About Me

My educational training was through UTeach Tyler, a collaborative teacher preparation program offered jointly by the Colleges of Arts and Sciences as well as Education and Psychology. The program works directly with local school districts in East Texas. UTeach Tyler is a replication site for the UTeach Austin program that began in 1997 as an innovative way to address the national shortage of qualified mathematics and science teachers. Through my years in UTeach, I have had the opportunity to shadow multiple educators and teach elementary through high school levels. In this program, I was introduced to and became a strong proponent of project-based learning.

I completed the UTeach program and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on science education from the University of Texas at Tyler in 2012.  Then, I became a Science Specialist and certified science teacher at the Innovation Academy, UT Tyler’s STEM charter school for four years. I also graduated with my Master's in Curriculum and Instruction for STEM Education in May of 2015. 

In June 2013, I married Michael Marcano, a police officer at UT Tyler.  We met working with a production and special effects company where did set design, worked with special effects makeup, and acted in independent films.  In May of 2018, we welcomed our first child, Enzo, into the world! He is a doll, and such a joy to us! 

I have two class pets, named Gadget and Gizmo. The students will get to interact with them daily. In my spare time, I also enjoy reading, crafting, and spending time with my family.

This will be my 8th year teaching at Whitehouse Junior High, and I look forward to meeting all my new Wildcat students! I grew up in the Whitehouse School district, and it is an amazing blessing to be able to return to my Alma Mater and work under the amazing educators who inspired me all those years ago!  

My Philosophy On Science Instruction:

As a science teacher, I must open kids’ eyes to new information, generate curiosity, and help them see a world of possibilities.  My educational experiences, skills, and abilities are typically used to identify and strengthen my students’ prior knowledge while they explore, create and synthesize concepts on their own. Inquiry teaching is a passion of mine, and I feel that the children benefit from learning to become curious again.

• When I am teaching, I try my best to allow students the freedom to learn independently.  I model the ways I learned about topics, studied, and even used tricks to remember certain words or phrases. Every child has a different way of seeing the world, let alone, learning. I feel it is extremely important to plan well and work hard to present lessons in such a way that every child feels engaged, motivated, and supported.

• There are so many different learning styles and preferences, and many children may learn best from a combination of them.  This makes it essential to know your students, differentiate your instruction, and “change up” the way the information is presented as much as possible. Many teachers that focus their instructional design on their personal learning strengths risk losing the kids who do not think or learn in the same way. Additionally, when teachers add variety in lesson planning it promotes a more active and engaging environment, and it reaches a greater percentage of students, including the most challenging ones.

I believe that compassion plays a big role in education. For a child to truly learn within a classroom, there needs to be trust and respect between the teacher and student. Establishing relationships with students, not only makes handling discipline issues easier, it also helps with the learning process. The most important things I have learned in my life have come from my family, and I also consider my students are an extension of my family. For this reason, my classroom should always be a safe environment for all students.  I strive to create a learning culture and environment in which my students can come and ask questions without worrying about ridiculed or feeling disregarded.