This is my 18th year in education. I started my career in Bryan, Texas teaching 3rd grade. I left Bryan to live out my dream of living in NYC. There I taught 6th grade math for 5 years at Robert F Wagner Middle School. While I was in NYC I started to realize how much I enjoyed working with students with special needs who had emotional and behavioral disabilities. I decided to go back to school at CUNY Hunter college and get my masters in SpEd with an emphasis on teaching students with emotional and behavioral disabilities. Once I graduate I moved back Texas to teach in a behavior/social skills classroom for a year at Perez Elementary School in Austin. I then transitioned back into the classroom at Perez as a 4th and 5th grade math and science teacher. During my 5th year in Austin I got diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and went to Dallas to seek treatment. When I was better, I decided I wanted to be back in a school but wasn’t strong enough physically to go back into the classroom, so I was the front desk clerk at Lake Highlands Elementary for one year. I knew the classroom was where I really wanted to be so I became a special education resource inclusion teacher there and have been in that role for 7 years. 

I love building relationships with my students and colleagues. In this current role I frequently have students who struggle behaviorally on my case load and I have found that sometimes the only influence I have is through strong relationships. If I can get students who typically don’t trust adults to trust that I want the best for them, they will work harder and make more gains behaviorally and academically. I am also in a co-teacher role, so if the teachers I work with trust in my skillset of working with struggling learners I have seen great gains with all students as two heads are always better than one.

I have admired the teachings and philosophies of Kagan. Kagan has a program that focuses on purposeful collaboration working between peers, relationship building whole class and partnerships & strong student engagement. I have found in my career that these three components can really move mountains. 

If I had stock in Taco Joint I would be rich for the number of times my team and I order it for lunch. We also love Fire Xbox. Mico or Lochlands are always solid for after work, 3pm eats and a special shoutout to the Starbucks on Walnut and Skillman, & White Rock Coffee. The Store has the cutest clothes and Deluxe Nail Salon had a kind teacher discount.

Thank you to our "Educator of the Month" sponsor: ***** (place Cothern Dentistry logo here). *****