I was born to do this work. A long list of educators, care givers, and librarians makes up my family tree. In fact, Ethel Warner, my great-grandmother, was the first librarian and founder of the old Burnet Elementary Library. Before I was old enough to attend school, my mom owned and operated a day care center and I watched and learned. Kindergarten marked my identity as a teacher's helper. I started babysitting when I was ten, and tutoring my peers beginning in the sixth grade. I simply do not know how to exist without teaching.
Long before I graduated from college I began my teaching career. I was a nanny, private tutor, substitute teacher at Shiner Elementary, and an aide at Austin Montessori School. In 2007, I graduated, married my husband, Matt, and moved 300 miles from home to begin my first teaching experience at Sonora Elementary where I fell in love with those "Eureka!" moments, when a little one finally figures out how to write their name or when the class recognized that my husband's name and the nap mat were the same word with different meanings and we ran with that homonym lesson for days because they were so fascinated by the word play.
While teaching and learning as a Kindergarten and Pre-K teacher in Sonora and Glen Rose from 2008-2012 in classrooms with differently abled students from various walks of life, my professional development and expertise turned toward students who have ADHD, ASD, survivors of trauma, and other differently abled children. I learned about LRE, SEAS, IEPs, ARD meetings, and as many acronyms as my head could hold. It was during this time that I gained many insights about learning disabilities through my co-teachers, students, readings, and conferences.
In 2012 even more change came to my career when we moved to La Grange to be nearer to family, and I became a fourth grade ELAR teacher. From those who begin with me saying "I hate reading!", to students like Caleb, who got me hooked on Ransom Riggs, I meet learners wherever they are and help them advance as far as we can go. Through my love of storytelling, and creating engaging lesson plans, I have helped many students find their place in the world of literacy. Through this process, I discovered that at my core I am a reading and literacy teacher. I believe that reading is the foundation that all learning is built upon and that purposeful play in the PK classroom is how we set them on that path to success.
In 2015 my husband and I began our journey to grow our family, and do some good in the world. Stepping away from the classroom to become a foster parent was the hardest decision of my career. In fact, I found that I couldn’t leave teaching completely, and began to substitute and tutor wherever there was need. Through these fostering and tutoring experiences, I have developed a deeper understanding of the effects of trauma, learning differences, and the family dynamic on childhood development. My capacity for empathy as well as maintaining calm and patience is invaluable in helping children develop the coping skills necessary to move beyond the pain and struggle to learn and achieve in great strides. For one example of many, a tutoring student has gone from failing reading to making A-B honor roll in one year’s time.
My life and career has come a long way since those early days, and I have learned so much about child development, the learning process, and when to push and when to let learning unfold. I have played the role of assistant, been in positions of leadership, and taught in a variety of environments. Through experience, I have found that deep learning happens when children feel at ease in their school and in control of their own learning through student centered teaching practices that provide meaningful and engaging instruction, offer choice, and give ample opportunity to practice skills.
I am beyond thrilled to be joining the Pre-K team and Shady Grove Elementary. I know this is going to be a great year filled with laughter, learning and developing a sense of community with my students and their families!