I look forward to another year teaching fifth grade. I've taught fourth grade at Hillside Elementary for eight years and spent the past three years at Farragut Middle School (sixth and eighth ELA and fifth grade). During the past twenty years, I've taught adults, preschoolers, elementary, and middle school students. In addition to my elementary education degree, I also hold a Master's in Adult Education/Organizational Psychology. However, I consider completing my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) my greatest academic accomplishment. At VCFA I honed my writing skills, found my writing voice, and learned from some literary greats: Katherine Paterson, Kirby Larson, Kathi Appelt, Tim Wynn-Jones, Rita Williams-Garcia, Will Alexander, Sarah Ellis, David Macinnis Gill, Mary Quattlebaum, Tom Birdseye, and A.S. King (to name several). I was honored to work closely with accomplished and award-winning authors on my own middle-grade novel and several picture book manuscripts. 

I'm looking forward to a memorable year!