Work History
I currently work for a very small school district in an unincorporated area of Chicago. Our township is 4 blocks x 8 blocks big. We are completely surrounded by the city of Chicago, but have our own school district, fire dept., park district, etc. I taught 6th, 7th, and 8th grade science for three years when I first started there, and then moved to a language arts classroom where I taught for the past 14 years. But this year, I am moving (somewhat) out of the classroom. I will be teaching 8th grade language arts part-time and working part-time as an instructional coach helping other teachers in the building use our newly purchased chromebooks to incorporate more technology and 21st century learning into their lessons. I am very excited about this new position (but also a little bit overwhelmed).Education
I am just starting the Technology Specialist program at Dominican University as part of this new position. I have also earned an ELL Endorsement from National Louis University, my M.A. as a reading specialist from St. Xavier University, and I attended the University of Michigan where I studied Elementary Education for my undergraduate degree.My kids at Camp Michigania-My favorite place on Earth Summer 2017. (personal photo) |
Background
I was born and raised in Michigan and moved to Chicago after graduating from college. I met my husband here (although we grew up less than 5 miles away from each--crazy small world!) and we lived in the city for many years until our kids reached school age. We moved to the western suburbs of Chicago about 7 years with our two kids who are now in elementary school.About Me
Our annual Thanksgiving Turkey trot. Last Thanksgiving our kids were big to join the race. (personal photo) |
My husband and kiddos in Yellowstone National Park on our family road trip. (personal photo) |
I am looking forward to learning about new technologies that I can bring to my students and the other teachers in my building. I'm also excited to hear about new ways to engage kids in learning. Our district went one-to-one last year for our middle school students and having access to that kind of technology has made teaching much easier, but also much harder. Access to materials and new, interesting ways to teach things has helped some students stay more engaged, but it also means rethinking lessons, researching new websites, apps, and extensions, and always keeping in mind the "why of doing something." Technology for better learning, not technology for the sake of technology.