Hillside Elementary School

About Me

    To share a little bit about myself, I am the proud mom of five wonderful children, ranging in age from ten to thirty three! Yes you read that correctly!  My fantastic husband and I have been together since high school!  I have been teaching for many years taking off for a short time to take care of my parents.  I have a Masters degree in Elementary Education and Reading N-12 and am currently working on my ENL certification.

My Educational Philosopy

A student’s mind needs to be instructed, his heart inspired, and his eyes opened to possibilities. The student should be influenced by people who inspire and encourage him to do and be more. Developing motivation, confidence, and diligence in students is important for their academics, their character, and their hope for goals in life. A motivated student wants to learn because the topic has been relayed to him in an inspiring way. Students who are confident are those who will share ideas, be bold to come up with new investigations and discoveries, and those who will know who to go to and ask for help, or how to figure things out for themselves. Lastly, a diligent student is someone who, when having a difficult time, will continue to look for help until he has found a solution to whatever problem he comes across. Growing these three characteristics in students: motivation, confidence, and diligence, will only increase their abilities in their character, careers, relationships, and contributions and dedication to society.

A teacher must be passionate, sensitive, and vulnerable. I put my whole heart into what I do. Caring about young people comes naturally for me. I am easily drawn to students, I want to be example for them and encourage them to be all that they can be. I care for the direction in which they lead their lives and I am sensitive to their individual personalities. Students often trust me because they know that I care about them. Students have to trust a teacher to share their ideas, to feel comfortable asking for help, and to blossom in their own personality, gifting, and uniqueness. I believe I am the kind of teacher that a student can trust. I know how to relate to children by being calm, meaningful, and encouraging so that they can be themselves and feel valued around me. I remember the students I have had and they remember me. 

In my classroom, I create and maintain an effective environment for students to learn by developing appropriate classroom expectations for my students, providing boundaries for a safe environment, and enabling students to explore, create, and move on to the next level of learning.

I understand and organize content for maximum student learning. I combine various subjects, such as literature, history and art, to create themes/units that can reach multiple learning styles. By developing creative, engaging standards-based lesson plans, students of all learning styles will benefit with my flexibility in instruction and evaluation. I engage students in powerful learning by providing multiple activities, games, team work and outlets to explore so that active participation in the classroom remains constant.