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Here is the link to the capstone project website that I started. I do not see any other directions for specifics on what we are supposed to introduce so here it goes:

I love to travel and go to theater shows (which you probably already know). I am entering my 11th year at Fridley Middle School this fall and my 17th year of teaching. See you all once this course kicks off!

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Here we go! I am Maria Diaz. I have been teaching since 1987! I have taught in the Dominican Republic, in VA, and AZ!

I am an ELL teacher, and I am also the AVID coordinator at my school in Phoenix.

I am technology-challenged, but I am always eager to figure out things and not shy about asking for help. I have not taught third grade in a very long time, 13 years maybe? I teach 4th, 5th, and 6th-grade ELL students at my school in Phoenix, Arizona. I have the 4th and 5th graders for the entire ELA block and the 6th graders for 50 minutes of their ELA block. Our adopted curriculum already has AVID strategies throughout all the stages of reading. Now that I know the new content a bit better, in this second year of curriculum implementation, I hope to do a better job with the strategies. I still have so much to learn, and I am thrilled to begin this learning cycle with you. I know that we will learn a great deal together, and we will refine our practice.

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Hello Group 1! I’m Taylor Conner, nice to meet you!

I am a kindergarten teacher from ABCUSD in sunny Southern California. I’m passionate about creating a fun, nurturing, and engaging classroom where young learners feel safe, supported, and excited to grow. I’m always looking for new ways to support my students, and I’m excited to continue learning and growing as an AVID educator!

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Hello K-3 Team/Group 1!

I am Tracy Strandberg, and I teach 3rd grade in Mt. Angel, Oregon. I am also the AVID Site Coordinator for our school. I am excited to take this new AVID journey with you! I look forward to applying my experience and learning to help my 3rd-grade students grow in new ways. I also hope to inspire my colleagues to further their AVID skills with students as well.

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Hello fellow members of group 6. I am hoping the thumbnail of my capstone project website will be a little more exciting than the login page when I hit submit, but who knows.

I love watching sports, playing drums, building computers, and pretending to be a serious movie critic. This school year, I will be teaching 6th grade mathematics for the first time in 11 years, and will continue teaching algebra I for the 12th consecutive year. I feel I learned a great deal last year as my school district pivoted over to Illustrative Mathematics, and I am determined to improve my skills as a facilitator in order to give my students as much time to discuss, debate, and argue about the math we will cover. I look forward to working with you all :)

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Hey Cohorts! My name is Megan and I am excited to be here! I have taught for 11 years in a small town named Chiefland, Florida and have been the AVID Site Coordinator for 5 years, as well as attended Summer Institute for 5 years. I am APLM trained, and this will be my next step in my AVID journey. I have taught 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade and this year will be teaching 5th grade ESE. I am looking forward to getting to know you and learn from you. I hope you are enjoying your summer!

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Aloha Group 2,

My name is Darrell John Ahue and I'm from Hawaii. I think this would be my 11th year teaching... I think... Anyway, before that, I was a Paraprofessional working 1:1 with students with disabilities of all ages. That's what made me want to become a teacher.

After a while, they offered me the Curriculum Coordinator position and I accepted it, supporting my teachers from outside the classroom. I'm slated to help teach our GT program and eventually support as an AVID Site Coordinator.

My school has trained me in AVID when I first got hired and I've been using it ever since. Due to a transient population, we have teachers from all around the world coming to Makalapa, some who have never heard of AVID. It is my goal from this class to be better equipped to support my teachers as they learn about our school and our systems, especially AVID.

I look forward to working with each of you as we navigate this program.

Mahalo nui loa!

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My name is Darrell John Keahi'olapaikeau McWayne Ahue. I am a Native Hawaiian, born and raised on the island of O'ahu. I am currently at Makalapa Elementary as a Curriculum Coordinator, also responsible for our school's Gifted and Talented program. I have taught 4th and 5th grade prior to becoming our school's CC.

I attended my first AVID training session during my first year of teaching and I have implemented AVID strategies since, taking courses and attending additional sessions periodically throughout my teaching career. My hope is that by participating in this cohort, I can gain an even deeper understanding of AVID, how to effectively implement it's strategies, and how to better services my students and teachers.

Upon completion of this program, educators will be prepared to design and facilitate a model AVID classroom that actualizes the AVID Framework, which can result in improved college and career readiness for all the educator's students. Specifically, participants will:

Demonstrate routine application of the AVID Foundations of Instruction (FOI) to create a daily classroom experience that results in the student outcomes outlined in the AVID College and Career Readiness Framework.

Engage in continuous professional reflection on identified focus areas from the AVID Foundations of Instruction to manifest the AVID College and Career Readiness Framework.

Build relational capacity within a professional network that develops collective educator agency and supports one another's successes.

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Hello all! I'm Camille Rasmussen and I have been teaching for six years and all six of those years have been at Fridley Middle School. I started off teaching math and science, and currently teach ELA and science. I love being involved and working with the students outside of my classroom, so I coach middle school volleyball and track and field. Outside of school I love being outside and connecting with friends and family.

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Hi everyone! I'm excited to be part of this amazing AVID cohort!

I'm currently teaching in Chatham County, where I get to wear multiple hats - I teach the AVID elective for our 6th-8th graders, College and Career Exploration through our CTE program, and I also support our 5th graders with AVID Elementary. There's nothing quite like watching those lightbulb moments when students start connecting their dreams to real pathways!

I'm originally from Rockingham - yes, home of the famous dragway and NASCAR country - so I bring a little bit of that "start your engines" energy to everything I do! Whether we're diving into Cornell notes, exploring career clusters, or helping students organize their futures, I love seeing our kids discover that college and career readiness isn't just possible - it's exciting.

I'm looking forward to learning from all of you, sharing ideas, and continuing to grow together as we prepare our students to be successful in whatever path they choose. Let's make this a great year of collaboration and student success!

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Aloha! My name is Jamie Kawainui, and I'm an elementary school teacher in Honolulu, Hawaii. I've been teaching for thirteen years, with three years in first grade and the past ten in second. This coming school year, I'll be embarking on a new journey, working with students in our Gifted and Talented Program. I'm excited to implement AVID strategies with my students while also supporting other teachers on campus.

One commonality that I noticed so far in our home group is that we don't teach in a "traditional" homeroom class setting. We service students that come from a variety of backgrounds, such as ELL or GT. I'm excited to learn from my home group teammates and look forward to seeing how we will grow as educators this year.

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My name is Genna McLaren, and I'm a 5th grade French teacher at a public elementary school in Eugene Oregon. I've been a full time immersion teacher for 5 years now, and previously taught 5th grade English for two years before that. I work closely with a partner teacher, as our school is a 50/50 immersion model, and I specialize in teaching language through content. I focus on science primarily, some health / nutrition and social emotional learning, as well as a few social studies standards.

I've attended one virtual AVID conference before, but I feel somewhat familiar with AVID philosophy / approach to instruction through systems and strategies, so I'm hopeful that I can adapt this experience to my unique context. As a teacher in an immersion setting, I use a lot of scaffolds (and often!) to support student learning and to help them demonstrate their understanding more effectively. I'm interested in trying out some AVID strategies with my partner teacher so that our students can apply the same strategies in BOTH languages.

I'm noticing that we are all language teachers, or support language learners, which should make for some rich conversations!

Sorry I don't yet have a portfolio site to share with you -- I've reached out for help figuring out how to copy the template.

Looking forward to meeting / working with you.

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Hello,

My name is Yolonda K. White, also known as Dr. Yolonda White. I've been an educator for 22 years in various roles. My highest level of education is Educational Specialist (Doctorate) Degree in Educational Leadership. I was born in Torrington, Connecticut and attended school in Florida. I'm excited about my AVID Certified Educator (ACE) journey, grateful for being selected.

I have 3 adult children, my dad is a United States Air Force Veteran and a retired teacher, my mom is a Barbizon Model School graduate.

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Hello, Group 10!

I'm Lawren Hill- I work in Hagerstown, MD, teaching 9-10 ELA. This is my second year as an AVID teacher and this coming year, I'll be teaching the AVID 10 Elective! I just completed my MAT in December of 2024- my second Master's (first is in Vocal Performance).

I used AVID strategies last year in my edTPA and passed with smashing success- AVID strategies work! I'm looking forward to learning a lot during this session and working with you all!

https://sites.google.com/wcps.k12.md.us/lawrenhill/home

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It's great to meet you all! We are so far away, yet have so much in common. I am looking forward walking this new path with you!

Maria

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Hi, friends! I’m Kristen Elkins. I’m originally from West Palm Beach but now call Jacksonville, Florida home. I graduated from the University of North Florida and am a proud Delta Gamma. I’m currently in my 16th year of teaching and work at an AVID National Demonstration School, Sandalwood High School, where I teach U.S. History and AP U.S. History. I also serve as the AVID Coordinator and was the varsity cheerleading coach for 12 seasons.

I’m grateful to extend that work beyond my school as a Staff Developer for AVID Center, supporting teachers and schools across the country.

I met my husband while we were both working in education—he’s since moved into the corporate world—and together we have a sweet and spirited 2.5-year-old daughter. I also totally copied this from the other Padlet post LOL - Looking forward to getting to know you all!

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Goofy, I know - but love the goofy stuff.

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Hi home group!

I'm Beth Duncan. I've been teaching 20 years at Vista Ridge High School in Cedar Park, TX - right outside Austin (Keep Austin Weird!).

I currently teach the AVID elective for 9th graders (I'll follow them up to 10th next year). I also teach AP World History and AP European History.

I've been married to my senior prom date for 27 years and have 2 sons - Connor (21) and Zach (16). We adopt former racing greyhounds and currently have 2 - Thor and Diana. I love sci-fi, comedies, British murder mystery books and shows, cooking and I shoot a compound bow for stress relief, lol. I watch college football and baseball and have come to love hockey - the minor league team for the Dallas Stars is 10 mins from school. I grew up in Baton Rouge, LA on LSU's campus - dad was a professor - and so bleed purple and gold.

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I am entering my 13th year teaching, which is a baffling number for me to really consider. I started off teaching high school, bouncing between 9th and 12th grades. I bounced around for the first several years of my career before dropping down to middle school, and I have gratefully found my niche (and my people) at Ross Middle School in Artesia, CA.

This will be my 9th year at Ross, and I weirdly still view myself as a high school teacher, which is totally not the case. I teach 7th grade ELA and I also have two sections of PE. I have also taught Journalism, Speech and Debate, ELD, and ASB along my educational journey.

I have a lot of hobbies, including any obscure sport you can imagine, Dungeons and Dragons, and road-tripping.

Here is the link to my website.

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Hello everyone,

this will be my 10th year at FMS and only my second year where I am not teaching any Lang. and Lit.

I absolutely love sunshine and warmth. I don't care how hot it is, you can find me soaking up the sun somewhere. I'm so excited to learn more about AVID with everyone and excited to help grow it in our building together. I used to play soccer, but I haven't done that in so many years. I am left handed but do a lot of things a right handed person would do. I really love the community of AVID and how our students take pride in their learning by being in the program.

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As I type this today, we are driving home from North Carolina after spending two weeks with all my children moving my son and daughter-in-love (on the far left) from Fort Gregg-Adams to Fort Bragg into their first new home.  Missing them already. 

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Greetings from Kansas,

In my 27 years as an educator, I have learned that a classroom is just like a family. We work...struggle...get frustrated... cry... laugh... learn... grow... celebrate... and miss each other.

I am thrilled to be part of this opportunity to learn from you as we collaborate this year. What an incredible opportunity to join with other passionate AVID educators across our country. Link to my Capstone AVID Portfolio

I currently teach 6th grade science and will begin my 5th year teaching 7th grade AVID Elective class. I loop with my students 7th-8th grade which is wonderful to witness their growth over two years. I will begin my 4th year as an AVID Co-Coordinator. Our MS is approximately 750 students with roughly 80% ESOL students with Spanish as the primary language. Our school re-validated as an AVID Demo school this past year marking the 16th year as a Demo school. The process created a cohesive collaborative staff like I have never seen in a school. We believe if teachers will... students can!

AVID brings HOPE to our students. The HOPE of college... the HOPE of doing something they enjoy... the HOPE of a dream becoming a reality.

I am ready to begin this journey with you!

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Hi Everyone! My name is Christina Reyer and I have been teaching for 18 years. I have taught K-5, with the exception of fourth grade, and I am currently teaching first grade. I have participated in AVID at my school for the last 3 years and am an active participant in our AVID committee. I do my best to be a leader and show how AVID works for me and my students. I am looking forward to this program and learning and working with everyone.

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Access Google Drive with a Google account (for personal use) or Google Workspace account (for business use).

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Hello all!

My name is Dr. Shelby Bessette and I beyond excited to start the AVID Certified Educator program!

I currently teach the AVID Elective class for 7th, 8th and 9th grade at Patton Junior High School on Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. This will be my 4th year teaching the AVID elective and my 2nd year at Patton. I'm grateful I was able to help implement AVID at Fort Leavenworth, after having experience in my pervious district.

While I work in Kansas, I actually live on the Missouri side in Kansas City. My Fiancé and I are getting married this November. We enjoy going on trips as well as reading! We have two cats we love very much.

I have always enjoyed learning about AVID, especially since I worked at a National Demo middle school during my first year of teaching. I truly believe AVID works for ALL students and that is why I am so grateful for the program.

Something I enjoy is getting to know my students interests and where they want their future to go! Not all students will go the traditional college route, and that is why I appreciate AVID's ability to make students College AND Career ready for a global society!

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Hi ladies! We will be moving Megan to Group 2 and Christina to Group 1. We just want the groups to be bigger for more in-depth conversations and collaboration. Thank you and thanks for flexibility!

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Hello! My name is Ashley Pulido. I live in Rancho Cucamonga, California and I teach at my alma mater, Fontana High School. I teach 10th grade English Honors and AVID 9. I love our community and school, it was always my goal to come back and be able to help our community thrive beyond the barriers. FOHI is a National Demonstration School and as an AVID alum it is great to see how much our program has grown and developed. Outside of the classroom I am busy chasing my active one year old. I enjoy traveling, going to baseball games, evening walks, binging tv shows, and trying out new coffee shops. Currently finding a balance between teaching and the new mom life but being out in nature really brings me peace. A way I keep the energy and positive energy required for teaching is not teaching summer school and taking time for myself.

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Hello friends!

My name is Gabriela Lopez, and I am currently in my fifth year as an educator at Fontana High School in Fontana, California. As a former AVID student and AVID tutor, I was proud to take on the role of AVID elective teacher for the first time last year. In addition to teaching AVID, I also teach chemistry and have a deep passion for science education. Although my time in the classroom has been relatively short, I have experienced tremendous growth and remain eager to continue learning and developing as an educator. Outside of teaching, I enjoy spending my evenings horseback riding, walking my dogs, cooking, and exploring exciting new travel destinations.

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Hello, group 10. My name is Brandon! I work at Buffalo HS in Buffalo, MN. I just finished my 10th year of teaching and my 1st year as a 9th Grade AVID Elective Teacher. I teach 9th Grade English Language Arts, Acting, and Creative Writing as well.

I'm also a musician, and like I see Lawren posted on here, I started my college journey as a vocal performance major, but changed my major after my 3rd Semester to English Literature, finishing with a minor in music and a Bachelors in English Literature. I then went on to get my post-baccalaureate certification, and my M. Ed. from The University of Minnesota, which is where I also did my undergrad.

I look forward to working with you all!

Here is my ACE website: https://sites.google.com/d/1FMG4xSZ8XMqyrzJ85inK-hoFTf7yaQJU/p/1kTGTbgPL6Uh9LlzOKNvM8Z4xaqotuY1o/edit

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Access Google Drive with a Google account (for personal use) or Google Workspace account (for business use).

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My name is Jessica Winget, and I have been educating children for almost thirty years.  During that time, I have worked with students in grades six through twelve teaching English and history courses at the regular, honors and Advanced Placement level. I have also taught stand-alone reading, writing and study skills courses.  Once AVID was introduced in my district, I also served as an AVID Elective teacher, an AVID Site Coordinator, and I am currently our AVID District Coordinator.  I also have the privilege of teaching a couple of classes of freshmen English at one of our AVID Sites.

Capstone Portfolio Website

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Hello, everyone.

After reading many of the padlet posts, it looks like I have come full circle...from teaching/ attending college in California and Arizona to Illinois, Texas and finally, Minnesota.

For two years, I worked at an international school in Sao Paulo, Brazil where I was part of the IB program--lots of stress but wonderful colleagues and many opportunities to travel!

Next on my summer plans is connecting with friends in Alaska. Never been to Kodiak Island so looking forward to eating a lot of salmon and long conversations over coffee!

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Hello everyone! My name is Alaina, students call me Coach Haley. I am approaching my 6th year of teaching and my 4th year being the AVID Coordinator/Teacher. My district is big on CCMR and ensuring all students have the pathway to success so I am here to ensure I have the tools to do so at the middle school level and to be able to defend all the work I do everyday in a confident manner.

I love watching and coaching sports, playing video games, and watching new and upcoming shows (and before you ask yes I am a Love Island girl). I look forward to working with you all and learning more about you:)

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I’ve been teaching science for four years. Outside of the classroom, I love gardening and collecting vinyl records. My husband and I just celebrated our first anniversary, and we’re excited to welcome our first child in September.

We share our home with an energetic 18-month-old labradoodle who definitely keeps us on our toes. I also love to travel—my most recent trip was to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its stunning 16th-century Spanish colonial baroque architecture.

My favorite sport to watch is baseball, and I’m a big Los Angeles Dodgers fan. I also watch soccer with my husband, though I admit I can only handle so many matches before suggesting we switch to something else!

My website can be located here !

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Hi Team! I am Amanda Taylor and I currently teach 1st grade in Kansas City, KS. I teach at a pretty big elementary school; we have about 550 students in grades K-5 and 78% of our school are multilingual learners. I can't wait to learn new AVID strategies to use with my little learners!

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Hello,

My name is Monica Garcia. I am an AVID Elective Teacher and AVID Coordinator at Christiana High School located in Newark, DE. I am originally from Trenton, NJ. Dover, Delaware has been my home now for almost 22 years now. I am also a Special Education Teacher and past Cross Country Coach. Besides teaching the AVID Elective, I have also taught English, and two reading programs System 44 and Read 180. I have over twenty years of teaching experience and I am a lifelong learner. I am married and the proud mother of one and gifted two (my niece and nephew). We have a Boston Terrier and newly adopted Huskey mix. My family is my everything including my Sorors of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated. I am so excited about my AVID journey!

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🙋🏾‍♀️Hello Home Group 6! I'm excited to start our cohort and to work with each of you! Currently I am a STEM Lab Teacher in Sheldon ISD. I absolutely LOVE what I do as I work to inspire the next generation of Engineers, Computer Scientists, Doctors, Entrepreneurs...you name it, STEM is in it! The start of the school year will be my 22nd Year as an educator. Before teaching in the STEM Lab I taught Math, Science, and AVID Elective. I have held multiple leadership roles, including being an AVID Campus Coordinator. I have seen AVID change the trajectory of students' lives and know for myself the power of AVID.

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Hi all! I am Kimberly Renfrow.

This will be my 6th year as a 7th grade math teacher in Mesa, AZ.

Outside of the classroom I love travel, and all things Disney! I go to Disneyland and Disneyworld at least once a year, especially because my best friend from middle school loved to Orlando and works at one of the Disney parks. I have also fallen in love with running and completing 5k and 10k races.

I can't wait to work with you all throughout this year and learn from each other.

Here is my Website

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Here’s to an amazing journey together! I am so excited to learn and grow amongst awesome educators like you!

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Hello! I'm Marlene Conde, I'm going into my 8th year teaching English. I taught high school for 5 years and am going into my 3rd year teaching middle school. I'm a homebody and I like to keep to myself and read and watch/anime. I live in a border town and often go to Mexico to visit family.

I'm excited to get to work with you all!

Here is my website.

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Hi friends! My name is Jobrina Perez, I am currently going into my 6th year teaching, but 8th year in education. Prior to teaching I worked as an Advise Texas Advisor through College Advising Corps and this is where I was reassured I was meant to work with high school students! I lived in Dallas, Texas for 7 years and LOVED my students and school, however, I was missing home in Austin, Texas more than ever and an opportunity opened up for me to be the AVID Coordinator at Northeast Early College High School in Austin ISD so of course I had to say YES! I am an AVID alum, and it feels so surreal being back home and serving the school district that made me aware of the endless opportunities I had. I am so grateful and excited to give back to my community again! Outside of work I enjoy hanging out with my new pup Hazel -- she was rehomed to me and is only 7 months so we are in puppy trenches still but she gives me THE BEST company! I love being in nature, it is very grounding for me, so I am currently exploring trails and and getting my steps in around the lake! I also enjoy barre, finding new recipes, baking, concerts, traveling, and exploring new coffee shops! I am excited to learn and grow alongside so many amazing educators!!

Capstone Portfolio Website

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Hi Everyone!

My name is Christina Reyer, and I just got moved into this group. I currently teach first grade in Roswell, NM and have been teaching for 18 years. I am part of our schools core AVID team and enjoy working on strategies that work great for our kids.

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Hi Group 10! I am Tracy Vax. I teach in Atlanta, GA, at Cross Keys High School. Cross Keys is a special place with amazing students. I'm heading into my 27th year of teaching ELA. I've taught it all from AP Literature to 9th ESOL. This year, for the first time, I'll be teaching 1 AVID elective 11th grade class and I'm so excited!

https://sites.google.com/view/tracyvax/home

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Hello AVID Peeps! I'm Jasmyne McCoy, I'm excited to be a part of this wonderful cohort! I'm a former AVID secondary coordinator and elective teacher in Fort Worth, TX. I'm now starting my new role as a high school counselor in which I'm super excited about! I love to travel, shop, and spend time with my family/friends! Looking forward to learning and growing with you all!

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Hi there! I’m Kathleen Brinson, and I'm from New Bern, NC. I am an ESOL teacher (K-12) and also co-teach the AVID Excel classes at West Craven Middle School. I just got back from the AVID Conference in Dallas. I had a great time, met some wonderful teachers, and learned a lot.

New Bern is at the intersection of two rivers—the Neuse and the Trent and the water is a big part of the community.

*Fun Fact* New Bern was founded in 1710 by Swiss and Palatine German immigrants, who named it after Bern, Switzerland. That’s why our town mascot is a bear! We have bears all over town!

I look forward to working and learning with you.