages, and then landed in San Francisco and found Denman (by accident.) I have been at Denman for the last 27 years. At Denman, I fell in love with middle school age kids, found my wonderful husband, raised my kids in the back of my classroom, and still want to be here! My children Noah -23 and Marina -21 have both graduated from college. It brings me nothing but great joy to run into my students who are now adult members of the community.
I often hear “Hey Ms. Poulos” and I scramble to attempt to remember one of the thousands of kids’ names who have been in my classroom. I am usually unsuccessful, however what I do remember though is their smile or something they told me or how they made me laugh years ago.
I often hear “Hey Ms. Poulos” and I scramble to attempt to remember one of the thousands of kids’ names who have been in my classroom. I am usually unsuccessful, however what I do remember though is their smile or something they told me or how they made me laugh years ago.
Teaching Philosophy
Teaching Philosophy
These are some of the tenets of my teaching philosophy:
These are some of the tenets of my teaching philosophy:
- Respect students voice and get to know them as individuals. (How can I teach you if I don’t know you? )
- Create a space where students feel comfortable to be themselves and to learn. (I have high expectations of how students treat each other in my classroom.)
- Give students voice in the learning process.(I want to hear about how students learn and what works best for them.)
- Explicitly teach students how to work together and to negotiate roles in groups. (Before teaching content, I teach students how to work together by modeling and then having students practice.)
- Empower students be in control of their learning. (I want students to question what we are doing in class and make it theirs)
- Create community in the classroom by teaching skills to help students navigate their feelings and needs so that they can better communicate with each other. ( We have community agreements in my classroom that are created as a group and we spend time talking to each other and holding each other accountable.)
- Meet students where the “are” to help them move ahead with learning and with their lives.
- I care deeply about my students.
Interests
Interests
I am musical; I play the guitar and the violin and sing. I enjoy taking photos and painting. I love to travel- especially to Italy. I enjoy spending time with family.
I am musical; I play the guitar and the violin and sing. I enjoy taking photos and painting. I love to travel- especially to Italy. I enjoy spending time with family.
