I grew up with my parents and two older brothers in California and Germany. As the daughter of an Air Force Master Sergeant, I learned to adjust to my new surroundings and be flexible at an early age. Years later, we settled in Maryland to be closer to more family and have stayed. My mother stayed home when we were young and believed in enriching our lives with lessons in academics and life. I can still recall some of the days sitting at our dining room table practicing my letters with my mother and sometimes practicing my coloring! The passion and love my mother showed in being our first teacher has led me to a life of constantly working with children. As a teenager, as soon as I could work, I volunteered at summer camps and then became a camp counselor and steadily worked my way up the ladder.
I earned my BS degree from Frostburg State University with a dual degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. I have taught with Montgomery County Public Schools as a kindergarten teacher within the Silver Spring and Rockville communities. I’ve spent summers working with high school freshmen and sophomores, helping them improve their reading skills. After my daughter was born, I transitioned home until after the birth of my son and upon him entering preschool. I enjoyed using my skills as a teacher to support my children at home, much like my mother did, as well as teaching them lessons that cannot be taught in the classroom. In 2015, I gradually transitioned back into the classroom through a journey of being a volunteer and long-term substitute teacher at an independent school in Washington, DC. I knew my place was back in the classroom. In 2019, I had the honor of being a co-teacher at The Lab School of Washington until joining the amazing McLean School community in 2021. An activity that my students love is using whichever skill we’re practicing in reading with a game. A fan favorite is an adaptation of Uno where they read specific spelling pattern words on the cards instead of seeing numbers on them.
I am trained in Responsive Classrooms, Orton-Gillingham, executive functioning strategies, and SPACE in Schools (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions). I enjoyed a recent training on Differentiating with Canva and training on how we should think about using technology for learning in a post-pandemic world with Richard Culatta.
When I’m not teaching, I love spending time with my husband, two children, Zoë, and Demetrius, and our dog, Loki. We enjoy swimming, going on walks, crafting, gaming, and hanging out with friends!