I am a teacher of 30+ years having taught 10 of my 12 GLS years at Marr/Cook. I have 15 years experience at the middle/high school level. My other years were spent in various states at the elementary or adult level teaching reading, social studies, and math. I also have experience coaching high school/middle school basketball, cheerleading, and track.
I have a BS in Education from the State University of New York, 19 post-graduate hours in counseling from Western Illinois and Jacksonville University, an MA in Reading and Literacy, and an EdD in Teacher Leadership. My MA and EdD were earned at Walden University. My doctoral study researched the connection between vocabulary development, teacher discourse, and socioeconomic status. Basically, my research found that when there is more conversation within a classroom, there will be increased vocabulary development. This conversation should be student to student as well as teacher to student. Conversation, not lecture or worksheet, develop deeper understandings of vocabulary.
I am a learning facilitator and a researcher. I see my job as leading learning and allowing the students to discover the wealth of knowledge that is in our world. It is important that today's students know where to look for information as well as knowing that information. My research interests include reading development and reading difficulties as they relate to phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency. I have also completed research on teacher training and classroom atmosphere. I am a part time instructor at Miami University, Oxford.
I am married with two grown children. Steve, 25, is a middle school teacher of emotionally disabled students in a district near Dayton and Caitlin, 22, is a senior at Miami University studying education and English. My husband works for a publishing firm in Blue Ash.
I thoroughly enjoy working with your children. They are all special and dear to me. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Thank you for allowing me the honor of working with them.