Ravenseeds

My first certification was in Art, where I taught students from pre-K through 12th grade. A career shift led me to another certification in Gifted and Talented where I taught students in grades 3-12. After almost 11 years as an adjunct in higher education, I heard the call into the Literacy classroom, diving into the Science of Reading. My favorite classroom was the room I helped build into the school's library. I was hired to improve the culture of reading where the students had no access to a library. I have taught in urban, suburban, and rural settings, as well as public, catholic, charter, and Montessori classrooms. Loved them all!

Most of my classrooms were bare bones when I arrived. My job was always to take a program that was either new or almost non-existent and build a dream program on a shoe-string budget. Known as the 'Fixer' or 'Clydesdale', I wanted our students to also learn executive functioning and leadership skills so they could be successful wherever they land. I hope to pass curiosity on to our youth with the tone of reality, justice, equality, and diversity.

I completed my undergraduate work at Northern Michigan University with a B.S. in Art Education and minors in Ceramics, Graphic Design and Native American History. Later, I completed my graduate work in Rochester, NY and completed a thesis on Visual Literacy. I wanted to research how to get students to talk more about their artwork and to defend why they make certain choices (color, composition, etc). This would lead to my final paragraph. While working with a unique population, I was challenged by my students to complete a Gifted and Talented degree at Indiana University. Here is where I became interested in teaching in higher education and started my adjunct experience in NY. Our state saw a large teacher retirement and I answered the call to complete a program in Literacy Education in conjunction with Early Childhood Education. I have been teaching and tutoring as a Literacy Specialist since and advocate for libraries in small schools that exist without a library or LMS.