Born the same year that McDonald's introduced Chicken McNugget nationwide, I am considered a "Xennial", someone who was born at the end of Generation X and at the beginning of Generation Y (aka Millennials). I was lucky enough to experience a childhood that promoted outdoor neighborhood play but saw the introduction of video games. I'm just old enough to still learn how to use a rotary phone as a child and graduate from high school as cell phones became mass market products. I won't get you confused by explaining what a beeper is. My friends and I started life without household computers and the internet, saw the introduction of home PC's and dial-up modems throughout middle school and early high school, and went to college and our first jobs as labtops, broadband, and wireless internet sped up our access to the world. If you are reading this and remember when floppy discs were still floppy and AIM was the way to communicate with your crew, I am sending kudos (praise, not the candy/granola bar) to you!

 

This hybrid of knowing the best of the old-fashioned and the new plays a big part in my classroom instructional style. I want to ensure my students know how to use the technology of the modern world and are willing to embrace technology yet to come. I also want to make sure they can learn and function in the moments that tech is unavailable, and constructively communicate in face-to-face situations without it. In addition, my classroom management style and educational philosophies are a balance of the old and the new. I find my students function best when their academics are focused on growth rather than grades, and behavior is shaped by redirection and conversations rather than harsh words and punitive consequences. At the same time, I do hold my students accountable and to high expectations that require a lot of personal responsibility and self-discipline that can only be achieved by working hard. 

 

Some Quick Facts-

 

I grew up in Greensboro and Reidsville, NC

 

 

This is my 3rd year with JCPS and SMS

 

I had a less traditional route to teaching since I went into the workforce after high school and didn't go back to college until I was 30. This experience has made me more aware of what it takes to help students meet their personal, academic, and career goals. 

 

I'm married and we have 2 cats named Parker and Fizz. Sometimes they like to join online lessons.

 

I have an older sister who is married and has two children. My niece Leigha is 5 and has just started Kindergarten, and my nephew Avery was born in February of 2020.

 

I love anything related to the arts

 

I had a severe speech disorder that greatly affected my oral and written communication as a young child, but I loved to read and write and did both of those activities on a consistent basis, even when a teacher didn't see my potential.