Hi everyone!  I’m excited to be teaching 7th grade at IA this year. I recently moved from the beautiful Pacific Northwest in Washington State where I’ve worked in education since 1999. I earned my Bachelor degree in Social Sciences and Criminal Justice from WSU and my Master in Education from GCU and have been teaching 7th grade Social Studies for the past 4 years. I’ve worked in every grade level classroom from Kindergarten through 12th grade, including 9 years as a high school paraprofessional, 2 years handling high school low-level discipline and 7 years as a middle school classroom paraprofessional.  Middle schoolers are hands down my favorite students to work with and I’m thrilled to be able to continue teaching this age group.  I’ve served as a volunteer track and cross-country coach, Drama Club advisor, Natural Helpers peer mentorship coordinator, AVID site team member and was a Soroptimist Ruby Award winner for my work with underprivileged girls and young adults. I love school spirit days and have been known to be highly competitive when it comes to dress up days and class spirit competitions.  I am a proud single mother of 3 grown children and am thrilled to be living closer to my son and daughter-in-law here in San Diego. In my spare time I enjoy hiking, trail building, dance, photography, singing, spending time in nature, volunteering and hanging out with my beloved rescue dog, Dingus.